West holds off Southeast to win Jr. NBA US title

West holds off Southeast to win Jr. NBA US title

By Robert Alfonso Jr

ORLANDO, FL – The West had three players who were familiar with the format of the Jr. NBA Global Championship format.

While they were eliminated early a season ago, the experienced helped them for its second trip to the Sunshine State. The West beat the South 80-74 to capture the US Championship Saturday night. On Sunday, the West team will play Team Africa for the Global Championship.

This is the second consecutive year the Southeast was eliminated in the finals of the US Championship. It lost to theCentral team last season.

Taj DeGourville was in the middle of the West’s comeback late in the fourth quarter. The North Las Vegas native pulled up for a jumper beyond the arc. As his jumper cut through the net, he was fouled resulting in a four-point play. This helped the West take a 71-69 lead with 1:30 to play in the fourth quarter.

The Southeast (4-1) never regained its composure. DeGourville and teammates continued to push the tempo as it finished the game on an 11-5 run.

DeGourville finished with a game-high 24 points. Tyler Robison added 17 points, while Quinton Webb recorded a double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds.

While the West had control from the opening tip, the South made a push behind in the third quarter. Part of the comeback came behind the push of Kannan Carlyle, Isaiah Collier and LT Overton. The trio combined for 90 percent of the teams scoring. Things just didn’t fall their way in the end.

Carlyle had a game-high 25 points. Overton tallied up his second consecutive double-double of the day with 22 points and 13 rebounds. Collier added 18 points.