16U O’Donnell Take Big Shots VCU Silver Championship
NOVA Cavaliers Big Shots VCU Richmond Weekend Recap
Richmond/Ashland, VA – For the fourth consecutive year, the NOVA Cavs AAU program attended the annual Big Shots VCU Richmond Memorial Weekend event. They finished the weekend with perhaps the strongest performance at Big Shots VCU in club’s history.
16U O’Donnell led the way with a impressive 16U Blue Division Silver Bracket Championship. NOVA lost their opening round game to the eventual Gold Bracket Champion- NC Blazers, then immediately reeled off three straight victories over Juice All-Stars, East Coast Fusion, and Selma Thunder to reach the Championship game. Chase Barrand led the Cavalier’s attack with 11.2 ppg and 2.2 apg in the tournament. In the final, NOVA soundly defeated Team Hustle 44-27 to take home their first title of the year. Congratulation to 16U O’Donnell Cavs!
15U Sawitzky finished as the 15U Blue Division’s Runner-up over the weekend. The Cavaliers won a series of close ballgames in the first three rounds of bracket play, with exciting wins over Hoop Hill Elite, VA Heat, and Selma Thunder to reach the Gold Bracket’s final. In the Championship game, NOVA dropped a heartbreaking 41-40 loss to Hampton Hoyas at the Siegel Center. Despite the loss, Cavs finished the tournament 3-1 and is now 7-2 combined in their last nine games. Sami El-Rafey (Langley HS) played terrific throughout the weekend and finished with 11.8 ppg and 7.5 rpg for the tournament.
16U Lin completed the weekend with a 2-1 record in the Blue Division at Randolph Macon College. The Cavaliers won the opening round against Team Spectrum from Roanoke (VA), then lost a hard-fought 51-40 decision to USA United (NC). NOVA conclude the Big Shots tourney with a thrilling 37-35 double overtime win over ATTAC Basketball (MD) on Sunday. Nate Shafer led the weekend for the Cavs with 14.0 ppg (5th in the Blue Division).
17U Gray-Mendes wrapped up the weekend with a big 62-30 win over NOVA GameChangers on Sunday. Cavs lost their first two games of the tournament against Team One on One (NC) and HC Elite (MD). Jack Fergueson (McLean HS) averaged a team-high 16.0 ppg, while teammate Nate Thatcher (Falls Church HS) finished 12.8 ppg with a season-high 22 points against HC Elite on Saturday.
NOVA Cavaliers will participate in the Battle of Bull Run in Gainesville, VA next weekend. Both the 10U and 12U Cavs will be in action, while rest of the program will return to court at Battle of NOVA Invitational in two weeks.