Super 64 title goes down to buzzer
With the final seconds ticking away in a tie game, Memphis Magic Elite point guard Joe Jackson passed on a chance to take the final shot. It was his best move of the night, and he had many.
Jackson jumped out of a trap and threw across the court to Chris Crawford, who made a running 15-footer at the buzzer to lift Memphis to a 64-62 victory over the New England Playaz in the adidas Super 64 championship game Sunday at Rancho High School.
“I saw the time running out and shot the ball. I knew it was going in, there wasn’t no doubt in my mind,” said Crawford, who scored 16 points. “I knew we were going to pull it out.”
There was some doubt about that. New England led 50-34 with eight minutes left, when Memphis’ Tarik Black was whistled for a technical foul for taunting after a dunk. Memphis rallied by putting on full-court pressure that forced New England into several turnovers.
The 6-foot Jackson, ranked among the nation’s top 20 seniors, scored 20 points and was named tournament Most Valuable Player.
“I was going to take the last shot, to tell you the truth,” Jackson said. “But (Crawford) had his hands up in the air, and I knew he was wide open. We didn’t give up, and we got rewarded.”
Nate Lubick, a 6-7 forward, dunked four times and led New England with 19 points.
CENTER STAGE — Jackson Jeffcoat, a two-sport star who plans to play basketball and football at the college level, scored 18 points but had to settle for second place as his Dallas Heroes fell to I-5 Elite Black 73-65 in the StarVision Sports Center Stage Tournament championship game at Spring Valley.
Jeffcoat, the son of former Dallas Cowboys standout Jim Jeffcoat, is a muscular 6-5 and 240 pounds. Rivals.com ranks Jeffcoat, a defensive end, as the nation’s No. 5 football prospect. He’s also a talented power forward.
Jeffcoat said Southern California, Arizona State, Stanford, UCLA, Texas, Oklahoma, Florida and Notre Dame are high on his list of college choices.
Stephen Madison scored 17 points, Garrett Jackson 13 and Terrence Jones 11 for I-5 Elite Black of Portland, Ore.