The 19th edition of the River City Renaissance Pro-Am Summer Basketball League concluded last week with arguably the most exciting championship game in the history of league. Team Take Over, a group of former standouts from the Metro East defeated Team Holla in a 77-74 thriller to repeat as league champions.
The gym at Cardinal Ritter College Prep was packed and the intensity level was high as both teams put on a show that had the crowd on the edge of their seats, especially for the final heart-stopping minutes. Bragging rights were on the line as well as the big championship trophy that went to the winning team.
Take Over held a comfortable 10-point lead in the second half only too see Holla came back and take the lead 68-67 on a steal and dunk by Saint Louis University sophomore guard Kwamain Mitchell with just over two minutes to play. Mitchell put on flurry of 3-point shooting to bring Team Holla back from its deficit. The lead changed hands for the next two minutes until former Madison and Oklahoma State star Maurice Baker converted a three-point play with 15 seconds left to give Take Over a 75-74 lead. After a final shot by Holla’s Gerald Fulton missed the mark, Baker converted two free throws for the winning margin, touching off a wild celebration from the team and the large contingent from the East Side at the game.
“It was our goal to go back-to-back and we did it,” said Take Over team leader Darius Miles of the Memphis Grizzlies. “Both teams went at each other hard, but there’s nothing but love between us.”
Baker scored 16 of his 19 points in the second half to share team-high honors with former SLU standout Tommie Liddell. Demarius Bowles added 18 points while Miles scored 10. Mitchell led Team Holla with 20 points, including 17 in the second half in which he hit five 3-pointers and got the crowd into a frenzy. Fulton, who is headed to Cal-State Northridge, scored 16 points while SLU sophomore center Willie Reed added 14 points.
The St. Louis Eagles Basketball Club 16-and-under team finished a strong summer performance by advancing to the championship game of two big summer tournaments at the end of July. While playing up a year in the 17-and-under age bracket, the Eagles advanced to the finals of the Nike Super Showcase in Orlando, Fla. and the Price Chopper Classic in Kansas City in consecutive weeks. During the summer, the Eagles’ 16’s won two tournaments and advanced to the championship game of four other tournaments. The Eagles were led all summer by the trio of guards Bradley Beal (Chaminade), Shaquille Boga (McCluer) and Roosevelt Jones (O’Fallon). The remaining members of the team include Javier Duren (Oakville), Calvin Belts, Jr. (Maplewood), Larry Toomey (Parkway West), Phil Kunz (Wesclin), Justin Miller (Columbia Rock Bridge), Carson Sonnenberg (Belleville Althoff), Aaron Adeoye (Marion, Ill.), Will Childs-Klein (Ladue) and Connor Wheeler (Carbondale, Ill.).
*Congratulations to the St. Louis Gameface 16-and-under boys’ basketball team on its sixth place finish at the AAU 16-and-under National Championships in Orlando, Fla. last week. Gameface finished with an 8-1 record in finishing sixth out of 150 teams in the tournament. Gameface finished 10th and the 15-and-under Nationals last year. The team was led all week by high-scoring guard B.J. Young (Hazelwood Central) and power forward Dantiel Daniels (Wentzville Holt). The other team members are Curtis Churchman (Hazelwood Central), Grant Wallace (John Burroughs), Dominic Kasiach (CBC), Brandan Kelly, Aaron Lombardo, Gevoni Ferrari and Ed Wanner (Chaminade). The team was coach by former Saint Louis University star Roland Gray. He was assisted by former Vashon standout and SLU player Dwayne Polk. The sixth-place finish at the AAU Nationals put the finishing touches of an excellent summer for the Gameface team, which also won the championship of the Chicago Summer Classic in early July.
*There will be an Irons on the bench as a high school basketball coach next season. Tony Irons, the son of Hall of Fame basketball coach Floyd Irons, has been tabbed as the head coach at Imagine College Prep High. Like his father, Tony Irons knows a little bit about winning. He was the starting point guard of Lutheran North’s Class 2 state-championship team in 2002 and the School of the Ozark’s NAIA national-championship team in 2006.
*The Team Swish Basketball Club will be holding tryouts for its fall season for boys in grades 3-8 on August 18 and 19 at Whitfield School (175 S. Mason Road). The tryouts for third, fourth and fifth graders will be held from 6:30 to 7:45 p.m. The sixth, seventh and eighth grade tryouts will be held from 8 to 9 p.m. For more information, contact Lou Potsou at (314( 732-6007 or at loupotsou@aol.com. You can also go on the team’s website at www.teamswishbasketball.com.
(You can follow Earl Austin Jr. on twitter.com/earlaustinjr. and Facebook. His book, “The PHL in the STL” can be purchased at AfroWorld, 7276 Natural Bridge and Not Just a Book Store, 5892 Delmar Blvd.).
(Earl Austin Jr. can be heard on Thursdays on WESL 1490-AM from 4-6 p.m. with Maurice Scott on “Basketball Thursdays”).
