2 weeks Ago
The Jordan Brandon Classic, filled with big names and rich tradition, annointed two more future superstars Friday in Washington D.C. Oklahoma commit Aaliyah Chavez and future Syracuse standout Kiyan Anthony, were voted the two games' MVPs in high-scoring affairs at CareFirst Arena.
Chavez, High School On SI's National Player of the Year, scored 24 points and added five assists and five steals leading Team Flight to a 128-108 victory. It helped offset a record 30-point performance by Team USA's Nyla Brooks, a 6-2 power forward from Bishop Ireton (Alexandria, Va.), who is headed to North Carolina.
Chavez, a 5-foot-11 point guard from Monterey High School (Lubbock Texas), scored nearly 5,000 career points while leading her team to its first state title in 45 years. Friday's performance cemented her prep legacy in her final all-star game performance. She and many of the players took part the last two weeks in the McDonald's All-American Game in Brooklyn (N.
Y.) and the Nike Hoop Summit last weekend in Portland (Ore.).
UCLA-bound Sienna Betts, the MVP of the McDonald's All-American Game, had 22 points on 11 of 14 shooting and six rebounds and USC signee Jazzy Davidson, the MVP of the Nike Hoop Summit, added 19 points, five rebounds and four assists for Team Flight. Anthony, the son of former NBA great Carmelo Anthony, had 26 points on 11 of 15 shooting and added five rebounds, leading his Team Air team to a 141-124 victory over Team Flight, which got 25 points and seven rebounds from the nation's No. 1 recruit AJ Dybansta, a BYU commit.
Kiyan Anthony might still have to buy dinner to his pops, who outscored him by one in the first Jordan Brand Classic in 2002 when Carmello scored 27. He led a remarkable seven teammates in double figures, including Caleb Wilson, who scored a game-high 28 points on 13 of 14 shooting. He added six rebounds.
Other double digit scorers for the winners were Baylor-bound Tounde Yessoufou (19 points), Jamier Jones (12), Alex Looyd (11) and Cameron Boozer and Nate Ament with 10 apiece. In all, Team Air shot 63% from the field (59 of 94) and had 32 assists, led by Acaden Lewis with eight in just 12 minutes of play. Lewis also led the team with eight rebounds as Team Air outrebounded Team Flight, 59-37.
Darius Acuff had 22 points, Maleek Thomas added 16, Jalen Johnson 12 Chris Cenac 11 and Sadiq White 10 for Team Flight..
