Reebok Summer Classic East – Event Recap

July 13th, 2008
by Phil Kasiecki

Phil Kasiecki was in New Jersey this weekend to check out the action at the Reebok Summer Classic.  The highlight of the day was watching the Warriors plow through the field en route to the silver bracket championship. 

LAWRENCEVILLE, N.J. - Though more teams will be at the Playaz Ball an hour up the road in the Garden State, a few New England teams played in the Summer Classic East event at Rider. 

It didn't take long for a New England presence to be shown, as the Boston Warriors knocked off Team Philly in one of the first games of the tournament by a score of 79-77.  Akeem Williams simply couldn't be stopped in the second half, as he scored 23 of his 33 points in the latter frame.  Many of those points came on drives, as he often knifed to the basket and finished strong, while his jumper wasn't going like it normally is.

He certainly didn't do it alone, though.  Peter Lynch struggled for a lot of the game with his jumper, but got the game-winning field goal in the final seconds.  James Rodriques also played well, scoring 11 points and helping to run the show.

The Warriors lost their next game to Cecil Kirk, in part because the Baltimore-based squad held down Williams at the offensive end.  He scored just seven points and never really got on track. 

The loss sent them into the silver bracket, but they rebounded to win their next game against the Brooklyn Ballers in coonvincing style, getting a big effort from Jeff Tagger, en route to a 95-69 decision over the Gym Rat Challenge Tournament champions.  In the semi-finals of the silver bracket the Warriors then blew out the New Jersey All-Stars 86-64.  Their dominance continued in the final as they came away with another big vicotry, knocking off Rise/Sam Rines 90-72 to win the silver bracket championship. 

Williams averaged over 30 points per game in the Warriors' three games on Sunday, while Tagger averaged 24.  Alex Kershaw, Peter Lynch, and Archie Allen were also major contributors. 

The 17-and-under roster consists of the following: Akeem Williams (Avon), Jeff Tagger (Catholic Memorial), Peter Lynch (Westford Academy), Alex Kershaw (Oliver Ames), James Rodrigues (Hamilton-Wenham), Archie Allen (Charlestown), Scott Anderson (Middlesex), Rodman Noel (Everett), Marcus Papas (Belmont)  Brendan Farley (Burlington) and Danqua Rauwins (Tabor Academy).