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15U Cavs Reach Big Shots VCU Gold Bracket Championship Game

Richmond, VA – The Cavs built on their momentum from last week putting together another great tournament in the Big Shots VCU Memorial Day 15U Blue Bracket.  Like the past two tournaments, the Cavs got plenty of work in the close game department with all 4 games being decided in the final minute.

The Cavs first won 55-51 against Hoop Hill Elite.  Fortunate for the Cavs, they shot the ball really well as they struggled against Hoop Hill Elite’s pressure and stopping the drive.  The team knocked down 6 3’s and shot 17-22 from the line.

In the quarter finals the Cavs squared off with the Virginia Heat for the second straight weekend.  The Cavs had a balanced scoring attack but failed to capitalize from the stripe going 12-25 and struggled to secure rebounds giving the Heat a ton of second chance points.  The Cavs would go on to pull away in the final 2 minutes winning 42-35 after trailing by as many 6 in the second half.  The Cavs second half run was fueled by two great charges taken by Sahil and Sami.

The semis pitted the Cavs up against the Selma Thunder.  The Thunder were a big and aggressive team that quickly jumped out to a 12-3 lead, but the Cavs scrapped their way back into the game and trailed by only 1 at halftime.  In the second half the game went back and forth and after the Thunder hit a big 3 with under 3 minutes left to take a 48-45 lead, the Cavs came right back and hit Sami on a great interior pass for a score and then got a steal to lead to a 3 pointer from Josh to take a 50-48 lead that they would not relinquish and go on to win 53-51.  Fraser put together one of his best games of the season by getting several key steals and putting up a game high 18 points.

In the championship the Cavs faced the Hampton Hoyas.  This too was a physical game and the Cavs who averaged 23 FT attempts in the prior 3 games only had 6 FT attempts this one.  This gave a slight edge to the bigger Hoyas and when paired with defensive breakdowns and a poor shooting game, the Cavs fell just short losing 40-41 while putting out a great effort.

Despite the painful championship loss, making the gold bracket final in a Big Shots tournament is a tremendous accomplishment and a very hard fete.  The squad represented the program well.  The Cavs were off this past weekend and will now host the Battle of NOVA this weekend.

A full tournament recap is also covered by Vantage Hoops here:  15U VCU Big Shots Recap.