May 2nd – 3rd Weekend Tournament Recap
NOVA Cavs 17U-Knoche Championship Photo at Wilson high school after winning the Silver-Bracket Championship at Big Shots Washington DC this weekend
Washington DC – Nine of the NOVA Cavalier teams were in action this past weekend at Big Shots events and Collision in the Capital presented by Zero Gravity.
This weekend marked the debut for Coach Ferrick and his NOVA Cavs 10U team. Both the 10U and 11U Cavs played at the home of University Maryland Men’s Basketball team – the Xfinity (former Comcast) Center at College Park, MD. The 10U Cavs dropped a tough opening game to D School Elite on Saturday, then lost a 25-24 close game to CBC Elite. On Sunday, Coach Ferrick’s team notched their first victory of the season with a 24-18 win over Pennslyvania Rens. For the 11U Cavs, Coach Sullender’s team finished Big Shots with a 2-1 record with 34-15 over SMD Heat, 34-20 loss to Baltimore Supreme, and 33-31 win over Severn Elite. It was a strong showing for both younger NOVA Cavalier teams this past weekend.
In the Zero Gravity’s Collision in the Capital event, the 17U-O’Donnell, 16U-Sawitzky, 15U, and 14U Cavs all participated over the weekend. The 14U team won games over Sports Empowerment and NOVA GameChangers, while dropping a 41-34 decision to the eventual Champion in the age group – MEC/MD Supreme Gold. The 15U team lost to Metro Celtics, LBA Attack-Blue, and Germantown Heat. The 17U-O’Donnell finished 1-2 with a 66-59 win over DC Phenoms and two losses to MD D-Fenders and MD Attack.
16U-Sawitzky’s team had the best weekend of all Cavalier teams at Collision in the Capital. NOVA had an exciting 37-36 win over the Maryland Rebels on a Jordan James put back followed by a 45-20 win over LBA Attack-White. The next morning with the Cavs trailing by 9 against the Maryland Defenders, they came back in an exciting second half to force overtime on a Sahil Mehta put-back at the buzzer. In the OT, David Akinyemi drove in for the winning basket with 2 seconds remaining for the 57-55 win. In the tournament semifinal, the Cavaliers lost 59-28 to NOVA Man II Man, who ended up winning the entire event. However, the 3-1 record was another strong performance from the Coach Sawitzky’s squad. They will look to continue their hot streak in the NTBA Qualifier in two weeks.
NOVA Cavaliers 16U-Corish, 17U-Lin, and 17U-Knoche all had a strong showing at the Big Shots Washington DC event at Wilson high school. 16U-Corish team defeated Southern Maryland All-Stars, Franklin Force, and Team Hustle DMV-Black to advance into the 16U Orange Bracket’s championship game. In the tournament final, NOVA dropped a close game affair with Team Legacy from Columbia, MD. Madion high school’s sophomore Johnny Corish finished the tournament averaging 18 ppg and led the team with an 3-1 record at the event. They will take the next two weekends off after competing in four straight tournament.
The 17U-Lin finished the tournament with a 2-1 record, including 61-53 win over Team Nationals and then a 48-30 loss to Southern Maryland All-Stars. In the consolation round rematch on Sunday, Cavs defeated Team Nationals once again with a 58-52 victory. Paulino Matondo led all Cavs with 14.5 ppg on the weekend. They will take next weekend off before heading to Springfield, MA for the HOF Spring Classic in two weeks.
A big congrats goes out to Coach Knoche and his 17U Cavs team! After an opening game loss to FAB Phenoms Gold, the 17U-Knoche’s team went on a run on Sunday, defeating both Blacktop and WV Spartans to win the Big Shots Silver Bracket Championship. This marked the first Tournament Championship for the 17U-Knoche Cavaliers. Great job boys!