Photo Credit: Makiko Kobyashi ( @Soru_503) https://instagram.com/soru503_?igshid=1fh3stxq4oc5w
The finale of the of the 2019 IS8/Nike fall tip off came down to a epic battle between NYC Finest a team that features majority of the John Bowne varsity boys team and the NJ Lions (Roselle Catholic).
It was a tight and competitive battle as NYC Finest took a 32-30 lead into the half. In the third quarter that lead would soon grow to 8 points as NYC finest was on fire from the perimeter. Amadou Diallo and mamadou Dioubate along with others were scoring at will. The Lions will soon come back as they used a late rally late in the third and in the fourth quarter to defeat NYC’s finest 69-60.
Roselle Catholic senior center Cliff Omoruyi led the Lions with 22 points and was named MVP of the championship game. Xavier Commit CJ Wilcher scored 20 points. Amadou Diallo led NYC finest with 34 points.
There are many things we have learned from this game from both teams, let’s start with NYC Finest.
NYC Finest which consists of mostly players from John Bowne High School could have had one of the best upsets in Is8 history but fatigue got to them at the worst time. Running out of gas is all part of the game, but one thing you can say about NYC Finest is that they can play with just about anyone and as for John Bowne this team can only get better going forward after this loss. Amadou Diallo and Tyshawn Trail may be the best backcourt duo that not many are talking about.
Wings such as Mouhamed Diabate, Cherif Diarra and Aguibou Balde showed out as well. The fact that they had the Lions on the brink of being upset says a lot on how well this team will do when the season starts next month.
Now for the champs the NJ Lions.
The Lions are already the favorite to win the TOC in our eyes. The amount of depth size and athleticism on this team makes them a tough team to beat on a nightly basis. In this championship game, the Lions have shown to be very resilient especially late in the fourth quarter. Cliff Omoruyi’s dominance in the paint came in the clutch for the Lions as he and others were able to put work NYC Finest. The dominance of the Lions in this year’s IS8 fall tip-off tournament reminds me of another New Jersey team, Northeast Basketball club. In Fall of 2016, Northeast dominated in the fall tip off and won the championship with a deep roster of 4 and 5 star prospects from the garden State.
On Saturday Is8 announced their all-tournament teams for the 2019 fall tip off.
IS8 All Tournament Teams
Third Team:
Tyler Chapman (Holy Cross HS)- 114 all-stars
Max Ragusa ‘22 (Poly Prep) – Above and Beyond
Gary Grant ‘ 20 (St. Raymond’s HS) GoldMindz
Zion Cruz ‘ 22 (Hudson Catholic HS)-Team Nation
Eisaiah Murphy (White Plains HS)- Brook Basketball Club
Second Team
Malachi Smith ‘21 (St. Raymond’s HS) GoldMindz
Khalil Brantley ‘21 (Boys and Girls HS) GoldMindz
Tyshawn Trail ‘21 (John Bowne HS)
NYC Finest
Tahron Allen (Brooklyn Collegiate HS) – Team Deuce
Zakai Ziegler ‘21 ( Immaculate Conception HS) Shooting Stars
First Team
Cliff Omoruyi’ 20 ( Roselle Catholic) – NJ Lions
Niels Lane ‘20 ( Roselle Catholic) -NJ Lions
( Committed to Florida)
Amadou Diallo ‘21 ( John Bowne HS) NYC Finest
Kavontay Williams ‘20 – PD Nation
Dontae Walker ‘20 (Veritas Prep-California)
IS8 Player of the Year
CJ Wilcher – Roselle Catholic ‘20 ( Committed to Xavier)
Hoop Dreams NYC 