Paterson,N.J……The Playaz 16u and 15u teams both got in the Championship mode this weekend in the Playaz 3rd annual Tune Up Tournament! Kavon Stewart scored 22 points and Reggie Cameron added 18 in the Playaz 16u 83-66 title game win against the New York Panthers! The Playaz led by one 25-24 with 5 minutes left in the first half before going on a spurt to take a 15 point halftime lead 50-35! Joshua Marquez added 11 and Geno Thorpe, Mike Young and Joel Hernandez helped control the remainder of the game! The Panthers were led by Ryan Yearwood with 20 points and Kamal Nelson with 18! The Playaz reached the final by defeating New Heights(N.Y.) 49-46 in the semifinals behind Hernandez’s 16 points! The Panthers reached the”chip”by beating The New Jersey Pirates 57-54 in overtime! Shakur Pinder led the scoring with 17 points for the Panthers, while Quadir Lindsey finished with 21 points and Raekwon Kelly added 14 for the Pirates! Hernandez was voted the Tournament M.V.P. and Stewart won the Chanpionship M.V.P.! Thorpe, Yearwood and Pinder were voted to the all tournament team! 

                  PLAYAZ 16U- 70            NEW HEIGHTS – 68

          In an exciting contest Rashard Figures scored 22 points, Marques Townes added 12 and Corey Brown scored 14 including sending the game to overtime with two free throws as The Playaz 15u held on to a 70-68 win over New Heights! Devin West scored 21 points and knocked down big shots including a”triple”that put New Heights ahead 64-62 with 7 seconds left! That’s when Brown was fouled with 2 on the clock from behind the arc! He preceded to hit 2 of 3 free throws to send it to overtime! Figures and Townes then made big plays late to help preserve the win! Alex Thomas and Jordan Forehand also played strong in the final! The Playaz 15u reached the finals by defeating Unique All Stars 71-39 in the semifinals as Figures scored 13, Townes 12 and Juwann Carter added 9! New Heights reached the chip by defeating a determined Playaz 14u team 50-43! Saints Hilliare led New Heights with 16 points, while wilson and Alex Wolf each scored 12 points! Nas Barrino scored 16 points and Isaiah Briscoe added 15! Figures was voted Tournament M.V.P. and Brown was voted the Championship M.V.P.! Townes, Hilliare and Wilson were named All Tournament Team! 

Queens, New York…….. The Playaz 19’s were game and competitive, but in the end loss to Real Scout in the I.S.8 semifinals 84-78 as D’Angelo Harrison and Jakarr Sampson, future St. Johns teammates led the way for the winners! Harrison (right)scored 24 points and grabbed 10 rebounds and made two crucial steals late in the contest and Sampson(bottom right) added 18 points and 8 boards to overcome the effort of Rutgers bound guard Myles Mack who finished with 25 points! P.J. Torres, who’s headed for Duquense added 12 points while point guard Tavon Sledge( Iowa State) chipped in with 10! Georgetown recruit Jabril Trawick scored 15 for the Playaz and Rider commit Chuck Oliver added 14 points! It was a high level contest with talent in abundance as Maurice Harkless( St. Johns) and Max Hooper( Harvard) suited up for Real Scout and Tyrone Johnson( Villanova) and Vaughn Gray( George Mason) suited up for the Playaz! The Playaz cut the lead to two 80-78 behind the defensive effort of North Carolina recruit Desmond Hubert and the offense of Mack and Trawick! But, Harrison made a key defensive play near the end of the game and that proved to be the difference! 

                                                      OLIVER COMMITS TO RIDER!

        Scotch Plains senior shooting guard Charles Oliver, nicknamed” The Rifleman”(right) has decided to play college basketball for Rider University in the MAAC! Oliver developed a good relationship with the coaches and was happy to be close to home so his family could see him play as the school is located in Lawrenceville, New Jersey! Oliver had an outstanding senior season for Scotch Plains averaging 21.8 points a game and 5 rebounds! He hopes to continue to bring the school success as it finished 13-5 in the conference and 20-10 overall!

New York…… What makes IS8 games so good is the saying on the jersey which reads “Bring your game not your name”!The Playaz 19s had to bring their game in an exciting IS8 quarterfinal against the New York Panthers beating them 75-73! Rutgers recruit Myles Mack(right), who has become an IS8 legend again displayed the talent that has him as one of the top players in the New York/New Jersey area! The Panthers lead by 13 points 58-45 going into the 4th quarter before Mack and his IS8 teammates took over! Georgetown bound Jabril Trawick and Chuck Oliver helped Mack put together the deciding run! Trawick attacked the rim for buckets while Oliver(bottom right) hit two “triples” late to open up the lane for Mack and allow him to go to work! Oliver tied the game at 69, then Mack completed a three point play to give the Playaz their first lead since early in the 1st quarter 72-71! The Panthers, who had an awful lot of talent on the floor cut the lead to one 74-73 with 13 seconds left when Fordham bound Jeff Short who shot the lights out made two of three free throws after being fouled on a three point shot attempt, but Mack’s free throw finished off the scoring! Mack led the scoring with 26 points, while Trawick added 25! Oliver finished with 12 as the Playaz also got strong efforts from North Carolina bound Desmond Hubert, Rutgers football recruit Keith Lumpkin and point guard David Burgos! Short led the Panthers with 24 points, Amir Garrett added 10 points while Mike Taylor added 9! The Playaz will meet Real Scouts in a semifinal as they destroyed Nia Prep 74-48! St.Johns recruit Jekorr Sampson led Real Scouts with 18 points while Terry Brutus added 15! Iowa State bound Tavon Sledge chipped in 12 points for Scout! Cincinnati recruit Shaquille Thomas led Nia with 16 points!