1st State Sports Summer League: Week 2 Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Over at Salesianum, 1st State Sports hosted another round of high level games for teams to prepare for the June Live Period. This time there were eight boys teams in action and none of the matchups disappointed. Here are a few prospects who made some noise:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2364682' first='Kiyen' last='Alexander'] | 5'8 G 2027 St. Elizabeth</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It didn't take long for the electric point guard to get hot versus Howard. And he got himself going by turning defense to offense with the turnovers he forced at the point-of-attack. His play in the second half was even better than the first. He hit his second three and scored a tough lay off the glass. Finally, down with under a minute left, Alexander drilled a pull-up trey and made two free throws on the following possession to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. He led the Vikings with 17 points and 2 steals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2364703' first='A'zir' last='Ellegood'] | 5'10 G 2027 Sanford</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A rising sophomore who played sparingly as a freshman, Ellegood led the Warriors on both ends of the floor versus Salesianum. As the tip of the spear, defensively, he made the Sallies guards cough the ball up three times in the first half. Ellegood spent the rest of the game facilitating and hitting shots from deep. The highlight of the night was when he pushed the ball down the court on a fastbreak, then threw it off the backboard to [player_tooltip player_id='2352336' first='Jayden' last='Taylor'] for the jam. The promising young guard put up 16 points, 5 assists, 3 steals, and a block.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2461953' first='Elijah' last='Farrington'] | 6'6 F 2026 Milford</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Without any flashy moves, the skilled forward went straight to work inside the arc against William Penn. Farrington spaced the floor some with two turn-and-face jumpers from the elbow, then another from three. It didn't matter what side of the basket he was on either. Farrington set up on the low block and in the mid-post, then created angles to finish using his footwork. He paced the Bucs with 17 points and a handful of boards.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2352339' first='RJ' last='Johnson'] | 6'5 F 2025 Salesianum</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Sallies win over Sanford was an all-around team victory. And even though Johnson didn't have eye-catching numbers, his performance was invaluable. First, he set the tone on defense, using his activity and strength to deny the Warriors easy looks from the paint. The Rutgers football commit got under people's skin as well, keeping his cool while throwing opposing players off their games. Finally, late in the game, Johnson came up big for his team on back-to-back defensive possessions. He tipped the ball away from a Sanford guard and went all the way for a lay-up. Then, he ripped the ball away from another player and got his team out on the break as they went on to beat their rivals.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2352458' first='Bryson' last='Lane'] | 6'1 G 2026 Howard</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was “hand down, man down” for Lane in the St. E's game. He punished defenders for helping off of him with four triples off-the-catch. And when he wasn't shooting, Lane was making sure the ball found cutters and other shooters on the perimeter. The Wildcats couldn't pull out the win but Lane gave them a shot with his 19 points.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2352348' first='Kaleb' last='Ra'ifa'] | 5'11 G 2025 Appoquinimink</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not just a scorer, Ra'ifa stood out with his performance on both ends against Conrad. After dishing the ball to his backcourt mate Harvey for three, he jumped into the scoring column by going coast-to-coast on a steal for a lay-up. From there, the 5'11 combo guard got comfortable in the mid-range, creating space for pull-up twos and putting pressure on the rim. Ra'ifa sprinkled in a couple catch-and-shoot threes for a game-high 19 points and 3 steals.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2449208' first='Andy' last='Webb'] | 6'4 F 2025 William Penn</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Webb brought the hustle and toughness to his young Colonials squad in their matchup with Milford. He crashed the boards for putbacks, altered shots in the paint, and simply played hard. That rubbed off on his teammates as they won 50/50 balls. The energy big was also a one-man wrecking crew in transition, throwing down the hammer on two dunks. Webb led both teams with 22 points, 11 rebounds, 2 steals, and 2 blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->