Peak Performance 117, YMCA 99

 

Peak Performance was looking for its first win of the season, and got it in a decisive victory against the previously 1-2 YMCA team.

 

Part of Peak’s advantage came from the arrival of Ames High senior Harrison Barnes, who had missed the first few sessions while participating in the National Basketball Players’ Association Top 100 Camp. Barnes had a number of impressive plays on the evening, including back-to-back one-handed layups to give Peak a 32-22 lead with 8:27 to play in the first half. He missed a pull-up jumper a few possessions later, but Iowa State’s Alex Dorr got the rebound and a put-back basket. Barnes also had a second-chance dunk in the first half, but the YMCA team used solid free throw shooting to keep it close and Peak led by just three points at the half.

 

A few minutes into the second half, ISU’s Marquis Gilstrap (YMCA) was called for goaltending on a layup by ISU’s Chris Colvin (Peak), which helped Peak stretch its lead to 66-59. Colvin drew a foul on Peak’s next possession, splitting his free throws. But Gilstrap made an ally-oop dunk at the 14 minute mark, making the lead 67-64 Peak.

 

Barnes picked up a loose ball for a layup on Peak’s next possession, then made a 1-handed dunk with 11:30 to play to make it 74-68. YMCA never got within seven points in the game’s final 10 minutes.

 

Statistical highlights:

Peak: Colvin 11 points, 4 assists. Antwon Oliver 17 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists. Brent Heemskerk 11 points, 12 rebounds. Barnes 40 points, 8 rebounds.

 

YMCA: Gilstrap 41 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals. Dendy 13 points, 10 rebounds. Buckley 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals. Kevin Smith (Grandview) 6 rebounds.

 

 

Granite Transformation 90, Capital City Orthopaedics 83

 

Drake’s Josh Young put Granite on the board first, opening the game with a layup, then spent the rest of the game proving yet again why he tends to be one of the first players picked in the draft each year. With Ames High’s Doug McDermott and ISU’s Charles Boozer missing from the Granite lineup, Young stepped up to help Granite stay in control throughout the first half, and hold on to its lead when things got close in the second.

 

ISU’s Justin Hamilton (Granite) had a nice dunk with less than three minutes remaining in the first half, and Granite went into the half up 50-44.

 

C.C.O. took the lead briefly in the second half, and was up 60-58 when Young was flattened on a pull-up jumper at the freethrow lane. The shot went in, and Young made the follow-up free throw, giving Granite the lead back with 13:12 remaining. Ortho scored on its next possession, but Young drew another foul when he ran into ISU’s L.A. Pomlee (C.C.O.) and made both free throws to take back the lead.

 

Granite led 80-69 when Drake’s Ryan Wedel (C.C.O.) made a 3-point play. Young had a steal and a reverse layup to push it back to 84-76 Granite with 4:20 on the clock.

 

It was a two-point game with less than two minutes to play, but C.C.O. struggled with repeated missed shots on repeated possessions, and Young sunk a 3-pointer to give Granite the definitive lead.

 

 

Coca Cola 115, MOHA 96

 

The final game of the night, to be honest, wasn’t much of a game. Coca-Cola had a decided advantage from the start, and was up by at least 20 points throughout much of the second half.

 

Not that the MOHA players took that lightly. ISU’s Jamie Vanderbeken worked on his 3-point shooting, and had a decent time of it. ISU’s Diante Garrett tried to find every open shot on the court, but couldn’t quite give his team the lift it needed. And SW Minn State’s DeAnthony Zanders did his best to produce on the court, despite quickly picking up four fouls and needing to play cautiously as a result.

 

MOHA also struggled in part because of a lack of subs. With only six players, the fatigue looked like a factor. Drake’s Nick Grant, Cal State-Fullerton’s Ray Miller, Drake’s Aaron Hawley, SWCC’s Trent Fischer, Hoover’s Quincy King and Drake’s Sean Duff were all absent.

 

Hey, it’s summer league. It happens.

 

The win helped Coca-Cola improve to 3-1. It’s now tied with C.C.O. for second place behind undefeated Granite Transformations.