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Derrick Rose and Eric Gordon’s Mean Streets Express was the team that drew the biggest crowds all week.  Athletes First sports a pretty impressive roster themselves with top rising senior Blake Griffin and super-soph Xavier Gibson.

Athletes First didn’t look a bit intimidated in the first half, as they built a 10 point lead on solid play by both Griffin and Gibson. That’s when Eric Gordon took over for Mean Streets. He scored 19 points in the half and gave his team a comfortable 31-24 halftime lead.

Neither team could get their shots to fall in the second half, and that was enough to keep Athletes First from ever being a serious threat to win this game. In the end, Mean Streets was the team to advance to the semi-finals with a 51-45 victory.

Eric Gordon led the way for Mean Streets with 23 points. Derrick Rose finished with 12 points, four rebounds and four assists. Kyle Hardick was the top scorer and rebounder for Athletes First with 13 points and nine reounds. Blake Griffin scored 10 points and grabbed eight boards, while Xavier Henry finished with nine points.

The SYF Players are one of the top teams in the country this summer, with a roster that includes E’Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, Scott Martin and Cordell Passley. The Portland Legends have a team built around top 10 rising senior Kyle Singler.

We caught the tail end of this game, and although Portland kept it close, SYF came away with a convincing 70-66 victory. Greg Hill led the winners with 23 points. Scott Martin continued his outstanding summer play with a 16 point effort, and E’Twaun Moore managed to get 12 points, five rebounds and four assists before fouling out. Kyle Singler led Portland with 20 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.

This game was filled with interesting storylines. For starters, two of the nation’s top power forwards, Pat Patterson (BW) and Gary Johnson (HH), would square off down low. At point guard, Jai Lucas (HH) and Chris Wright (BW) would go head-to-head. These teams have a strong rivalry too. Each year they are two of the top NIKE sponsored summer teams. In April, at the Boo Williams Invitational, Boo Williams beat Houston Hoops in the championship game to keep the trophy at home.

It was obvious from the start that this was a game Houston Hoops would give their all to win. They took an early 8-2 lead, forcing Boo Williams to call a time out. Gary Johnson scored six of those points. When the players got back out on the floor, it was all Johnson and Houston Hoops. With just under five minutes to go in the half, he dunked on a 6-foot-8 player to give his team the 22-9 lead. After that, Boo Williams went on a small run, but it was Houston Hoops that took a 29-22 lead into the break.

Gary Johnson played well for Houston Hoops in the second half, but Pat Patterson decided if he  was having an off night on offense, he was going to change the game through his defense. He dominated the boards and was a shot-altering machine in the second half. With just under eight minutes to go, Boo Williams took the lead at 44-43. The teams traded leads until the last seconds of the game, but in the end, Boo Williams hit their clutch free throws, and came out with the 61-56 victory.

The point guard duel never really materialized, as both Jai Lucas (HH) and Chris Wright (BW) played solid, but not spectacular games. Lucas finished with 11 points, two assists and two steals. Chris Wright had 13 points and four assists. The power forward match-up was a different story. We expected Pat Patterson to score more points, and Gary Johnson to get the edge on the boards. It was the exact opposite. Patterson couldn’t find his offensive rhythm, scoring only seven points, but dominated the glass with 12 rebounds, and blocked an unbelievable eight shots. Johnson on the other hand was hard to stop today. He was finishing with authority, and true to his style, drew a lot of fouls. He finished with 24 points and five rebounds. We can’t say enough about all these players. They are classy athletes that compete hard every time they step on the court.

The Illinois Warriors went into the game as underdogs, but earned everyone‘s respect by the end. Point guard Jacob Pullen leads a deep cast of borderline high-major prospects for the Warriors. Team Final, on the other hand, is loaded with star talent including the top rising junior in the country, Tyreke Evans.

In the first half, Evans looked unstoppable as he hit shot after shot over the much smaller Pullen. Jeff Robinson (TF) was equally impressive as he dominated close to the basket and finished everything, including a series of “and one’s”. Even with Evans and Robinson playing at such a high level, Team Final was still down 37-44 at half. How were they still down? While only three Team Final Players (Evans 15 points, Robinson 16, and Alphonso Dawson 6) scored in the half, the Warriors used a balanced attack to control the game. Aaron Johnson (IW) led the way with nine points, Pullen added eight, Demond Watt added eight of his own, and Bill Cole scored seven. In total the Warriors had eight players that scored in the half.

The second half was much of the same, as Evans and Robinson tried to win the game by themselves. It looked to be working early on as Evans got his jumper going and Robinson had a monster dunk tip, but just as fast as Team Final got the momentum, it swung the other way, when Pullen made two outstanding plays. On the first play, he stole the ball from Evans and went coast-to-coast for the score, and on the second, he came down the court and hit a pull-up three while Evans was slow to get back on defense. The Warriors kept their momentum for the rest of the game and won 77-69.

Aaron Johnson and Jacob Pullen were awesome for the winners. Pullen had 13 points and Johnson had 14 points and nine assists. Other Warrior players with noteworthy performances were Brandon McGee, Howard Little, Justin Dehm, Demond Watt and Bill Cole. For Team Final, Tyreke Evans finished with 27 points, five rebounds and four assists. He sustained an injury to what appeared to be his ankle with just under two minutes left in the game and did not return. Jeff Robinson added 23 points and Alphonso Dawson finished with 10.

-HoopsReport.com NJM