KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. — Trailing East Coast Fusion-Lemcke (Va.) by as many as nine points in the second half, the New Rens-Memminger nearly staged a comeback behind the play of Christ the King rising senior Jordan Fuchs.
Twice, the Rens got within a point, but could never get over the hump in a hard-fought 56-53 loss to East Coast Fusion in the second round of Summer Classic East. Fuchs led the Rens with 19 points, former South Shore standout Wayne Martin had 11 and Long Island Lutheran’s Anthony Pate had nine.
They will meet the NYC Jayhawks in the loser’s bracket Thursday at noon in The Hoop Group-run showcase.
In its opener, the Rens manhandled the N.J. Shoreshots, 54-26. Holy Cross’ Marquise Moore scored 17 points, Pate had eight and South Shore point guard Terrence Samuel added six. The other New Rens 17U team, coached by Tony Hargraves, was upended by Mid Atlantic Select (Md.), 68-64, in the opening round despite 15 points from Trinity Catholic’s Jason Boswell and 12 from Jefferson’s Ed Ogundeko.
Jayhawks, Panthers slip up: The NYC Jayhawks and New York Panthers seemed headed for the quarterfinals late in their respective contests Thursday night; instead, the two will play early Thursday hoping to stay alive in the loser’s bracket.
The Jayhawks coughed up an eight-point lead and fell, 55-53, to the B.C. Eagles from upstate New York when Half Hollows Hills West wing (L.I.) Emile Blackman was called for a questionable foul with 0.8 seconds left on what appeared to be a clean rejection. Jessie Longmeyer sank both free throws to cap the Jayhawks’ disappointing setback. Blackman had 20 points in the loss and former Boys & Girls’ guard Bryce Jones added 10.
The Panthers, likewise, held a sizeable advantage after halftime, but couldn’t build onto their lead enough and were nipped by ECE Mass, 59-56. Mount Vernon’s Josh Doughty led the Panthers with 15 points, former Lincoln forward Travis Charles had 13 and Boys & Girls’ Wesley Myers 10. Christ the King guard Isaiah Lewis tallied 10 points for ECE Mass. The Panthers, who got by the N.J. Cyclones 55-50 in their opener, will play a loser’s bracket game Thursday at noon.
The Westchester Hawks, meanwhile, cruised to a pair of easy wins, 64-27 over Sam Rines Summer Elite (Pa.), and 51-31 over Mid Atlantic Select (Md.). It will face the Arkansas Hawks in the quarterfinals Thursday at 1:15 p.m.
City squads struggle in 16’s: New Rens-Mark split its two games, topping the N.J. Pirates, 59-39, in the opener and falling to Team Phoenix (N.C.), 56-52, in the nightcap. It will face Team Underrated, a 71-44 loser to the RI Hawks-Black in the second round after receiving a bye, at 9:40 a.m. in the loser’s bracket on Thursday. The New York Gauchos, New York Panthers and New Rens-Hargraves all dropped their openers as well and will play loser’s bracket contests on Thursday. The Panthers will face Delaware Elite while the Gauchos meet East Coast Fusion-Shields (Va.), both at 8:30 a.m. New Rens-Hargraves takes on Mid Atlantic Select at 9:40 a.m.