The NY2LA Sports Extravaganza hit the hardwood yesterday with three teams from Illinois taking on the same from the Badger state.  Garrett Jones, Duane Wilson Jr., Kevin Gray, Christian Williams, Wayne Simon, Flavien Davis, were just a few of many who turned in solid performances on the day.  Coaches from Wisconsin, Ohio, Loyola-Chicago, UW-Whitewater, Cardinal Stritch, etc. took in action yesterday and here's a recap of the action...

Evanston (IL) 74
Dominican (WI) 61
Leading scorer - Duane Wilson Jr. (Dominican) 23

Evanston jumped out to a 17-0 start with a suffocating press that forced a number of turnovers early and had Dominican playing catchup all game.  Playing their third game in four days, Dominican struggled early and often as Evanston continued to add to their lead with excellent execution and and big time shooting as they knocked down seven trey balls in the first half led by Jr. G Garrett Jones who was sensational as he hit four trey balls in the first half and went into the break with 14 points.  The only bright spot in the first half for Dominican was the play of Fr. PG Duane Wilson Jr. who stuggled in the opening period but then dropped 11 points in the second quarter.

The second half was a complete reverse as Dominican was the aggressor from the start and after being down 48-17 at the half the Knights came roaring back to close the gap to 12 points with about five minutes left to go but that was as afar as they could get as a few missed free throws combined with key baskets by Evanston down the stretch saw Evanston take home th victory.  Jones led Evanston with 21 points while Wilson led the way for Dominican with a game high 23 points including three trey balls on the day. 

Brooks Academy (IL) 59
Nicolet (WI) 57
Leading scorer - Christian Williams (Nicolet) 20

This was the best game of the day and came down to a last second shot to determine the outcome.  Both Brooks and Nicolet traded leads early before Brooks extended theirs to 10 points in the second quarter only to have Nicolet close it to 4 points in the final minute of the second quarter.  However, Brooks threw in a half-court shot at the buzzer to go into the break up 7 points.  Jr. F Keith Gray scored 11 in the opening half for Brooks while Jr. F/C Christian Williams had 10 points for Nicolet at the break.

The second half saw Nicolet claw their way back every time Brooks tried to pull away and eventually tie the game inside the final minute after a basket by Sr. G Myles Henry.  After a timeout, Jr. PG George Marshall Jr. was able to get to the basket with a layup from the right side to put Brooks ahead and Nicolet saw a last second three point attempt miss to the left allowing Brooks to escape with the victory. 

Brooks had a balanced attack that saw four different players score in double figures led by Jr. F Kevin Gray who finished with 13 points.  Jr. PG George Marshall Jr. scored 12 points including a couple of key baskets in the fourt period, Jr. G Mike Powell added 12 points, and Jr. F Keith Gray finished with 11 points for Brooks.  Jr. F/C Christian Williams led Nicolet with 20 points on the day while Sr. G Myles Henry added 15 in the losing effort.

St. Josephs (IL) 73
Wisconsin Lutheran (WI) 56
Leading scorer - Flavien Davis (Wisconsin Lutheran) 31

The score of this one is really indicitive of how close this game was as it was a back and forth affair for three quarters before St. Josephs made a huge fourth quarter run to break this game open.  The first half saw both teams play to a draw as they went into the break tied at 26.  Sr. F Flavien Davis has 17 points at the break including three trey balls and was virtually unstoppable with an array of perimeter shots, drives to the basket, and free throws.

The third quarter was much of the same as both teams went back and forth with St. Josephs making a late run to take control into the final period.  Sr. G Wayne Simon scored 8 points in the quarter as did Sr. SF Brandon Carr.  The fourth quarter was still tight as St. Josephs held a 52-47 lead early on before they turned it up on the defensive end of the court and broke the game wide open with transition baskets without any answer from Lutheran and coasted to victory down the stretch.

St. Josephs used a three headed balanced attack that saw Sr. G Wayne Simon drop 20 points, Sr. F Wayne Mantas Dubauskas finish with 16 and Sr. SF Brandon Carr add 16 in the winning effort.  Sr. F Flavien Davis scored 31 points for Lutheran but it wasn't enough as St. Josephs grabbed the victory.

Top Performers
1 - Flavien Davis - Wisconsin Lutheran
2 - Garrett Jones - Evanston
3 - Wayne Simon - St. Josephs
4 - Duane Wilson Jr. - Dominican
5 - Christian Williams - Nicolet

Clutch Performer
George Marshall Jr. - Brooks Academy