The Philly Heat 16-Under defeated Dunbar 52-41 to win the Columbus Day Challenge at the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield Mass. D/J. Newbill led the way with 20 points. Marque' Griffin, Makief Williams and Tyree Smith added nine points apiece Cedrick Powell nailed a three pointer and Rahquil Norton hit 3 free throws during the Heat's decisive 15-3 second half run.. Cardell Hellems and Newbill each grabbed 10 rebounds.

The highlight of the weekend occured in the first game, where a loss would eliminate the Heat from title hopes. With the playoff birth at stake, Newbill canned a three point shot at the buzzer, to gice Philly a 53-51 win over stunned Connecticut Kings Newbill took a length of the court pass from Williams with three seconds remaining. He had time to square up and nail the shot as a King defender did his best ti defend. The game winner dropped perfectly through the net as the buzzer sounded. Only moments before, the Heat were stunned as a Kings sharpshooter hit a three pointer, to take away a two point lead that they had earned, after coming from 15 points behind. Key players in the comeback were Williams, Griffin, Smith, Hellems and Norton. 

Click the HEADLINE ABOVE, to view the game winning shot 

         Cedrick Powell became the 21st player in team history to reach the One K point plateau.  C.P. 3 a Strawberry Mansion Junior, scored his big pointrs when his team beeded them most as he hit a three point shot to tie last night's game in the Belfield League with under a minute left. The Heat (5-2) won at the buzzer. Ced has 1031 points in his Heat career. Next player to 1000; Rahquil Norton (803 points)

        Harold Hicks continued to build his career totals, becoming the second Heat player to score 3000 points. He 3000 points in the his team's hard fought MYBL play-off win, 60-59 versus  Next Level. He was selected a 2008 M.Y.B.L. All star, as his team fell to the Fire in the finals 86-82.  In the game Hicks topped 2000 points, he was outstanding, scoring 32 points on 14-16 shooting from the field and making six assists in a 92-73 win at Norristown. He scored 88 points and dealt 28 assists in seven games, helping the Heat 16-Under win the Silver Division of the Wildcat National.  in Rockford Ill. His career total is 3144 points in 258 games. He is the second highest scorer in Heat history and tops among active players. Hicks averages almost six assists per-game. When Philly won the M.Y.B.L. 14 Under title, Hicks was the M.V.P. In four tough play-off games, he averaged 15 points and five assists.    

        Marque' Griffin becamre the 7th player to surpass 2000 Career Points. After "G-Force" latest title (#16) at the Basketball Hall of Fame, he has a career total of 2031 points. His historic points came in the finsal minute of another Heat buzzer beating win at Belfield. He led his 15 and Under team to two titles (Happy Hollow and Northlight CC) and two runner-up (Keystone Blazer Classic and Hoop Magic Va.). He was outstanding in the "Best of Philly" Classic, with 54 points and lock down defense. He also was strong at the Panther Classic in Canada, scoring 91 points in five games to help the 14-Under to the Consolation Championship against High School Varsity teams. Griffin also was a leader in assists, steals and rebounds across the border. He was the MVP of the New Sigma League, where his team was undefeated champs. Griffin's 14 and Under team had a 72-15 record, with five titles.   

       Brandon Wesley finished his career as the 8th highest scorer in team history with 1628 points. In one his of seven team titles (Happy Hollow League), Brandon scored 10 key points on strong moves (one for a thee point play) in crunch time of the Happy Hollow championship game. Wesley was relentless on the boards and could score from just about anywhere on the floor.

        Shooting guard Javez Reynolds also helped the 14 and Under team win the title in the "Best of Philly" Classic. "Vez", who is competing in his fourth Heat season, tallied 49 points, often on important possessions, in the Point Breeze League to climb  1482 career points.  

         Nakief Williams became the newest member of the Philly Heat 1000 point club, as he helped the 15 and Under Squad win the chip at North Light C. C. "Keif" scored his milestone poins on a three point shot, as his team wqas pulling ahed in the first half. He's not only a scorer, as he rebounds well and has good court vision. Williams career total stands a 1207 points.       

      Khalief Trawick ended a very successful career, as he left the Heat, to begin college at Arcadia University. He became the 11th Philly Heat player to score 1600 points, when he hit the game winning shot as the Heat topped the Stars 66-65 in over-time in the New Sigma League. at Ben Franklin High.  He fired for a career high 40 against the D.C. Assault at the Capitol Events National Invitational Semi-Final (An 81-75 win) in Washington D.C. when he went over the 1000 point mark. Trawick reached the milestone in 56 games (18+ PPG). Only Dionte Christmas (42 Games, 24+ PPG) got there faster.  Khaloef now has 1601 career points.            

        Wing Forward D. J. Newbill topped 1700 points in style, as he was MVP  of his latest title (#16) at the Basketball Hall of Fame, he has a career total of 1714 points. He was also MVP on his undefeated team won the Metro Baltimore Basketball League. Newbill drained 54 points in three MYBL playoff games to run his career total to 1664 points in 125 Heat (Record 98-23, Seven Titles) contests. D.J. Helped the Heat win title #7, when he drained a winning shot at the buzzer in the Chip game. He is especially tough to stop, because of his size (6'2") and his ability to shoot from outside. If you choose to double him on defense, to stop his scoring, he unselfishly dominates the game with assists.  

The Philly Heat High School Team scored a clutch bucket by Denzel Yard with two seconds remaining to grab a 60-59 win over determined Next Level, in the Metro Youth Basketball League in Laurel Maryland. After N.L. scored to go up 59-58 with seven seconds left, the Heat chose not to call a tiome out, instead getting the ball to Yard (19 points), who drove the length of the court for the winning points.

Dehaven Brown's (15 points) bucket with 20 seconds remaining put Philly ahead 58-57. Harold Hicks (11 points) scored his 3000th career point in this hard fought win.

Next up for Philly were the undefeated (14-0) Columbia Ravens, who had played only three "Close" games all season. The Heat came out blazing to a 21-5 lead early and never looked back, as they defeated the Ravens 67-54. They were Maryland's second ranked high school team in 2008. Khalief Trawick led the Heat with 18 points, followed by Brown (14 points), Carl Wallace and Hicks (12 points each)

Philly was matched up versus Annapolis High School in the Semi-Finals. They fought off a cold shooting night, maybe because of the Cougar's defense, to escape with a 66-61 victory and earned a match versus the host Laurel Fire. YArd led Philly with 19 points, with Trawick and Hicks adding 15 points apiece.

The game did not start like a title game, as the Fire broke out to a 49-26 halftime lead.  Even in the face of an almost impossible defecite, Philly began an almost successful come back. With about a minite remaining, the Heat had out scored the Fire  53-33 in the second half and trailed 82-79.  The Fire hit their free throws and escaped with a very entertaining Title win 86-82.

Yard, who scored 32 points was selected MVP, Hicks (18 points) and Trawick (17 points) were selected as All Stars.  

The Philly Heat 17-Under battled all the way through the semifinals at the Hoop Magic Fall Jamboree, finally falling to Progressive Christian Academy 118-106. Denzel "Moto" Yard led Philly with 31 points and was selected First Team All-Tourney. Khalief Trawick scored 18 points and Jake Wasco (Second Team All-Tourney) had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Terrell Clark tallied 14 points and Jon "Juice" Williams added 11 points. Harold Hicks had 10 points and eight assists. P.C.A's Norvell Arnold led seven double digit scorers with 22 points.  His team plays up-tempo the whole game.

Here is what www.i95ballerz.com had to say: FIRST TEAM, "Denzel Yard, 5’10”, 156 pounds, Jr. guard, Franklin Learning Center (PA)/Philly Heat – Slick Philly guard can pat the rock, shoot, and find open teammates with aplomb. SECOND TEAM, "Jake Wasco, 6’7”, 200 pound, Sr. forward, Franklin Learning Center (PA)/Philly Heat – Efficient player can post, and run the floor, while not needing the ball to be effective. Click the head-line for a link to I-95.

Philly completed a good week, as they defeated Central Bucks East High School 72-67 in a non-league contest played at Shipley School. They trailed 65-64 with a minute remaining, when Harold Hicks (10 assists) fed Trawick for a trey to put the Heat ahead.  After C.B.E. tied the game at 67 apiece, Marque' Griffin put his team ahead for good from the free throw line. Yard, who topped the Heat with 28 points and Trawick, who fired for 23 points hit the final buckets in the last 15 seconds. Clark added 10 points.

The Philly Heat made a big move, when they got all the way to the Semi-Finals of the Hoop Group Fall Jam-Fest at Rutgers University. Not only were they playing some of the best teams in the Eastern USA and Canada, but they were playing 17-U. (Senior) competition for the first time.

Philly qualified for the Silver Playoff by defeating the Hunterdon (New Jersey) Devils 87-66. Danzel Yard topped the Heat with 18 points, followed by Khalief Trwick's 17 points. Jacob Wasco added 15 points and 11 rebounds. Harold Hicks was solid, dealing seven assists and scoring eight points. Brandon Wesley was very strong, as he scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Marcus Grimes helped open up a big lead, with 12 second half points. They opened up with a 88-77 loss to the New York Patriots, one of the top teams in New York.

The Heat then defeated the New Jersey Wizards 88-81 in the quarter-final play-offs. they trailed 44-34 at half time, but two 14-U. stars from last year changed the game's momentum after the intermission. Guard Marque' Griffin was everywhere, as he grabbed five steals in the first 12 minutes and forward Cardell Hellams controlled the paint, with seven boards. That helped everyone get untracked. As usual, Hicks led with eight assists. Trawick led the team with 21 points and Yard added 17 tallies. Wasco was a beast in the second stanza, as he scored at will (Two big dunks) and grabbed 10 rebounds. 

The win was costly in two ways. First, the team lost Grimes with a knee sprain and second, they had expended lots of reserve energy in their comeback win. They now faced the Reebok Las Vegas Champs, Grass Roots of Canada. Even though they fell 78-60, they had a very successful competition and should make a big move up in the rankings.

After the success at Rutgers, Philly returned  home to get a very satisfying title at the Whittier League, defeating Allegheny 53-51 to take the best of three championship series 2-1. The Heat had to wait a full year to finally get the title in their "home league", but that made this victory even sweeter.  Allegheny may not be ranked like many of the teams Philly played in the Hoop Group, but they played like them.

The top seeded Heat rolled into the title round as a first seed, as Allegheny improved all season and had to fight through the playoffs as a fifth seed. Allegheny came right after the powerful Heat in game one, defeating them 77-72, as "Woodie" (25 points and 13 assists), "Gillie" (19 points and 17 rebounds) and "T-Bird" (17 points and 14 rebounds) led the way. Trawick (16 points), Yard and D.J. Newbill (15 points each) led Philly.

With game two scheduled at Shuler Playground (A.K.A. Whittier), the Heat were in danger of losing "their league" to the neighboring rivals. With a large crowd on hand and all the pressure on the Heat, they came away with a 54-49 win to tie the series at one apiece. The biggest baskets belonged to Hicks, who hit two clutch three pointers, to stop Allegheny's rally attempt with  five minutes remaining. Trawick led with 19 points, but his two assists to Hicks (13 points) were keys. Yard added 12 points. "Woodie" scored 12 points and made nine assists, "Gillie"  had 16points and 11 rebounds) and "T-Bird" added 12 points and 10 boards.

Game three did not disappoint, as the Heat survived a big last ditch rally by Allegheny to gain the title. After Allegheny took their only lead of the game 48-47 with 35 seconds remaining, Yard calmly hit a pull-up banker from 14 feet, to give their Heat the lead for good. Newbill (14 points), Hicks (11 points), Trawick (13 points) and Jon "Juice" Williams all made made  big shots with the game on the line.

The Philly Heat 13 and Under won the Nicetown Boy's and Girls Club Championship, defeating the Home team Bull Dogs 35-30. The Heat did not lead until the last minute of play, as Cedric Powell (10 points and four steals) stole a pass, fed Rahquil Norton (10 points and six assists), who fed Akhir "Geedy" Frazier (16 points and nine boards), to give them a 31-30 lead.

Stephon Hill (three steals and six rebounds) stole a pass and fed Powell, who put the Philly ahead by three points when he  made two free throws with 12 seconds remaining. Nicetown called time out to try for a tying three pointer. Norton iced the game, when he rebounded the three point attempt, fed Frazier, who made a lay-up at the buzzer. Chester Alexander held his men to three points and forced two steals.

These players, with some additions will form this fall's 14 and Under team. They will play in the Hank Gathers League, Finley League and Tournaments, when they are "Battle Ready".

The Philly Heat 16 and Under won the Silver Division Title at the Wildcat National Invitational in Rockford IL (100 miles west of Chicago) August 10-13. They defeated Quad City Select (Minneapolis MI) 71-49, to bring home a major championship to Philadelphia.  Harold Hicks led the way with 15 points, followed by D.J. Newbill's and KhaliefTrawick's 14 points. Cedric Powell added eight points and five assists.

They advanced to the finals by defeating the Midwest Royals 77-66. Newbill led Philly with 17 points, Trawick 14 points, Dawight Whitmore and Hicks 12 points each. This title had many contributors; Cardell Hellams; 10 points and nine rebounds against Can Six (Toronto Canada) 6'7" standout center, Devin "Doo" Williams seven assists and 10 points versus Showtime (Ohio), Akhir "Geedy" Frazier hit a pair of late three point shots tie the game versus the Wisconsin Wizards.

The team's strong showing in the Capitol Invitational (Washington D.C.) probably helped them in Rockford. They went 6-2 in the double-Elimination event, finally falling in the finals to the Virginia Bulls 78-73 in their fourth game of the day.  Their Highlight game was their revenge victory over D.C. Assault 81-75, in the Semi-finals. The Assault had sent Philly to the Losers Bracket, by getting a 88-85 over-time win. in the Semi's. Khalief Trawick led the Heat with 27 points, with much help coming from D.J. Newbill (16 points), Devin "Doo" Williams (12 points) and Harold Hicks (10 points). In the loss to the Assault, Trawick had a career high 40 points (7 Treys). 

    The Heat 16 and Under came back from a 21 point deficit to defeat Maryland Fastbreak 64-56 in the Baltimore Metro League at Laurel MD. Late in the first half, they trailed 29-8 and were down 31-15 at half time. It was the second biggest come back in team history.

D. J. Newbill led Philly with 19 points. He added eight rebounds and four assists. Khalief Trawick scored 15 points, including the "Break-out" three point shot, which put his team up for good, 58-54. Harold Hicks hit two free throws that put the Heat ahead for the first tome at 49-48. He also had six steals and four assists. Devin "Doo" Williams "Locked Down" the Fast break guards (three pts.) in the second half and had three assists. Marque' Griffin teamed with "Doo" to make it almost impossible for the Maryland guards to see the basket or get an easy assist. Cardell "Mister" Hellams grabbed seven rebounds and ruled the lane on defense.

The Heat next defeated Force One 66-58 in the Semi-Finals, as Trawick (18 points), Newbill (16 points) and Hicks (12 points) led the offense, Norman McNair was the top rebounder and Marque Griffin had four steals. 

Philly fell in a heartbreaking finale, to Banniker, 47-44 in three overtimes, as both teams shut down the othre's offense. Philly will return for the MYBL Spring League, with a title mission.