Lexington is a basketball hotbed, everyone know that. So why not bring the masses to the Bluegrass with a plethora of tournaments all over the city featuring several of our Tennessee teams.
In the Nike EYBL, Team Penny finished the event 2-2 behind some continued sterling play from Darrell Brown (Germantown). The rising senior guard averaged 15 points per game including 17 against E1T1, 16 against Pro Skills and 13 against the Alabama Challenge.
Racing to the Rim featured a host of Tennessee squads in a couple of age groups including the WACG 17U squad who finished 4-1 falling late in bracket play to Charlotte Court.
WACG finished 3-0 in pool play winning every game by a 20+ point margin. Kenny Cooper (FRA) and Thomas Booker (East Nashville) continue to lead the way for the Nashville crew. Yalen Reed (Station Camp) is beginning to turn heads with his efforts from the perimeter and on the interior defensively.
WACG played with a limited roster with a very balanced scoring approach. Isaiah Blacksmith (East Nashville) continues to punish folks on the glass while newcomer Maurice Wright (Northwest) played good minutes providing some board work and block a few shots while learning to play with the squad.
Case Bouldin (Ravenwood) and Patrick Murphy (Independence) were praised for their continued solid work from the perimeter and their ability to run the floor and finish on the break.
Staying in the 17u division, the Music City Heat finished 2-1 missing out on bracket play by matter of the points tie-breaker. The Heat began with a spark defeating the CKY Vision 77-54 behind 24 markers from Trey Phifer (Big Sandy) and Abdul Akinola (Cane Ridge) chipped in with 15 points and 16 caroms.
The Heat followed up with another big win this time 80-74 over Kentucky Elite. Phifer led the way again with 18 markers. Leonardo Holmes (East Nashville) added 12 while Kevin Rimmer (Ezell-Harding) and Akinola each ended with 10.
Dominique Washington (East Nashville), Caleb Walton (Beech) and Malcolm Walker (Independence) were lauded for their efforts on both ends of the floor while James Kirk (East Nashville) and Donovan Henry (MLK) provided buckets and stops for the Heat throughout the weekend.
In the 16 and under division, the Music City Stars finished a very productive weekend at 5-1 falling in the finals to the Kentucky Hoopstars 68-65.
Hunter Vick (Camden Central) led the squad in scoring for the majority of the weekend. Coaches were quick to point out the massive contributions of several players including Jontae Brown (Northeast), Tariq Silver (Northwest) and Diego Womack (Jackson Northside).
The Stars currently stand 14-1 on the young season.
Staying in the 16 and under classification Team Corey Brewer broke into the Kentucky Basketball Academy with a purpose winning their first four games by the ridiculous margins of 94-50, 102-74, 88-38 and 79-38.
An in-state match-up with the Music City Stars in the semi's saw TCB fall 76-59. Leading the way for the Nashville crew was Trey Hollowell (Kentucky) and Grayson Murphy (Independence).
Guard play was especially strong with Hollowell averaging around 16 per game for the event while Murphy was efficient in every offensive category including dishing out several assists.
Tate Pierson (Brentwood Academy), Tyler McNair (Brentwood Academy) and Ke'Montre Jones (Oakland) provided scoring and solid board work for TCB while big Jack Doherty (FRA) did monster work on the interior according to coaches.
