April 24 – 26th Pittsburgh Hoop Group Jam Fest Recap
NOVA Cavs 17U-Lin at Chartier Valley HS at Pittsburgh Jam Fest this weekend
Pittsburgh, PA – Four of the NOVA Cavalier teams were in action this past weekend at the Hoop Group Pittsburgh Jam Fest.
NOVA Cavaliers 16U-Corish and 16U-Sawitzky both faced off against fierce competition at Pittsburgh. In the 16U Platinum Bracket, Coach Sawitzky’s team lost Friday to TNBA West Red (OH), then on Saturday lost to Basketball 2 the Limit (MA) before winning their last game over the Pitt Nets. 16U-Sawitzky finished 1-2 at the Jam Fest and Langley’s sophomore sensation Sami El-Rafey had a monster weekend. He had a game-high 27 points in the win over the Nets and played well consistently throughout the tournament.
Coach Corish’s 16U Cavs made a strong run to the Elite Eight of the Steel City Bracket. Led by Madison high school’s trio of Johnny Corish, Sam Kidd, and Riley Jorgenson; NOVA advanced deep into the tournament with wins over Common Bond Basketball II and the Philly Ballhawks. The Saturday evening’s contest against the Ballhawks was particularly memorable, as the Cavs fought off the pesky team from Philadelphia for a thrilling overtime victory. Marshall high school’s Jack Foley and Peyton Lanier both played a vital role in helping the Cavaliers secure the win. On Sunday, Coach Corish’s team simply ran out of gas against a talented Monroe County All Stars team. However, the Jam Fest was an impressive showing for the 16U-Corish Cavs as they finished in the Final Eight of a competitive bracket.
In the 17U age group, Coach O’Donnell’s team defeated Central PA Elite in their opening game of the Steel City Bracket on Saturday, then suffered a tough loss to TCB Elite from Kentucky in the second round. On Sunday, the Cavaliers were cruising midway through the second half with a 32-24 lead over Team Blaze (NY), but ended up losing 64-46 as the hot shooting team from New York knocked down a barrage of three’s from the 3pt line. 17U-O’Donnell completed the Jam Fest with a 1-2 record and will play in Collision in the Capital hosted by Zero Gravity at Catholic University in DC next weekend.
Coach Lin’s 17U Cavaliers competed in the Platinum Bracket of the 17U division at the Pitts Jam Fest. In the opening round on Friday, NOVA played poorly and lost 61-37 to South Central Select (PA). On Saturday, the Cavs dropped a tough decision (43-40) to Team New York, then bounced back to beat College Bound Athletes (MD) 53-51 to close out the tournament. Langley’s Nate Shafer played superb throughout the entire weekend, as he recorded multiple blocks and controlled the paint with tough rebounds in traffic. Cavs finished 1-2 and will head over to play in the Big Shots College Park MD event next weekend.
Nine of the NOVA Cavs teams will participate either in the Big Shots College Park MD or Collision in the Capital presented by Zero Gravity next weekend. It will also marked the first time 10U-Ferrick’s team will be in actions this season. Game schedule will be announce later on this week. Stay tune!
Go Cavs!