ITEM PHOTO BY OWEN O’ROURKE
Edward Fernandez of Ingalls, and Andrew Korona of Sisson, struggle for control of the ball in the last game of the day Saturday in the Elementary School Basketball Tournament.
LYNN — Four teams from different elementary schools took home championship trophies Saturday in the divisional finals of the Lynn Elementary School Basketball Tournament.
This year, for the first time, the winning teams will be invited to play in an exhibition game for the city championship. These games will take place at Pickering Middle School Friday, starting with Lynn Woods girls vs. Hood at 5 p.m., followed by the Ingalls/Lincoln-Thomson boys game at 6:30.
The winning school will receive a championship cup, with the name of their school engraved on it. The cup will travel each year to the winner of the City Championship’s school and a new name will be added.
First up Saturday, in Division 2 girls action, defending champ Lynn Woods looked to complete its undefeated season against a talented Drewicz team that it defeated by a point during the regular season. Lynn Woods, leading by one at the half, faltered defensively in the second half and Drewicz scored consecutive baskets by Keisha Perez (6), Mia Nolan and Lindsy Perez.
But the Lady Wolves of Lynn Woods were able to clamp down and went on a 7-0 run to end the game and come away with the 14-10 victory. Kaleigh Bullock led Lynn Woods in scoring for the third straight game with seven. Callie Hogan and Isabella Codair also scored for Lynn Woods.
Both teams are sending three players each to next week’s all-star game. Bullock, Hogan and Arelys Ruiz will represent East Lynn. Keisha and Lindsy Perez will be joined by defensive specialist Flory Mendez for West Lynn.
In Division 2 boys play, Lincoln-Thomson took on Sewell-Anderson in a battle of West Lynn squads. Sewell, making its fourth straight trip to the final, was looking to return to championship form after losing a close game last year. The two high powered offenses went back-and-forth for most of the game with Sewell holding a 5-point lead at the break. As it has all tournament, Lincoln-Thomson came out gunning in the second half and was able to secure the 33-32 win.
Dakari Eam had a team high 12 for Lincoln-Thomson. Andy Ly and Stephen Pedro were also among the scorers for Lincoln. Brayden Lunden left it all out on the floor again, scoring 21 in loss. Zuhair Khan had four for Sewell. The Lincoln-Thomson all star representatives will be Eam, Miguel Soto and Almani Medina. Sewell-Anderson will send Lunden, sharp shooter Calvin Reynolds and guard Brenden O’Regan to the all-star game.
The third final of the day was a contest between the girls of Sisson, who got hot at the right time to reach the final, and their East Lynn counterpart, Hood. The Hawks took a slim lead into the half but were able to pull away and win 17-8. Lesnee Izaquirre and Zarriah Chalmus had six points apiece for Hood. Trinity Smith also had three in the win. Sisson’s high scorers were Lorynes Suriel and Skylar Sims. Suriel and Brooke Moloney were awarded all-star slots for their efforts. Hood’s all stars are Izaquirre, Trinity Smith and Eliza Yanes Ruiz.
The day’s last game was called by many the greatest game ever played in the Pickering gym. The Division 1 boys final between the Sisson Eagles and Ingalls Rockets was one for the ages. Sisson was able to hold Ingalls to just 10 points in the first half, due mostly to the fact that Ingalls phenom, Mitch Purter was sidelined with early foul trouble. With Purter inserted back into the game in the second half, Ingalls was able to mount a comeback that saw several lead changes in the final minutes. Sisson’s Jason Wheeler sunk one out of two of his free throws with under five seconds to play to send the game into overtime. Purter proved to be too much in OT, scoring four of his tournament high 26 to lead Ingalls to the 38-35 victory. Mack Peters and Joshua Martinez also scored for Ingalls. Joel Maggs was sensational again for Sisson pouring in 23 of his own. Sisson’s Tyler Guy had eight. Maggs and Guy will represent East Lynn in the all star game next Saturday. Purter and Canei McLeod will join them on the East Lynn squad.
The fourth annual all-star game will be played Saturday with the girls game kicking off at 11 a.m. and the boys to follow at 1:30.
