Slamfest Notebook: D-Squad hands on to win pool; Finger Lakes Fury girls earn byes

Slamfest Notebook: D-Squad hands on to win pool; Finger Lakes Fury girls earn byes

By Robert Alfonso Jr.

SENECA FALL, NY – A number of teams rolled into New York Chiropractic College for the 23rd Finger Lakes Slamfest. The boys and girls event had some strong matchups on Day 1.

Here are some players and teams who caught our attention.

D-Squad gets a team effort to win pool

The strategy of Pool play in any tournament is jockeying for position to win the pool. Sometimes that task is not easy.

D-Squad needed every waning second on the clock to milk out a victory. The Utica, NY based organization beat Boro Elite 63-59 to win Pool A in the 17U division. D-Squad had the third highest point total of all the teams in the division with 129 points. Boro Elite had the opportunity to win or tie the game.

While the victory to secure the top spot in the pool, D-Squad has a player who is more than capable of carrying the team. Jerome Brabham scored a team-high 27 points in the teams opening game. He scored at will from every angle of the floor.

The 6-foot-4 guard knows how to get to the basket. He is relentless, as several college basketball programs have expressed interest.

Brabham, however, is not only catching college basketball coach’s eyes on the hardwood. He is also has football coaches intrigued. The wide receiver has an offer from Connecticut. Look for more coaches from both sports continue to check-in on him throughout the year.

16U Pool C ends in a four-way tie

Four teams found a way to beat up on each other. Ithaca Elite, Central Western Blue, Roc City Ballers and ST Rage knocked caused a logjam in Pool C.

All four teams beat each other. The tie then helped Ithaca Elite scored the top spot of the Pool.

TIDBITS

15U Boys

ICC Truth 57, Ithaca Elite 26

Kailee White, Shykell Brown and Jamal Fennel each scored double figure points to help ICC Truth get its opening win. Brown finished with a team-high 13 points. White chipped in with 12. Fennell added 11 points for the Rochester based organization.

Danny Malone helped lead Ithaca Elite with nine-points.

16U Boys

Status Pro Brecht 54, Boro Elite 49

Being in a highly contested ball game can always leave one guy standing at the end. Neil Wiemann, from Southern Cayuga, finished with a game-high 23 points as Status Pro beat the Pennsylvania based team.

Deondre Terwillinger, from Bradford High, had a team-high 17 points in defeat.

Girls

Finger Lakes Fury dominates 17U division

Just by sheer numbers, the Finger Lakes Fury girls team leaned on the competition heavy in the 17U division and literally did not let up. They dominated every team in the their pool and cruised on to win the pool.

This is a team with depth and length. They will advance to the title game because of the Upstate Ladies were a no show the entire tournament, literally.

RSBA and FL Fury earn 15U byes

After dominating its respective pools, RSBA Elite and the Finger Lakes Fury advance to the Final Four of the 15U division. The Fury totaled 109 points in its pool play. RSBA finished with 97.

Numbers do not lie as Finger Lake Fury beat its teams by an average of 20 points. RSBA had a close game with Central Western to earn its bye.