AAU 17U Nationals Live Blog Coverage
(tournament coverage, photo, and video highlights here)
Ballgame. GESUS takes it 55-44. Wright finished with a game-high 18 points. He hit 9 of 12 foul shots. Weaver added 13. Derek Libbey led Maine with 16 points.
Maine went on an 8-2 run to gain a foothold, but they still trail 42-31 with 2:57 to play.
Maine just scored on a three-pointer at the end of the third period, but they still trail 38-23 with only eight minutes to play.
Wright is clearly winning the battle of posts. He has 11 points, and Knight hasn’t scored in ages.
Knight got another block. He’s nearing a double-double with points and blocks, but he only has six points, all of them scored in the first period.
Maine finally got on the board with a three-pointer with 4:48 to play in the third period, but it’s a steep hill to climb. They’re down 33-20.
Knight just blocked a shot and grabbed the rebound, but Maine has gone more than two minutes of the third period without scoring. They trail 33-17, and GESUS just reeled in another loose ball.
GESUS went for another alley-oop to Weaver, but he mis-timed the jump and had to settle for a layup. That gives GESUS a 33-17 halftime lead. The first few minutes of the third period likely will decide the outcome. Maine will need to make adjustments if they’re going to rally.
Wright is an intimidating presence with his back to the basket, and he has a quick spin move that just led to a left-handed layup. He now has 11 points. The GESUS pressure defense just forced another turnover. Their swarming presence is making it difficult for Maine’s guards to feed their big fellas.
Maine has some size, but they’re having trouble working against the pressure defense that GESUS is applying. At some point, that defense is going to generate some turnovers, such as the steal that William Weaver just snatched. Wright then gave it back to Maine on a bad pass, but GESUS leads 27-15 midway through the second period.
Knight drove in and missed a layup. Wright didn’t give him much room to operate. Knight then got a pass and got nothing but air on a mid-range jumper from the baseline. Wright answered with a powerful layup to give GESUS a 24-13 lead.
Knight just pounded away a shot attempt. He has six points at the offensive end, but it’s his defense that has spectators vocalizing their amazement.
With a 5-0 burst, GESUS stretched the lead to 20-10 by the end of the first period. MBR started the second period, however, with a three-pointer to make it 20-13.
There’s a good battle inside between MBR’s Knight and 6-7 rising senior Keith Wright, who attends Norfolk Collegiate High. Both have plenty of meat on their wide frames. So far, Knight is winning the battle. He just scored inside to pull MBR to within 15-10.
We’re midway through the first period, and GESUS (I hope don’t mind that I’ve removed the punctuation. There just isn’t time for it) leads 15-8. Maine just called a timeout after 6-4 rising senior Darrian Freeman skied above the rim for an alley-oop jam.
With the Suffolk Blazers loss, G.E.S.U.S. is the last Virginia team competing at the AAU 17U Boys Basketball National Tournament.
G.E.S.U.S. is seeking to improve to 6-0 in the tournament’s third round. Their opponent is MBR, a team from Maine that features 6-8 post player Tom Knight, of Dirigo High. Today’s winner advances to play in one of Tuesday’s 9 a.m. quarterfinal games at The Milkhouse in Lake Buena Vista, Fl., home to a tournament that draws college coaches from across the country and many of the country’s best prep basketball players.
