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Peach Jam Final Four

By: James Mulcahy

The final two mathcups were set for the Final Four of the 2008 Peach Jam and with the exception of the suprise California Supreme team there were plenty of familiar faces on the court this afternoon.

Game 1:

*Boo Williams vs. Houston Hoops

This game started off on a good note for Houston as Tomm Mason-Griffin andKeith 'Tiny" Gallon both seemed to be in a groove and doing what they've been doing all week which is take this team on their back and lead them victory.

For Boo Williams it was clear their game plan was to take advantage of their depth and size and go inside early. Kendall Marshall was doing an exceptional job of feeding his big man in spots where they could score and occasionaly looking for his shot but not often.

In the first half for Houston it was looking like it was going to be Tommy or Tiny or nothing at all. The supporting cast just wasn't there and you figured if someone didn't step up soon it was going to be a long game for Houston. With 3:00 minutes left in the first half Houston's head coach put both TMG and Tiny on the bench while being down 7 points and it looked like it could be danger time but with some missed opportunities by Boo and a few big buckets by some of the role players Houston only found themselves down 22-17 at the half.

The first half for Boo went smooth as Marshawn Powell did his job on the glass, keeping balls alive. Ricardo Ratliffe played active around the basket and with him and Powell controlling the paint it caused alot of problems for Houston Hoops. Kendall controlled the pace of the game but it was mainly his backup, 5'11 PG Jontel Evans, who attacked the glass constantly and either finished himself or set up his teammates. Evans also drew alot of fouls and got to the free-throw line quite a bit.

In the second half Houston finally got some help from 5'11 New Mexico commit, Jamal Fenton, and 6'7 PF Augustine Rubit. With Tiny disappearing in the 2nd half and not really making an impact the rest of the game it was Augustine who stepped up in his absence and hit the boards hard and took over the big man role. Rubit finished with 12pts, and 10rbs. TMG couldn't really get back into his groove in the 2nd half either as his shots just weren't falling like they were in previous games so thats when Fenton stepped up at the PG spot and finished with a solid game of 12pts, and 7rbs. The reversal of roles in this case was not a good thing for Houston as you would always want your stars being the ones to close out games but in this case if Fenton and Rubit hadn't stepped their game up this one could have been alot worse.

Boo's second half was even better than the 1st as Andre Dawkins and Tristan Spurlock got into the action and it just became too much for Houston. Andre seemed to put up most of his 10pts in the 2nd half and Spurlock scored the majority of his team high 16ts in the 2nd also. This one just came down to Boo Williams having too many weapons, plain and simple.

The Final score was Boo Williams 62 - Houston Hoops 51.

Boo Williams was led by Tristan Spurlock's 16pts, and 9rbs. Jontel Evans finished with 11 big points off the bench, Andre Dawkins finished with 10pts, including some big 3's down the stretch and Kendall Marshall had another point guard type game with 6pts, and 6ast, but also had 5 turnovers.

BesidesFenton and Rubit leading Houston Hoops, TMG had a good all around game of 9pts, 5rbs, and 4ast and Tiny Gallon chipped in 6pts, 5rbs, and 2blks.

Head Coaches in attendance: Travis Ford(who seems to be watching everyone this weekend).

Assistants in attendance: Rutgers, Clemson, and Baylor.

Side Note:Augustine Rubit gave us a list of schools that have offered scholarships and told us at this point his top 3 are St. John's, South Alabama, and Stephen F. Austin but also has offers from Bradley, Houston, TCU, and Syracuse.

Game 2:

*BABC vs. California Supreme

The suprise California team jumped out to an early lead in this one as it was 7-0 when BABC was forced to call a timeout. The Supreme team showed early they were going to play team ball (which got them this far) and BABC was going to have to use their main advantage which was talent and individual matchups.

For Supreme it was the duo of Gary Franklin and Justin Cobbs getting it done in the first half. Cobbs is more of a control the pace guard and picks his spots to do damage from and Franklin is alway going 100mph and coming at you hard and fast but both were effective in the 1st half as Supreme took a 41-34 lead into the half.

BABC fought their way back into this game after being down early but you could still tell they had not found their groove yet and if and when they did they should be able to move on to tonight's championship game.

The 2nd half started out with BABC finding that groove as Phil Pressey started to get his and had the crown on their feet with some of his spectacular moves and finishes. Then Gerald Coleman started to take over as no one on Supreme could stop the talented Wing from scoring in a variety of ways. Half-way through the second half BABC still found themselves down 54-51 but kept playing their game and it seemed as if Supreme started to panic there for a few minutes and that allowed Pressey and Coleman to take the game over. Add in a solid game from UConn commit Jamal Coombs and BABC had the fire power to hold on and put this one away late, 74-68.

This California Supreme team showed heart all week as they were short handed without 2010 standout Jeremy Tyler but still stuck together as a team and made a great showing by getting to the Final Four of one of the biggest tournaments of the summer. Just like in game one it came down to BABC just having too many weapons and too much talent.

Gerald Colemanwas the star in this one for BABC with 21pts, 4rbs, and 3ast. Jamal Coombs finished with 14pts, 5rbs, and 4ast. Phil Pressey put on another solid performance with 13pts, 6rbs, and 3ast but just like Kendall Marshall .who Pressey will go head-to-head with in tonights championship game, he had 5 turnovers also. 6'4 SF Daryl Cato-Bishop also stepped up and contributed 14pts, 7rbs, and 4ast in the win.

Gary Franklinled the way for Supreme with 18pts, and 3rbs. Franklin has a list that includes scholarship offers from Arizona, Utah, San Diego St., and Baylor with Arizona being he favorite.

Jamaal Franklinhad the most impact for Supreme in the 2nd half and was mainly responsible for keeping this game close,he finished with 18pts, and 11rbs. Jamaal gave us a list that includes scholarship offers from Oregon St., San Diego St., and UC-Riverside.

Justin Cobbswho had a big first half for Supreme but a quiet 2nd half ended with 12pts, 2rbs, and 4ast. Cobbs gave us a list of scholarship offers from Washington St., San Diego St., Colorado, and California.

Chris Cunninghamwho didn't get much playing time in this one for Supreme but has been a force all week gave us a list of California, San Deigo St., Vandy, UC-Riverside, and recent interest from Tennessee.

8:00 p.m. Championship Game:

Boo Williams vs. BABC

This article is associated with the following player(s):
Cato-Bishop, Daryl
Cobb, Justin
Coleman, Gerard
Coombs, Jamal
Cunningham, Chris
Dawkins, Andre
Evans, Jontel
Franklin, Gary
Franklin, Jamaal
Gallon, Keith
Marshall, Kendall
Mason-Griffin, Tommy
Powell, Marshawn
Pressey, Phillip
Spurlock, Tristan

POSTED: 7-15-2008

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