252 Summer Finale: 16U Recap/Champions

<!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">The 252 Summer Finale hosted by 252Mixtapes and Hoopfarm Mixtapes took place for the third year this past weekend at Rocky Mount Event Center. Take a look at the recap from the 16U division as the grassroots season wraps up.</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>There's no better time to sign up for PrepHoopsNC! Get 30% OFF payment on your first billing cycle with offer code: JAYANDERSON30, sign up&nbsp;<a href="https://prephoops.com/subscribe">TODAY</a>!</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 16U division was full of some talented and highly-ranked prospects at the 252 Summer Finale at Rocky Mount Event Center this past weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">16U Gold Champions: Team ZeroExcuses</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a team-up to behold for Team ZeroExcuses led by Rod Edwards as [player_tooltip player_id='1280933' first='Kobe' last='Edwards'], [player_tooltip player_id='1948021' first='CJ' last='Rosser'] (2027), [player_tooltip player_id='1411219' first='Shimere' last='Garris'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1281016' first='Kingston' last='Beale'] headlined for their squad en route to the 16U Gold Championship at this year's 252 Summer Finale. They took home the title with a 71-61 victory over CP3 East as Rosser took home MVP honors with 17 points while Edwards, Garris and Beale all finished with 10 points apiece. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Their squad showed no signs of struggle as evidenced by the balanced scoring attack and 10-point deficit, but CP3 East put a good fight given they were all playing up an age division to close out the grassroots season. 2027 sharpshooter Will Braun-Duin out of Virginia even put on a show in their semifinal victory as he showed off his ability to get hot in a hurry with 20 points in their 78-58 victory in the semifinal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">16U Silver Champions: TSG Hoops</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>TSG Hoops took home the 16U Silver Championship with an 82-77 victory over Showtime Elite as their 6-man squad showed they could hold their own against a tough opponent. [player_tooltip player_id='1411217' first='Grady' last='Price'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1411209' first='Jordan' last='Hawkins'] were on their A-game all-weekend long to lead the scoring attack as Price led with 23 points and Hawkins was right behind him with 21 points in their title game. Hawkins took home MVP honors in the end following his performance in the backcourt. He showed he could hold his own on the both ends of the floor and made some tough shots when needed to get them the tile in the Silver Bracket. He's a young name to keep an eye on in North Carolina's 2026 class at New Bern High.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was an action-packed event this past weekend at the Rocky Mount Event Center! Stay tuned for the standouts from the 16U division in the coming days.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->