Prep Hoops Grit Region Finals - Ramsey's Saturday Notebook

<p>As July Saturday's in the gym go, this was a short one. Due to the tournament component to the Prep Hoops Grit Region Finals you obviously have to keep winning in order to keep playing. The converse of that is by Saturday afternoon if you lose you are done. We've already gotten down to the Final Four in the 15u, 16u, and 17u brackets and are done until tipping things back off on Championship Sunday. Let's dive on into the notebook and take a look at what we saw at the Pacers Athletic Center on Saturday.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Sweet 16</h2>   <p>To begin the afternoon at the Pacers Athletic Center we whittled the 17u field down from 16 to eight remaining teams. Kentucky Future Elite was one of the teams advancing with 65-55 victory over Distinxion Black. In typical fashion, it was a balanced effort for Kentucky Future Elite. Brayden Mirus (Lexington Christian Academy 2024) scored 15 points while Rowen Williams (Lexington Catholic 2024) also finished with 15 points to go with 11 rebounds. Ian Reesor (Sayre H.S. 2024) and Ben Godby (Somerset H.S. 2024) rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points a piece.</p>   <p>Pocket City used a lethal combination of outside shooting and dominance in the paint to roll past [program_tooltip program_id='2078376' first='Illinois' last='Attack']-3 79-48 to reach the Elite Eight. 6'6" forward/center [player_tooltip player_id='1761697' first='Malachi' last='McNair'] (Evansville Harrison H.S. 2024) scored a team-leading 19 points as the primary interior threat. He showcased a soft touch inside finishing with both hands consistently. Meanwhile, 6'2" shooting guard Eli Speer (Evansville Harrison H.S. 2024) got hot from three-point range connecting on five triples on his way to scoring 18 points. 5'10" point guard Dylan Kendrick (Evansville Memorial H.S. 2026) more than held his own while playing up two age divisions scoring all 10 of his points in the second half.</p>   <p>In an all-Illinois matchup, [program_tooltip program_id='2075532' first='Illinois' last='Bears'] Parr squeaked past [program_tooltip program_id='2075386' first='Chicago' last='Lockdown'] 53-47. 6'0" guard [player_tooltip player_id='1970913' first='Isaac' last='Billington'] (Benton H.S 2024) led the balanced, low-scoring affair with 18 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1598677' first='Connor' last='Williams'] (Amos Alonzo Stagg H.S. 2024) had 12 points in the loss for [program_tooltip program_id='2075386' first='Chicago' last='Lockdown'].</p>   <p>The fourth and final of the eight Sweet 16 matchups that I was able to catch some of was the contest between Kyle Guy Elite Black and [program_tooltip program_id='2075524' first='IBA' last='Illinois Stars'] Johnson. Once again, it was sharpshooter [player_tooltip player_id='1384422' first='Eli' last='Ellis'] (Plainfield H.S. 2024) leading the way for Kyle Guy Elite Black. The 5'10" guard poured in five three-pointers on his way to a game-high 24 points. He continues to prove himself as one of the best pure shooters in the state of Indiana. 6'5" forward [player_tooltip player_id='2079504' first='Deon' last='[program_tooltip program_id='2078452' first='[program_tooltip program_id='2076932' first='Richmond' last='']' last='']'] (Tindley H.S. 2024) was very productive in this one as well finishing with 15 points.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Elite Eight</h2>   <p>Kentucky Future Elite did what they do best to punch their ticket to the Prep Hoops Circuit Grit Region Final Four. They placed five scorers in double-figures and took down Pocket City 81-69. This time around it was Indred Whitaker (Somerset H.S. 2024) who led the way with 20 points while also dishing out 6 assists. Brayden Mirus (Lexington Christian Academy 2024) was excellent once against finishing with a well-rounded game of 17 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists. Rounding out the double-figure scorers, Ben Godby (Somerset H.S. 2024) had 16 points while Rowen Williams (Lexington Catholic 2024) and Ian Reesor (Sayre H.S. 2024) had 12 and 11 points respectively.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1295644' first='Treshawn' last='Blissett'] (Waubonsie Valley H.S. 2024) was the catalyst leading the way for [program_tooltip program_id='2075622' first='M14' last='Hoops'] Adidas Gold to reach the Final Four. The 6'5" athletic guard finished with 18 points including a couple of big three-point shots as they rolled to a 73-53 win over All Indy Platinum Elite. [player_tooltip player_id='1295542' first='Bryce' last='Welch'] (Naperville North H.S. 2024) added 16 points while [player_tooltip player_id='1978583' first='Will' last='Ashford'] (Metea Valley H.S. 2024) chipped in 11 points for M14.</p>   <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1384422' first='Eli' last='Ellis'] (Plainfield H.S. 2024) continued his massive weekend, and summer as a whole, with 26 points as Kyle Guy Elite Black advanced to the Final Four with a 57-50 win over [program_tooltip program_id='2075532' first='Illinois' last='Bears'] Parr.</p>   <p>MAC Boys Basketball advanced with an 83-63 win over Detroit Bulldogs.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Macomb County Cougars Take Down KY Hoops</h2>   <p>This wasn't a championship bracket game, but it still featured plenty of talent on Saturday morning. We've followed this KY Hoops squad, which is essentially the Clay County High School team, all the way back to the Grit Region Kick-Off event in Louisville at the beginning of April. However, they ran into a tough opponent in this one as the Macomb County Cougars would come away victorious by a score of 70-56.</p>   <p>6'3" guard Ali Hassan (Utica H.S. 2024) was the leader scoring wise for Macomb County going for 20 points including a flurry of three three-pointers that he connected on in the first half. Athletic 6'3" wing Donald Wilburn (Cousino H.S. 2024) added 16 points as he consistently got to the basket off of the dribble and elevated to finish around the rim. 6'2" point guard Colbin Monroe (Lamphere H.S. 2024) was a key piece to the Cougars success as well chipping 11 points while acting as one of the primary playmakers off of the bounce as well.</p>   <p>In the loss for KY Hoops, Jerrod Roark (Clay County H.S. 2025) scored 19 points while playing up a year. He is a very talented scoring guard with impressive athleticism and the strength to play through contact off of the dribble. Landon Dezarn (Clay County H.S. 2025) played well also contributing 13 points.</p>

As July Saturday's in the gym go, this was a short one. Due to the tournament component to the Prep Hoops Grit Region Finals you obviously have to keep winning in order to keep playing. The converse of that is by Saturday afternoon if you lose you are done. We've already gotten down to the Final Four in the 15u, 16u, and 17u brackets and are done until tipping things back off on Championship Sunday. Let's dive on into the notebook and take a look at what we saw at the Pacers Athletic Center on Saturday.