2009 STL Eagles Invitational Recap: Eagles 16s & 17s Advance to the Championship Game
St. Louis Eagles Tournament Recap
By Earl Austin Jr.
Host Eagles Repeat as 16-and-under Champions
The St. Louis Eagles Invitational was held on May 15-17 on the campus of Saint Louis University. The host Eagles won the 16-and-under division with a 77-75 victory over Howard Pulley from Minnesota. The Eagles had to survive a half-court attempt by Howard Pulley’s Nick Latzke, which bounced off the back of the rim at the buzzer. It was the second consecutive title for the Eagles’ 16-and-under team in the division. They won the 16-and-under championship as 15 year olds last year in Columbia. Shaquille Boga scored 19 points to lead four Eagles’ players in double figures in the championship game. Bradley Beal scored 18 points, followed by Roosevelt Jones with 15 points and Phil Kunz with 12. Latzke scored a game-high 24 points to lead Howard Pulley. In the semifinals, the Eagles defeated Gameface 69-59 as Beal scored a game-high 25 points followed by Jones with 17 points. Ed Wanner led Gameface with 19 points. The other semifinal contest was a double-overtime thriller which saw Howard Pulley outlast Prime Time 84-81. Clarence Thomas led Howard Pulley with 19 points while Andrew Erby led Prime Time with 26 points. A driving layup by B.J. Walker of Prime Time at the buzzer of regulation sent the game into overtime. The Eagles’ Roosevelt Jones was selected the Most Valuable Player of the tournament after a excellent weekend of all-around play. Jones averaged 14 points a game while leading the team in rebounding and steals. Beal led the tournament in scoring at 19.5 points a game while Boga averaged 13.9 points in the five games. The Eagles 15-and-under team also competed in the tournament, finishing pool play with a 2-1 record. Their highlight of the weekend was a thrilling 80-78 victory over Gameface in overtime on Saturday night at Cardinal Ritter.
All Tournament Team (16-and-Under)
Roosevelt Jones (St. Louis Eagles 16’s) – MVP
Bradley Beal (St. Louis Eagles 16’s)
Shaquille Boga (St. Louis Eagles 16’s)
Marcus Aligate (Howard Pulley)
Nick Latzke (Howard Pulley)
Evan Battle (Howard Pulley)
B.J. Young (Gameface)
Andrew Erbe (Prime Time)
Demetrious Floyd (Team Fusion Elite)
Corey Arentsen (St. Louis Eagles 15’s)
Howard Pulley wins Eagles’ 17-and-Under title at the buzzer
Two weeks ago, the St. Louis Eagles traveled to Minnesota and won the championship of the Sabes Invitational, hosted by the Howard Pulley Panthers. In a case of turnabout is fair play, Howard Pulley returned the favor last weekend by winning the 17-and-Under title at the St. Louis Eagles Invitational. The Panthers defeated the host Eagles in the championship game in dramatic fashion as point guard Jordan Hughes hit a pull-up 3-pointer at the buzzer to give his team a 59-57 victory. The Eagles had taken a 57-56 lead on a short jumper by Chris Babbitt with five seconds left. After a time-out, Hughes dribbled up court and pulled up from the right wing and sank a 20-footer at the buzzer. He finished with a game-high 16 points and took home Most Valuable Player honors in the process. The Eagles were led by Kony Ealy with 15 points, Karl Madison with 11 points and Hunter Ward with 10. Ealy and Ward were selected to the All-Tournament team. In the semifinals, the Eagles defeated the Illinois Warriors 60-59 in another hotly contested game. Madison led the Eagles with 14 points while Ward added 13 points. In the other semifinal game, Howard Pulley defeated the Tennessee Travelers 78-60 as Jacob Thomas exploded for a game-high 39 points, which was the highest individual scoring output for the tournament.
All-Tournament Team (17-and-Under)
Jordan Hughes (Howard Pulley) – MVP
Jacob Thomas (Howard Pulley)
Kony Ealy (St. Louis Eagles)
Hunter Ward (St. Louis Eagles)
Dwayne Evans (Illinois Warriors)
Brandon Spearman (Illinois Warriors)
Jalen Steele (Tennessee Travelers)
Tyler Hood (Tennessee Travelers)
Rafael Akpejiori (Kansas City Keys)
Nate Buss (Iowa Barnstormers)
Drury Gets Their Man….Lockhart Headed to Springfield
Brandon Lockhart Chaminade HS Class of 2009
Chaminade College Prep standout Brandon Lockhart signed a national letter of intent to attend Drury University in Springfield, Mo. The 6’1” Lockhart played for the Eagles in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He was a four-year varsity starter at Chaminade and starting point guard for the Class 5 state champions in 2009. As a senior, Lockhart averaged 15.9 points, 5.6 assists and 3 steals a game while shooting 37 percent from 3-point range. His finest moment came in the Class 5 state-championship game against Grandview when he scored 21 points and handed out five assists in the Red Devils’ 82-72 victory. Lockhart was a St. Louis Post-Dispatch Second-Team All-Metro Selection and a St. Louis American “Fab-Five” First-Team selection. He was also the two-time Player of the Year in the Metro Catholic Conference. Lockhart becomes the eighth player from the 2008 Eagles team to make his college choice. He joins Jerome Jones (Missouri State), Bryant Allen (Minnesota), Jordan Dressler (Toledo), Lonnie Boga (Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Michael Porter (Missouri State), Charles Brooks (Murray State) and Brandon McCann (Rockhurst). Drury is a NCAA Division II school and a member of the powerful Great Lakes Valley Conference.
BK Makes His Decision….He’s Going to Kansas City
Brandon McCann, Bowling Green
Brandon McCann (aka BK), the three time Bowling Green All State Selection, is bound for Rockhurst University in Kansas City. Rockhurst plays in the top rated Division II conference in the country, the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).
McCann averaged 17 ppg this season, in leading Bowling Green to their fourth straight Conference Championship and fourth straight District Title under his command. During the course of his career, BK never lost a single conference or District game.
Brandon played with the STL Eagles Basketball Club in 2007 & 2008. He was a reliable, versatile, tough-minded player whose commitment to the team and the program was second to none. Not only is Rockhurst getting a good basketball player, they are getting a tremendous student athlete who sports a 3.9 GPA.
Brandon is the 7th player from the 2008 Eagles to make his college choice. Those players include: Jordan Dressler (Toledo), Bryant Allen (Minnesota), Charles Brooks (Murray State), Lonnie Boga (Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Michael Porter (Missouri State), & Jerome Jones (Missouri State)
According to KHQA Radio in Quincy (IL), Iowa State invited McCann to come to Ames as a preferred walk-on, Colorado State was considering McCann, and BK made an official visit to New Hampshire, but decided it was too far from home
For more on the KHQA story, please see the following link:
STL Eagles 16 & U Team Soars in April
The STL Eagles 16 & U Team enjoyed an outstanding April. Their 13-1 record included a 2nd place finish in the prestigious NIKE Boo Williams Invitational and a 1st Place finish in the NIKE Old School Showcase. At the Boo Williams Invitational, they knocked off traditional powers NYC Metro Hawks, The Boston Athletic Club (BABC), & the host team Boo Williams, before falling to the Playaz from Philadelphia. The following weekend, they stormed through the Old School Showcase tournament in Conway, AR which culminated in a resounding victory over the host Arkansas Wings. While the backcourt play was strong the entire month, the team received contributions from everyone in both events.
Shaq Boga, McCluer HS, Class of 2011
Congratulations to Calvin Belts (MRH), Larry Toomey (Parkway West), Aaron Adeoye (Marion IL), Carson Sonnenberg (Althoff), Phil Kunz (Wesclin), Roosevelt Jones (O’Fallon IL), Brad Beal (Chaminade), Shaq Boga (McCluer), Justin Miller (Rockbridge), Connor Wheeler (Carbondale), Will Childs-Klein (Ladue), & Javier Duren (Oakville)
STL Eagles Headline P-D All-Metro Teams
Bryant Allen: STL Player of the Year
Bryant Allen (MRH HS), Jerome Jones (Career Academy), & Bradley Beal (Chaminade HS) earned 1st Team All Metro Honors. They were joined by fellow STL Eagles: Brandon Lockhart (Chaminade, 2nd Team All-Metro), De’ Shun Cooper (Jennings, 3rd Team All-Metro), Lonnie Boga (McCluer, 3rd Team All-Metro) and Julian Johnson (Whitfield, 3rd Team, All-Metro). Congratulations guys on a great season.
Earl Austin Joins the Staff of the STL Eagles
Earl Austin, long time sportswriter for the STL American, has joined the staff of the STL Eagles. He will be publishing a quarterly recruiting newsletter for colleges and universities. Stay tuned for more information.