Sharp Shooting Wisconsin Playground Warriors Win Peach Jam

The Wisconsin Playground Warriors came out hot and never cooled off, downing the Illinois Warriors 75-65 in the Peach Jam Championship game. Wisconsin finished the tournament a perfect 8-0. They defeated their opponents by an average of 19.7 points per game and were clearly the class of the tournament. Wisconsin got out to a quick 17-8 lead in the first 5 minutes taking control of the game. By half-time the lead had grown to 17, 42-25. After Wisconsin pushed the lead to 19, Illinois made a charge. Illinois showing the heart that all good teams do, proved they were not going to let the game get away. Qwinnell Brown and Roger Powell led the way scoring 15 points a piece. Todd Townsend was big underneath scoring 8 points and grabbing 7 boards as Illinois cut the lead all the way down to 5 at 59-54 with 4:30 left on the clock. Wisconsin answered quickly with a 7-0 run putting the game out of reach at 66-54. Travis Diener hit the bottom of the net with a big three, Greg Brown drove the lane hitting a short jumper, and Travis put the finishing touches on the run by stealing an errant inbounds pass and going the distance to lay it in. Illinois never seriously challenged after that and Wisconsin held on for the 75-65 win. Wisconsin's 3 point shooting was there strength all tournament long. In the title game they knocked down 8-15 from behind the arc. The Playground Warriors were led by Travis Diener's 23 points on 9-17 shooting. Greg Brown worked the lane for 17 points, and Drake Diener added 13 big points. Coach Rick Stimac said this about his championship team, "The kids deserve everything they've recieved." Obviously we'll hear more from this group of hard-working kids in the future.

Hot Shooting Wisconsin Playground Warriors gain final

The last semi-final of the Peach Jam was an astounding game that the thousands of fans in attendance will not soon forget. It matched the outside shooting prowess of Wisconsin against the inside muscle of Southern California. Wisconsin jumped out to an early first half lead behind solid shooting and an attitude that showed they weren't going to back down. Josh Childress (12 points) and Floyd North's (13 points) keyed a Southern California comeback that left them down by only 3, 38-35 at the break. With Wisconsin leading 44-39 early in the second half Southern Cal started to put it all together. Cedric Bozeman's penetration and mid range jumper were suddenly unstoppable. Steven Moore was knocking down his jumper and flying all over the court. And on defense Tyson Chandler was swatting everything in sight. Southern Cal went on a 10-0 run and lead 49-44 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Wisconsin narrowed the gap with consistent play out of Greg Brown (23 points) and Deonte Tatum (16 points). With 4 minutes left Wisconsin trailed 57-55 and hadn't been able to regain the lead yet. Until, Drake Diener barely touched nylon on the biggest shot of the night. The three pointer gave Wisconsin the lead for good at 58-57. Everytime Southern Cal fought back Diener hit a clutch jumper. Greg Brown drove the lane and got a shot thrown 5 rows deep by Chandler to give Southern California life. But on the ensueing inbound Brown decided to go right back at the big man, Brown's lay-up pushed the lead back to 4 and drained the life out of Southern California. Down the stretch Travis Diener (7 points, 8 rebounds) and his brother Drake were perfect from the line. Sealing the win and the fate of Southern California. Wisconsin will advance to face Illinois in the championship game on the strength of the 74-62 win.

Illinois Warriors hang tough and advance to final

The Illinois Warriors jumped out to a quick start and rolled into halftime with a 33-22 lead. Illinois maintained the lead through the great play of Matt McCollom (18 points) and Pierre Pierce (16 points). The lead was still 10 with 5 minutes reamining at 59-49 after a big three by Pierre Pierce. With 2:20 to play the score was 63-54 and hope seemed to be fading for Boo Williams tribe. J.J. Reddick (12 points) and Jason Clark (17 points, 7 boards) were both on the bench after fouling out and they needed points in a hurry. Within a minute the lead had been trimmed to three and Boo Williams had forced a turnover. With 1:41 left on the clock Ricky Shields dropped a bomb from the corner that sent the crowd into hysteria. Boo Williams team was tied for the first time since early in the first half. On the next trip down however the Illinois Warriors had an answer and his name was Matt McCollom. McCollom calmly drained a three from the left wing to take the air out of the comeback. The two teams traded stops until the thirty second mark when Illinois extended the lead to 5 with two McCollom free throws. Needing to strike quick Elton Brown forced up a three pointer that was partially blocked but fell into the waiting arms of Antonio Johnson. Johnson's putback cut the lead to three with 20 seconds left on the clock. Down three Boo Williams elected to foul and put Illinois on the line. Illinois missed the free throw and Boo Williams had a chance to tie. George Piggott's three ball bounded off the rim with 12 seconds left. Boo Williams team put Illinois on the line again hoping for another chance. Illinois missed the free throw AGAIN and Boo Williams team had a chance. The long rebound was run down by point guard Timmy Smith who rushed down court and attempted the game tying three. It was off line but bounced off the rim sharply causing it to fall out of bounds off of an Illinois player. With three seconds left Boo Williams team had yet ANOTHER chance to tie the game. This time Bryan Randall's inbounds pass was knocked away and the ball was recovered by Ricky Cornett. Cornett was fouled and went to the line trying to ice the game with just one second left. Finally, Illinois came up roses as Cornett knocked down both to seal the 71-66 win and a trip to the Peach Jam Championship game.

Other game highlights: Illinois Forward Todd Townsend for 3
Townsend with the monster dunk
McCollom with the behind the back dribble and lay in
Townsend goes baseline with a reverse lay-up

Peach Jam Semi-finals Set
Southern California All-Stars 5-1 vs. Wisconsin Playground 6-0
Boo Williams Summer League 4-2 vs. Illinois Warriors 6-0

The Tennesse Travelers proved that they weren't going to be intimidated by Southern California by jumping out to an 8 point lead in the first half. With the score 34-29 at halftime Southern Cal stepped up the intensity on defense and got a lift from Josh Childress, Jamal Sampson and Cedric Bozeman on offense who scored 16, 11, and 10 respectively. Southern Cal went on a 12-6 run leaving them with a 41-40 lead with just over 4 minutes remaining. Southern Cal extended the lead to 51-46 with just over a minute left. A couple of clutch shots by Tennesse tied the game at 51 with 15 seconds remaining. Southern Cal had the shot to win it but Tyson Chandler's shot rimmed out and bounced out of bounds with 3 ticks left. With the other three quarter-final games complete all the fans and coaches in attendance at Riverview we're about to witness something miraculous. The Tennesse inbounder hurled the ball high into the air, sending it over the rafters and down through another one into the unsuspecting arms of teammate David Harrison. Harrison (9 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks), perhaps startled that the ball made it to him, proceeded to miss two chances at Tennessee victory. With the crowd in shock and both teams worn down, the game was going to overtime with the score tied at 51. In overtime Southern California took over on the defensive end allowing Tennessee no points the whole session. All it took for Southern California was a Josh Childress lay up and two free throws by Floyd North to move on to the semi-finals of the Peach Jam Tournament with a 55-51 hard fought win.

The Bluegrass Classic Champion Wisconsin Playground Warriors dominated everybody in Pool B, but Riverside Church came out hot and left Wisconsin in an unfamiliar position, trailing. Down by 12 with just over 6 minutes left in the first half Wisconsin started to get their shooting touch back. Drake Diener (8 points) knocked down a jumper from the left wing to cut the lead to 6. Wisconsin got a stop on defense and point guard Travis Diener (4 assists) controlled the ball with the first half clock ticking down, Diener drove left and flicked a no look pass to John Chappell for the big dunk as the first half expired. The play gave Wisconsin the momentum going into the break down 4. Wisconsin picked up in the second half where they left off in the first shooting the lights out (68.7% in 2nd half) and playing solid defense (24 points given up on 34% shooting). Travis Diener was the star of the game going 9-17 from the floor, 8-10 from the line, and racking up 28 points. Joah Tucker chipped in 9 points for the Playground Warriors as Wisconsin improved to a perfect 6-0 with the 68-59 quarter-final victory over Riverside Church.

In a back and forth game between the Georgia Stars and Boo Williams Summer League team the game was all tied up with 5 minutes remaining. The Georgia Stars built a 6 point lead with 2 minutes remaining and Boo's team was backed against the wall. John Gilchrist (10 point) banked a runner in from the right side of the lane to cut the lead to 4. A steal and a lay in later the lead was cut to 2. With 1:24 left BWSL had the ball back with a chance for the tie. The big man Elton Brown (12 points, 14 rebounds) refused to let his team go without a fight. Brown battled underneath to keep the ball alive until he finally found the glass on a put back to tie it up. Larry Turner was the recipient of a pass underneath and layed it in with 40 seconds to go giving Georgia the lead 57-55. J.J. Reddick rifled a great pass underneath to Jason Clark who converted a three point play giving BWSL the lead 58-57 with 15 ticks left. A couple last ditch efforts by Georgia fell for not as Boo Williams team held on for the big win.

The Illinois Warriors continued their dominant run through the Peach Jam as they improved to 6-0 with a 87-64 win over the Houston Hoops. Balanced scoring was the key for Illinois as they placed 5 guys in double figures. Matt McCollom ran the point and scored 17, Pierre Pierce had 17 of his own, Roger Powell worked inside and out for 17 points and 11 boards, Kevin Menard had 14, and Todd Townsend added 10 points for the Illinois cause. The Illinois Warriors might be the team people didn't expect to be in the semi-finals but if people don't start taking notice they'll do what they did to their last 6 opponents...beat them.

Southern Cal comes out with attitude

After losing their first game of the tournament at 11:30 the Southern California All-Stars had some time to think about their next opponent, the athletically gifted Team Florida, and what another loss might mean to their chances in Pool A. With the pressure on the tournament favorites Southern Cal showed they might just have what it takes to be champs. Star big man Tyson Chandler (pictured) scored 7 points and snatched 10 boards in limited action due to an ankle injury. But Chandler had a lot to cheer about as his teammates shot lights out in the second half (64.2%) and pulled away from Team Florida. At the head of the charge were swingman Josh Childress and point guard Cedric Bozeman. Childress pumped in 21 points using quickness, great shooting, and great athleticism. Bozeman scored 17 points and dished out 4 assists using a little bit different method. Bozeman knocked down the jumper when the defense stepped back, took it to the hoop when he felt the time was right, and got in the passing lanes for 4 steals converting them into points like this dunk after a swipe. With the 76-63 win over Team Florida, Southern California upped their record to 3-1 in Pool A and will still definitley be a factor in the Peach Jam Tournament.

Houston Hoops up to their old tricks

Those Houston Hoops just refuse to lose. This time they were facing the 2-1 Portland Elite Legends. Houston fell behind 22 in the first half and looked on their way to being blown out... but, Carlos Hurt and the rest of the Hoops had other plans. With ten minutes remaining the deficit was still 18 and their backs were against the wall. Coach Josh Pastner got the troops together and tried to rally them one last time. With inspired defense and great shooting the Hoops came all the way back to edge the Legends by two and take control of Pool D in Peach Jam Pool Play. The Hoops look to be the team of destiny in this year's tournament.

Bloomington Red wakes up and takes care of business

In the 9:00 a.m. game in Pool A it was Bloomington Red pitted against All-Ohio. Bloomington was coming off a hard fought game against Team Florida that ended around 10:00 last night. The lack of sleep didn't bother them as they jumped out early and never looked back. Paced by the big man Sean May's 18 points and 9 boards. Chris Thomas and Kyle Hankins also had 18 a piece for Bloomington. Sean Kline had a solid game as well adding 14 points and 9 boards. The 77-66 win over All-Ohio gives Bloomington a 2-1 record three games into Peach Jam Pool Play.

Team Florida bounces back big

After a disappointing loss this morning to the Illinois Warriors, Team Florida bounced back in their night game with a big win over a good Bloomington Red team by the score of 80-67. Florida came out loose and played athletically the whole game, throwing down monster dunk after monster dunk. Rory Green got a steal and threw this rim rocker down with about 5 minutes to play. Yusef Baker had a huge game with great inside play like this. Amare Stoudemire and Marlyn Bryant were also big for Team Florida scoring 25 and 15 pts. respectively as they advance to 1-1 in Peach Jam Pool Play.

Riverside Church and BABC prevail at buzzer

The defending champion Riverside Church club was up two with 20 seconds left against Team Texas setting the stage for a great ending. Team Texas rushed the ball down the court, got and made the shot they wanted from the right wing with about 10 seconds left. With the score now tied at 60 Riverside Church wasted no time pushing the ball to the other end and getting it in the hands of their big man Mike Clark. Clark layed it in off the back board with five seconds left to seal the win for the defending champs.

The Boston Amateur Basketball Club and Alabama Lasers played a great game in both teams Peach Jam opener. With 20 seconds left the score was Alabama 71 BABC 69. BABC guard Jermaine Watson swooped down the lane and layed in a beautiful double pump layup with just over 10 seconds remaing. Alabama rushed down court but couldn't get the game winner to fall and the game was forced to overtime. Watson riding the adrenaline of his game tying shot, took over in overtime scoring all 9 BABC points including the game winner with 7 seconds left, as BABC edged Alabama 80-79 in Peach Jam Pool Play.

Houston Hoops make an unbelievable comeback

With 5 minutes left on the clock a few people started to leave the gym. The specatators were in search of a competitive game. Georgia Elite was in control of the favored Houston Hoops by the score of 60-41. 19 points with 5 minutes left. Game over, right? Not in the Houston Hoops mind, as Georgia decided to slow it down and take some time off the clock Houston knew they needed turnovers. With suffocating defense the Hoops forced 20 Georgia turnovers. Carlos Hurt hit a couple huge three's (one from about 35 feet) and all of a sudden there was a great basketball game going on. With 30 seconds left down two Houston got a steal and Hurt passed it up to Dante Stiggers who banked it in to tie the game at 66 with 20 seconds to go. Before the final whistle Hurt would get another steal and a shot at a runner from 15 feet for the game but it was not in the cards as this great contest would need overtime to decide it. In OT it was all Houston as they got out to a quick lead and never looking back defeating Georgia Elite 81-72. This was the first game for both teams in Pool D of the Peach Jam Tourament. Hurt and the Hoops look to have the momentum needed now to make a big run in the Peach Jam.