Championship Saturday usually provides some of the best games of any tournament. That was the case again at Casa Grande, as the 3rd place and championship games were five point games. For the first time in three years, there’s a new champion in the Brett Callan Memorial Tournament.
The first game on the last day of the tournament is something no coach ever wants to play in. This means you are one of the two teams in the tournament that hasn’t won a game yet, and you need to win today to avoid getting last place. Credo and St Vincent sure played like they didn’t want last place for three quarters, but the Gryphons pulled away in the fourth quarter with a 20-3 outburst, rolling to a 66-46 win. Avital Stopeck led all scorers with 17 points, with teammates Oliver Abrams scoring 13, and Satchel Sevenau scoring 11 points. George Bunting led St Vincent with nine points.
Montgomery methodically pulled away from Washington-San Francisco for a 61-46 victory in the consolation championship. Nolan Bessire had a game high 18 points, and Jack Svoma added 10 points for Montgomery. Ray Goda and Caelen Wallace each had 11 points for the Eagles.
The 3rd place game was a good back and forth battle between two old SCL rivals. Analy led most of the game, until Casa Grande took a 44-40 lead about halfway through the final quarter, but then Analy went on a 17-9 run, hitting their free throws near the end of the game to seal the 57-53 win over the home team. Sonny Gigliotti led the Gauchos with 17 points, and Dominic McHale scoring 12 points. Kevin Wagner led Analy with 13 points, while Sage Boek, Antonio Sanchez, and Hayden Davison scored 11 points apiece.
The Championship affair was also a back and forth tumble between two out of the area. Teams. Del Campo from Fair Oaks and Urban from San Francisco played to a barnburner in a near empty gym, since the locals had gone home for their Saturday night. Urban built a 58-51 lead early on in the fourth quarter, but struggled shooting from beyond the arc, and a little too much fouling taken advantage of by Del Campo put the Cougars up 66-61 ewith 1:30 to go. After teams exchanged buckets and free throws, it was Del Campo ending up on top 72-67, claiming the 14th Brett Callan Memorial Tournament Championship trophy. Cameron Niles led Del Campo with 22 points, while Urban countered with Bryce Smith scoring 19 points, and Jaydon Aquino, and Kyle Neece dropping in 12 apiece.
All-Tournament Team
Cameron Niles (Del Campo) MVP
Damjan Agovic (Del Campo)
Jackson Taylor (Del Campo)
Bryce Smith (Urban)
Ryan Pescherine (Urban)
Sage Boek (Analy)
Kevin Wagner (Analy)
Dominic McHale (Casa Grande)
Nolan Bessire (Montgomery)
Jack Svoma (Montgomery)
Ray Goda (Washington-SF)
Avital Stopeck (Credo)
