The Drew League finished off Week 9 play on Sunday with a host of close and competitive games featuring some excellent individual performances, none more spectacular than Public Enemy guard Franklin Session's 41-point outing versus Tuff Crowd.
LaMelo Ball also impressed for No Shnacks as his team looked to become the only Drew League squad to win nine of its first 10 games.
Here's a look at the scores and recaps for all six Sunday matchups.
Sunday, July 28 Scores
Prodigy 89, Team Watson 85
Black Pearl Elite 79, Panthers 74
Problems 111, No Shnacks 105
Public Enemy 82, Tuff Crowd 77
CitiTeam Blazers 89, Reapers Black Ops 64
CABC So. Cal 91, I-Can All-Stars 78
Scores and stats via Drew League website and Drew League Twitter account unless otherwise noted. Drew League highlights via independent basketball consultant/freelance scout Matthew Kovach unless otherwise noted.
Recaps
Prodigy 89, Team Watson 85
Prodigy led after each quarter but needed to hold off a late charge to beat Team Watson 89-85.
Former CSU-Fullerton guard Khalil Ahmad led Prodigy with 33 points, including this blow-by dunk:
Ahmad dominated for the Titans, who won the Big West and made the NCAA tournament during his junior year in 2017-18. He averaged 15.1 points over his four-year collegiate career.
Prodigy, which started the season 2-0, is now 3-7. Team Watson has the same record.
Black Pearl Elite 79, Panthers 74
Detroit Pistons forward Christian Wood's 27 points, seven rebounds and six blocks propelled Black Pearl Elite to a 79-74 win over Panthers.
Wood, a 6'10" power forward who averaged 8.2 points and 4.0 rebounds in 12.0 minutes per game for the Milwaukee Bucks and New Orleans Pelicans last season, proved far too tough for the Panthers, who fell to 5-5. Black Pearl Elite is 4-6.
Problems 111, No Shnacks 105
Deshawn Stephens' 21 points and eight boards led Problems to an upset overtime win over LaMelo Ball and No Shnacks 111-105.
Ball, who is ranked 22nd on 247Sports' composite class of 2020 recruit list, dropped 26 points. The 5-star prospect had little issue doing whatever he wanted on offense, as Overtime showed:
No Shnacks looked like it may pull out the win up two points late in the game, but after they missed a free throw, Problems' Bruce Massey Jr. went coast-to-coast for a game-tying layup to send the matchup into overtime. Once there, Problems took it home.
No Shnacks entered the game with an 8-1 record, good for first in the Louis Merritt division. They're now tied for first at 8-2. Problems improved to 6-4.
Public Enemy 82, Tuff Crowd 77
Franklin Session capped off a 101-point effort over two games with 41 on Sunday as he led Public Enemy to an 82-77 win over Tuff Crowd.
Session, who played for Al-Gharafa SC of the Qatari Basketball League last season, currently suits up for the BIG3's Killer 3's.
The 6'2" guard is a three-time Drew League MVP who looks destined for his fourth this season.
Public Enemy led after each of the first three quarters but never by more than three points. Session made sure his team came away with a win by scoring half of his team's points, helping Public Enemy move to 8-2 and a first-place tie on top of the Carl Munns division.
CitiTeam Blazers 89, Reapers Black Ops 64
Malcolm Thomas' 23-point, nine-rebound night led CitiTeam Blazers to a 89-64 blowout win over Reapers Black Ops.
The Reapers ended the game early given the deficit.
A 30-11 third-quarter run turned a respectable 41-34 Blazers halftime lead into a 71-45 blowout entering the fourth. The Reapers couldn't cut the deficit any closer, leading to the win.
Thomas, a 6'9" power forward who played parts of four NBA seasons from 2011 to 2015, simply could not be stopped. Neither could former Long Beach State star guard Casper Ware, who rose up for this baseline three-pointer during the second-half rout:
The Blazers moved to 7-3, and the Reapers fell to 6-4.
CABC So. Cal 91, I-Can All-Stars 78
CABC So. Cal outscored the I-Can All-Stars 30-15 in the second quarter, and that proved to be the big difference in their 91-78 victory.
Max Agbonkpolo, who is headed to USC next season, contributed 16 points and seven rebounds for the winners. He showed off his offensive versatility, sticking a mid-range jumper and knocking down a three:
The 4-star small forward out of Santa Margarita, California, ranks 56th on 247Sports' composite rankings of the best class of 2019 recruits.
CABC So. Cal is now 6-4, and I-Can All-Stars fell to 4-6.
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