EPWBA Game Recaps: Jr Boys Division

Coming off a disappointing loss in the league championship, the Heat looked to bounce back in the tournament quarterfinals versus the high scoring Spurs. The Heat looked like they were going to cruise to a blowout win as they jumped out to a 24-5 halftime lead with a combination of great defense and awesome ball movement. Brandon Spencer led the Heat with 10 of their 24 points. In the 3rd, Cameron Calder of the Spurs would become a one man wrecking crew in leading a furious comeback. He would score 15 of the Spurs’ 19 3rd quarter points and close the gap to 35-24 heading into the 4th. 6th man Dave Marshall would score 5 of the Heat’s 11. In the 4th, the Spurs would cut the lead to 8 twice before the Heat would close the game out. Daulton Haynes would convert 6 of 8 free throws down the stretch to preserve a 53-40 victory and a trip to the Junior division final four. The Heat would place 4 players in double figures. They were led by guard Brandon Spencer with 11. Isaac Wyckoff chipped in 10 and both big men Daulton Haynes and Trey Bridis scored 10 apiece while grabbing over 10 rebounds for double-doubles. 6th man Dave Marshall added a big 8 for the Heat off the bench. Forward Vinny Cipolla added a tough 4 while displaying some nice ball handling. Angelo Hicks added his usual tough perimeter defense along with some tough hustle from Brandon Mei. Cameron Calder led all scorers with an amazing game high 26. Beau Bishop added 9 for the Spurs.

The Heat capped off their season by defeating a tough, well coached Wizards team. Fresh off clinching the Junior National division, the Heat showed they were in post season form. The Heat would jump out to an 11-1 lead before the Wiz would close out the first quarter 11-6. The Heat would close out the half 27-15 behind a very strong 2nd quarter from their bench. Their bench would score 11 of their 16 points including 6 from Angelo Hicks and 5 from 6th man Dave Marshall. Daulton Haynes would pace the Heat in the 2nd half with 8 of his game high 15 and propel the Heat to a 48-33 victory. Again, Daulton Haynes would lead the Heat with a game-high 15 points and 12 rebounds. Trey Bridis would compile another double-double with 10 points and 12 boards along with 4 assists. Forward Vinny Cipolla played the role of facilitator with 6 points and 6 dimes. Angelo Hicks would add 6 and 6th man Dave Marshall chipped in 5. Guard Brandon Spencer scored 4 and Isaac Wyckoff chipped 2 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists. Brandon Mei contributed 2 rebounds off the bench. For the Wizards, Tony Coniglio punched in 15 to go along with Brandon Baxter’s 14 points for a nice 1-2 punch. Gavin Inge chipped in 4 while Cameron Correa displayed some great ball handling. The Heat will play the undefeated Kings on Saturday for the league championship and look to avenge one of their 2 losses this season.

The Heat and the Warriors squared off in huge division match-up which had division title implications. A win by the Heat would clinch the Junior National division and a win by the Warriors would keep their hopes alive. The two teams were deadlocked at 12 after a hot first quarter which saw Carlito Roquemore score 6 and dish 3 assists. The Heat had Brandon Spencer drop in 6 as well. The Warriors started to pull away in the 2nd with some balanced scoring. The Heat were able to stay close behind Trey Bridis’ 6 points and 10 rebounds in the quarter but trailed at halftime 24-18. Warrior big man Daijuan Jones was the main weapon for the Warriors in the 3rd scoring 5 of their 8 and grabbing 8 boards. The Heat needed a last second 3 point shot by 6th man Dave Marshall from the corner to close the quarter for the Heat down 32-30 and some much needed momentum going into the 4th. The Heat would wrestle control back from the Warriors in the 4th continuing their run and taking a 39-34 lead before the Warriors Austin Bolander would hit a big 3. Both teams would trade baskets down the stretch until a defensive rebound by the Heat secured a 47-46 win and a division title for the Heat. The Heat were led by Trey Bridis who put up some Dwight Howard-like numbers scoring 23 and grabbing 21 boards. Vinny Cipolla chipped in 9 and 5 boards. 7 of his 9 came in the decisive 4th. Guard Brandon Spencer netted 8 and also grabbed 5 rebounds. Isaac Wyckoff added 2 and Daulton Haynes added 2 and pulled down 7 boards. Rounding out the scoring was Dave Marshall with a huge 3 pointer. Defensive standout Angelo Hicks played great on defense and Brandon Mei battled all game down low. For the Warriors, Carlito Roquemore scored 14 while dishing out 8 dimes. Big man Daijuan Jones was a tough inside presence with 13 points and 16 rebounds. Rookie of the year candidate Stephen Wassenburg was impressive inside netting 11 big points in the paint. Austin Bolander scored 6 for the Warriors. Congratulations to the Heat for winning the Junior National division title for 2011-12.

The Heat and the Magic squared off in a game that featured 2 of the league’s top defenses. From the onset, both teams were looking for a half court defensive battle. Early in the 2nd it looked as though the Heat would be on their way to a blowout with a 16-4 lead. After a series of blown opportunities to push the game wide open, the Magic would storm back to close out the half down only 16-11. The Heat would increase that lead slightly to 24-17 heading into the 4th. The Magic would take the first lead of the game in the 4th 27-26 before Vinny Cipolla hit a huge baseline jumper and 2 monster free throws to close out a 30-27 win. Trey Bridis paced the Heat with 7 points and 14 rebounds. Guard Isaac Wyckoff knocked in 6 while forward Vinny Cipolla also added 6 and 7 boards. Guard Brandon Spencer scored 5 and Daulton Haynes added 4 points and 7 rebounds. 6th man Dave Marshall added 2 for the Heat. Angelo Hicks came off the bench with great defense along with some great hustle from Brandon Mei. The Magic were led by Eric McDonald and big man Nick Burke who had 8 apiece. Alex Powell added 5 tough points inside. Kyle Hetrick added 4 points and 10+ rebounds. Rounding out the scoring for the Magic was Brian Zylich with a bucket.

The Heat coming off a great win within their division stalled out of the box early versus the Thunder. The 1st quarter saw a 12-10 lead for the Heat. The Heat would maintain that lead at the half 21-19. The 3rd quarter saw the Thunder tie the game at 27 heading into the final period. The Heat would clamp down in the 4th holding the Thunder scoreless and close out the game with a 36-27 win. Guard Brandon Spencer would lead the way for the Heat with a game high 12 points with some nice shooting. Trey Bridis would come up short on another double-double adding 8 points and 15 boards. Forward Vinny Cipolla would chip in 6 for the Heat. Guard Isaac Wyckoff added 4. Rounding out the scoring for the Heat was 6th man Dave Marshall and Brandon Mei each with 2 points. Center Daulton Haynes would also add 2 while grabbing 13 rebounds. Guard Angelo Hicks would contribute 4 rebounds and 4 great assists for the Heat to complete the contributions. JJ Feden paced the Thunder with 10 and Kevin Moreno added 7. Chris Feden would add 3 and Corbin Atreed and James West would each add a bucket for the Thunder.

The Heat and the Spurs squared off in a division matchup. The Heat jumped out to an early 13-7 f1st quarter lead. The Spurs showed their high powered offense in the 2nd quarter outscoring the Heat 14-11, cutting into the lead for a 24-21 Heat lead at the half. The Heat would increase their lead to 35-29 heading into the 4th. In the 4th, the Heat would tighten their #2 ranked defense, holding the shorthanded Spurs to only 4 points and finishing the game on a 22-4 run for 57-33 win. Trey Bridis led the Heat with 18 points. 10 of those 18 came in the decisive 4th. He also contributed over 10 boards for his 5th double-double of the season. Vinny Cipolla chipped in a hard earned 14 points on the front line. Center Daulton Haynes again pulled down over 10 rebounds to go with his 8 points. Brandon Spencer scored 6 and Isaac Wyckoff added 5 from the guard spots to go with some big steals. 6th man Dave Marshall added 5 rebounds and 2 points. Defensive specialist Angelo Hicks showed the offensive game chipping in 4 points. Leading the way for the Spurs was Cameron Calder with 10. Markel Galloway and Beau Bishop each added 6 while #12 added 7. Khyir Johnson added a bucket and was tough inside for the Spurs.

The Heat took the court against a determined Rockets team. The Heat were trying to win their 6th straight game. The Rockets jumped out to an early 11-10 lead on the hot shooting of Hassan Queen who hit 3 threes in the first. The 2nd quarter would slow down and found the Heat back in front by the score of 15-12. The Heat would wake up in the 3rd quarter going on a 20-0 run to seize control before Hassan Queen would close out the quarter with a half court bomb. After 3, the Heat led 35-15. Both teams would close out the 4th playing tough physical defense and find the Heat on top 44-23. Vinny Cipolla paced the Heat with 12. Trey Bridis contributed his usual double-double with 10 points and 10+ rebounds. Daulton Haynes again pulled down over 10 boards to go with his 7 points. Point guard Isaac Wyckoff pumped in 6. 6th man Dave Marshall scored 6 points while grabbing 6 boards. Shooting guard Brandon Spencer added a bucket and defensive rookie of the year candidate Angelo Hicks added a point and his usual trademark defense. Hassan Queen was awesome for the Rockets scoring a game high 17. Alex Baird, Justin Brown and Ben Fillius all added a bucket each while playing tough defense on the frontline for the Rockets.

The Heat found themselves down 3 starters and just 5 players heading into their battle with the Supersonics. They would have to win the game with their talented bench. The Heat were down 6-4 after the first and battled back to take a one point lead at halftime 17-16. Trey Bridis would pace the Heat at the half with 9. The score would be knotted up again after 3, 22-22. The Supersonics were clinging to a 2 point lead late in the 4th when Brandon Spencer hit a baseline runner to tie the game at 26. The teams would exchange defensive stops down the stretch until Trey Bridis converted a huge 3 point play on an offensive rebound with less than 40 seconds to play. The Supersonics would cut the lead to 1 until Brandon Spencer iced the game hitting 2 fouls shots with little time left. Trey Bridis led the way for the Heat netting 18 points and 12 rebounds. Brandon Spencer provided good ball pressure and contributed 9 points. 6th man Dave Marshall moved into the starting lineup and chipped in 5 points and 9 rebounds. Angelo Hicks hit a huge free throw and provided numerous deflections for steals. Brandon Mei grabbed 5 rebounds and provided some outstanding hustle all game. For the Supersonics, Brendan led the team with 8 points and over 10 rebounds. Darius Johnson, Andrew Webb and Drew Wilson all scored 4 apiece. Andre scored his first points of the season with a foul shot.

In a game that featured tough physical defense and 42 personal fouls, the Heat found themselves emerging from the game with a victory. The Heat avenged a loss from game 1 earlier this season versus the Hornets. The Heat jumped out to an early 8-2 lead thanks to their defense. The lead held up at the half with the score of 19-13. Trey Bridis carried the load for the Heat in the first half, scoring 8 of his team high 11. The Heat increased their lead to 29-20 heading into the 4th. The Heat would increase that lead to 11 midway through the 4th before the Hornets would come storming back and cut the lead down to 4. Down the stretch the Heat would clamp down and close out the game winning 41-29. The Heat had some balanced scoring with 6 players contributing points. Leading the way for the Heat was Trey Bridis with 11 points and 11 boards. His defense was key in holding Hornets big man Jon Maloney to just 2 points. Vinny Cipolla followed up with 9 points and some excellent defense on Hornet Malcolm Debraux. Brandon Spencer and Isaac Wyckoff were huge in helping shutdown the excellent perimeter game of the Hornets, scoring 7 points apiece. Daulton Haynes powered in 7 points and 14 rebounds. He combined with Trey to help control the boards. Dave Marshall chipped in a huge 4 points. His 2 buckets came as the Hornets closed to within 4. He hit a big turnaround shot in the key and followed that up with a huge offensive rebound and putback to get the Heat some breathing room. Angelo Hicks was again superb with his outstanding perimeter defense jarring the ball loose on several occasions. Brandon Mei contributed 4 rebounds and outstanding defense down the stretch late in the 4th quarter. For the Hornets, Malcolm Debraux scored 11 of his game high 15 in the 2nd half. With a tightly called game, he was able to spin his way to rim for a few acrobatic finishes. Parker Burke added 5 points and Alejandro Irizary added 3. Big man Jon Maloney was again a force with double figure rebounds and few blocks.

The Heat took on a Nugget team without one its key players. The Heat jumped out to an early 1st quarter lead 11-6. The Nuggets would hang tough and close the gap at halftime to 16-14. Daulton Haynes paced the Heat at the half with 6 of their 16. The Heat started to pull away with a big defensive push in the 3rd, holding the Nuggets to only 1 basket and outscoring them 12-2 for 28-16 lead heading into the 4th quarter. In the fourth, the Nuggets again would step up their defense outscoring the short handed Nuggets 14-3 and winning the game 42-19. Isaac Wyckoff and Daulton Haynes led the Heat with 11 points apiece. Daulton also added 13 rebounds for his 1st double-double of the season. Vinny Cipolla chipped in 7 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists for a nice all around game. Forward Trey Bridis was a monster on the glass snatching a season high 17 rebounds and chipping in a tough 5 points while playing lockdown defense. Brandon Spencer added in 6 points, all in the 4th. Angelo Hicks rounded out the scoring with 2 points. 6th man Dave Marshall added 6 boards off the bench and Brandon Mei provided a nice defensive spark off the bench with some shutdown perimeter defense. Leading the way for the Nuggets was Jake Blevins with 6 points. Gus Gusberti chipped in 5 and excellent defense while Drew Blevins and Justin Dominguez scored 4 apiece.

Both teams played great coming off the big break. The Rockets got solid play from balanced scoring from all - Alex and Ben each scored 9pts, Hassan had 8pts, Craig added 4pts, Michael had 2 and Justin made a foul shot for 1pt. The Warriors got their big man, Daijon, back. Daijon and Austin led all scorers with 15 points a piece. The Warriors had a great passing game with Carlito contributing ovetr 10+ assists. Jeffery anjd Cameron played smothering defense that confused and frustrated the Rockets all night. Logan and Stephen pounded the boards and help limit the Rockets second chance efforts. Ethan came off the bench into a new role as the 2 man and contributed some solid defensive plays as well.

Great job by all....

The Heat looked to build some momentum early in the season, and took on a well coached, tough Mavericks squad. Early on the Heat showed their defense by jumping out 12-0 in the first quarter. The Heat extended that lead to 23-4 at halftime with a stifling defensive effort. 10 of the 23 points came from small forward Vinny Cipolla. In the 3rd quarter, the Mavericks started to find their game, outscoring the Heat 15-8 and cutting the lead to 31-19 heading into the 4th. Andrew Kamara led the charge scoring 8 of the Mavericks 15 points. The Mavericks were able to cut the lead to 8 early in the 4th before the Heat settled in and closed out the game with a 41-31 victory. Vinny Cipolla led the Heat with 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. He was followed up by Trey Bridis who contributed a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Brandon Spencer played a great all around game with 8 points. Daulton Haynes chipped in 6 points and 12 rebounds for the Heat. Rounding out the scoring for the Heat were Angelo Hicks with 3 and Isaac Wyckoff with 2. Dave Marshall added 5 rebounds and Brandon Mei provided some tough physical defense on the perimeter. Leading the way for the Mavericks was Andrew Kamara with a game high 13 points and Troy Watson with 12 points. Blake Woolridge chipped in 4 and provided a tough, physical interior defense.

The Heat took the court trying to rebound from a terrible game one loss where it seemed everything that could’ve went wrong, went wrong. They faced a tough Magic team who was coming off a last second loss in their first game. The Heat jumped out to an 8-2 lead in the first quarter before the Magic battled back. The Heat built a 19-11 halftime lead behind 11 points from small forward Vinny Cipolla. In the 3rd quarter, the Heat started to pull away and led 25-13. At the end of the hard fought game, the Heat outlasted the Magic 34-20. Vinny Cipolla had a good all around game with 13 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists. Guard Brandon Spencer finished strong, scoring 6 of his 8 in the 4th. Isaac Wyckoff ran the point and added 4. Big men Trey Bridis and Daulton Haynes were active on the glass all game for the Heat, each grabbing over 10 rebounds apiece. Both players played great defense and scored 5 and 4 points respectively helping the Heat control the battle of the boards. Dave Marshall was effective coming off the bench with some nice open looks at the basket and 5 rebounds. Angelo Hicks came in and impacted the game with tough perimeter defense creating some nice turnovers. Brandon Mei also contributed some good defense while adding 3 rebounds. For the Magic, big man Nick Burke was a force with 6 points, over 10 rebounds and some great blocked shots. He battled all game with Heat big men Daulton and Trey. Alex Brown handled the ball well and played great defense contributing 6 points. Eric McDonald added 4 and Kyle Hetrick was all over the floor adding 2 points and great hustle.

Exciting game from beginning to end...halftime score the Warriors were up 3, 21-18. The Warriors had 5 of their seven players score in the first half with Jeffery and Stephen leading the way with 6 apiece, while Andrew and Josh paced the Sonics with 6 apiece as well. The second half saw some excitement as Austin hit a last second shot from half court to finish the 3rd quarter. Logan and Ethan did a great job on the boards helping to make up the differnce for having Daijon out of the game. Overall even scoring by both teams with a great competitive spirit.