OnPoint Hoops defeats Kansas Elite to advance to the championship
Big performances from Adokiye Iyaye, Blake Owens, and others led to OnPoint Hoops defeating Kansas Select 70-57.
This was a matchup that was circled once it was clear that both teams would advance to the semi-finals. There was a ton of college prospects who were excited to show off their talents against top competition.
Early on in the game it was apparent that the matchup of Blake Owens of OnPoint and Ben Pyle of Kansas was the dual which would determine the outcome of the game.
Ben Pyle of Kansas Select is one of the most talented players at the event. He is a 6’7 wing who can shoot the ball at an elite level. Pyle can also put the ball on the floor and score at the rim. With several D1 offers, you can see why Pyle is so talked about.
Early on Owens showed off his ability to move his feet and basically guard a perimeter player. Pyle didn’t let Owens off easy. He was consistently in attack mode but Owens was always there to contest.
The game was back and forth for most of the first half but Adokiye Iyaye began to take over for OnPoint. He hit a few spot up jumpers and he also used ball screens to get in the lane and convert crafty layups. Being the two-way stud that Iyaye is, he also brought it defensively as he got in the passing lanes and created turnovers.
Kansas Select had a solid response to finish the first half as Dylan Vincent began to get to the rim with crafty moves on the perimeter to get loose in the paint. For the most part Brock Schreiner did a good job on Vincent on defense.
Kansas Select kept it close with OnPoint but in the second Kalen Wade and Chris Braggs were too much to contain. Select began to run a full court 1-3-1 but the problem with that is that Braggs versatility has made him a perfect fit as the player who you want at the middle of the zone because his ability to score or play make.
With Owens playing great defense of Pyle others needed to step up for OnPoint offensively. That is exactly what Dalton Vinson and Kalen Wade did. Vinson is a tough cover for any one in the post due to his physicality and skill. He did a great job of sealing and put himself in position to score.
One of the biggest factor’s in a OnPoint’s win is Wade’s speed which caused chaos for Kansas Select defense. Wade is a lefty but on numerous occasions Wade finished with his right hand including a beautiful floater while driving down the lane.
The Kansas Select press was no match for that type of speed which led to numerous layups.
Late in the second half Vincent began scoring more due to no one else getting consistent baskets for the Kansas Select.
Kansas Select tried to make a run down the stretch but OnPoint had all the tools of a championship level team to withstand.
All in all, OnPoint was just a bad matchup for Kansas Select because of similar size, defensive versatility, and speed in the open court.
OnPoint Hoops advances to play Oklahoma Power Elite 17U which should be a great championship game.