NWBA Varsity Division’s Top Seed Gets Past Trouble, Moves On To Semifinals
Missing their top player and with another saddled in foul trouble, the LWSRA Synergy Hawks had a bumpy start to their Friday afternoon National Wheelchair Basketball Association Varsity Division national wheelchair basketball tournament second-round game. Only up by three at halftime and in a back-and-forth third quarter, they faced a tight finish.
But the division’s top seed didn’t come unglued and found ways to push ahead, come together and buzz past the No. 8 seed Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Purple team for a 45-34 victory at the Henrico Sports & Events Center in Glen Allen, Va.
With LWSRA’s Drew Beutel gone because he was playing with Team USA’s Under-23 wheelchair basketball team and Noah Gorecki hit with first-half foul trouble, Hawks coach Curtis Lease was worried. He had to stick Gorecki on the bench for some of the second period and all of the third quarter, but other starters and bench players stepped up.
“The defense kept Charlotte out. That was our key. Like, keeping their big guy out of the key. And they did that really well, you know, so he wasn’t able to hit from the outside,” Lease says. “We were able to get a couple buckets and extend it out. And that, I think, built our confidence in each other. So, that was huge.”
With LWSRA leading 40-30 just past the midway point of the fourth quarter, Charlotte cut the lead to 40-34 with 2 minutes and 15 seconds left. But LWSRA closed the game on a 5-0 run to put the game away.
“I think a lot of people were kind of seeing that, hey, you know, they’re going to be short and thought they could take advantage of it,” Lease says. “But these guys, they stepped up. They stepped up and did amazing.”
The Hawks will take on the No. 4 seed Brooks Bullsharks in one semifinal. Brooks defeated the No. 5-seeded Kansas City Kings A Team, 54-43. in another Friday second-round game after hanging on for a 64-61 win over the No. 13 seed Courage Kenny Rolling Timberwolves in the first round.
The Varsity Division’s defending champ, the Lakeshore Lakers, moved on, as well. Lakeshore defeated the No. 14 seed RMF Trojans 55-36 in the first round and the No. 11 seed WASA Marquette Eagles, 51-36, in the second round. Lakeshore will take on the No. 2 seed RHI Racers. RHI defeated the No. 7-seeded Ranchos Halos, 53-40, in the second round after beating the No. 15 seed Cincinnati Dragons, 66-27, in the first round.
Dallas Delivers With Offense, Defense In Prep Division
The Prep Division’s top seed, the Dallas Junior Wheelchair Mavericks Blue team, had no problems during Friday’s opening day, as it swept both of its first- and second-round games, winning both by double-digits.
Dallas rolled past the No. 16 seed Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets, 36-11, in the first round and then took down No. 9-seeded RHI, 43-25, in the second round. Dallas jumped out to quick leads against both teams to reach the semifinals.
After the team’s defense helped them cruise to their opening win, coach Jay Mosley liked how the team’s offense clicked in the second. Jordan Pichardo scored a game-high 28 points against Charlotte, while Ethen Hanson had 11 assists.
“We were picking and cutting off of it and getting each other easy shots and just playing more as a team,” says the fourth-year coach Mosley, whose son, Trenton, also plays on the team. “And so it was just great just to see the chemistry and us playing with speed and forcing turnovers and getting to the basket.”
They’ll meet the No. 4 seed New York Rolling Fury, which also won both its games by double-digits, in one semifinal. New York defeated the No. 13 Music City Thunder, 41-13, in the first round and held off No. 5-seeded Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers, 33-23, in the second round. The teams met earlier this year, with Dallas picking up a win.
The other half of the bracket has two upset-minded teams, the No. 6-seeded WASA Marquette Eagles and No. 7-seeded Lakeshore Sharks. WASA defeated the No. 11 seed LWSRA Synergy Junior Hawks, 40-18, in the first round and then knocked off the No. 3 seed Fairfax Falcons, 45-32, in the second round. Lakeshore defeated the No. 10 seed Kansas City Kings, 36-32, in the first round and upended the No. 2 seeded-BlazeSports Junior Hawks, 29-25, in the second round.
Defensive-Minded Upset
A defensive shift and consistent hot shooting from Karson Henderson helped lead the Kansas City Kings B Team to a first-round Varsity Invitational Division upset early Friday afternoon. Then, later that evening, they scored another upset in the second round to advance to the tournament’s semifinals.
Trailing midway through the third quarter, No. 11-seeded Kansas City rallied behind its switch to a halfcourt press defense and some timely baseline shots from Henderson for a 48-45 first-round win over the No. 6 seed Chicago Skyhawks.
“And the kids really owned it,” says Kansas City Kings B team coach Ryan Murdoch. “And man, they just did not let their two best players get free for the rest of the half. So, defense is what turned that game around.”
It marked the third time the two teams had played this year, with the first two in a February tournament, and Kansas City breaking the split.
Down by four points with less than 4 minutes to go in the third period, Kansas City picked up the defensive intensity, forcing turnovers and missed shots, to recover and take a 38-35 lead at the end of the period.
They put one of their smallest players, Ruby Bandimere, on Chicago’s tallest one — Lamarion Evans-Coleman — and forced steals and turnovers and provided a major defensive boost.
“She [Bandimere] has tremendous chair skills to be able, no matter the size of anybody, she can, she can hold them,” Murdoch says. “And she’s a Prep [Division} player, too. So, she comes up and plays some.”
Then, in the fourth quarter, it was Henderson’s turn. He hit back-to-back right baseline shots and pushed the team’s lead to 42-37 with 5 minutes and 43 seconds left to go in the fourth.
Chicago rallied, but Henderson made a layup with 3:04 remaining. With the team’s lead down to 45-43, he added another right-side baseline shot to push the team’s advantage to 47-43 with 2:05 to go.
“That’s where he likes to be, but he can do that from either side. So, if somebody wants to take it away on one side, we can get it from the other, too,” Murdoch says. “But that is where he likes to shoot from.”
Chicago’s Alexander McGuire cut the deficit to 47-45 on a short inside shot with 1:02 remaining. But the Skyhawks missed a chance to tie the game with 34 seconds to go and then lost time trying to give fouls. Henderson hit 1-of-2 free throws with 4.2 seconds left. and Chicago missed a shot as time expired.
Late that evening, Kansas City edged out the No. 3 seed Adaptive Sports Ohio ASOC, 40-39, to advance to Saturday’s semifinals.
The Kings B Team will take on the No. 2 seed Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers in one semifinal. Mary Free Bed took down No. 7-seeded Katie’s Comets, 32-22, in the second round after defeating the No. 18 seed TIRR Memorial Hermann Hotwheels, 39-18, in the opening round.
The Junior NIT Division was full of upsets as No. 8 ATX (Austin) advanced to the other semifinal to take on the No. 4-seeded SAAS Junior Wildcats.
After defeating the No. 9-seeded Fairfax Falcons, 49-24, in the first round, No. 8 ATX (Austin) knocked off the top-seeded Nebraska Red Dawgs, 53-46, in the second round. The SAAS Junior Wildcats defeated the No. 13-seeded Mad City Badgers, 44-32, in the first round and the No. 5-seeded Bennett Blazers, 40-32, in the second round.
National Wheelchair Basketball Association Junior Division Championships Day 1 April 4
At Henrico Sports & Events Center in Glen Allen, Va.
Varsity Division
First Round
No. 1 LWSRA Synergy Hawks 55, No. 16 New York Rolling Fury 35
No. 8 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Purple 44, No. 9 Dallas Junior Wheelchair Mavericks Blue 25
No. 4 Brooks Bullsharks 64, No. 13 Courage Kenny Rolling Timberwolves 61
No. 5 Kansas City Kings A 48, No. 12 Golden State Junior Road Warriors 25
No. 11 WASA Marquette Eagles 53, No. 6 Utah Rush 40
No. 3 Lakeshore Lakers 55, No. 14 RMF Trojans 36
No. 7 Ranchos Halos 49, No. 10 BlazeSports Junior Hawks Red 46
No. 2 RHI Racers 66, No. 15 Cincinnati Dragons 27
Consolation Bracket
No. 9 Dallas Junior Wheelchair Mavericks Blue 57, No. 16 New York Rolling Fury 42
No. 13 Courage Kenny Rolling Timberwolves 56, No. 12 Golden State Junior Road Warriors 47
No. 14 RMF Trojans 51, No. 6 Utah Rush 30
No. 15 Cincinnati Dragons 47, No. 10 BlazeSports Junior Hawks 41
Second Round
No. 1 LWSRA Synergy Hawks 45, No. 8 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Purple 34
No. 4 Brooks Bullsharks 54, No. 5 Kansas City Kings A 43
No. 3 Lakeshore Lakers 51, No. 11 WASA Marquette Eagles 36
No. 2 RHI Racers 53, No. 7 RanchosHalos 40
Varsity Invitational Division
Play-In Games
No. 16 ParaSport Spokane 44, No. 17 MS Wheelcats 40
No. 18 TIRR Memorial Hotwheels 49, No. 15 Louisville Lightning 46
No. 14 Dallas Junior Wheelchair Mavericks White 38, No. 19 Orlando Magic Wheels 24
No. 13 Mad City Badgers 41, No. 20 Sportable Spokes 12
First Round
No. 1 Nebraska Red Dawgs 64, No. 16 ParaSport Spokane 9
No. 8 ATX (Austin) 49, No. 9 Fairfax Falcons 24
No. 4 SAAS Junior Wildcats 44, No. 13 Mad City Badgers 32
No. 5 Bennett Blazers 59, No. 12 Memphis Rollin’ Grizzlies 52
No. 11 Kansas City Kings B Team 48, No. 6 Chicago Skyhawks 45
No. 3 Adaptive Sports Ohio ASOC 49, No. 14 Dallas Junior Wheelchair Mavericks White 37
No. 7 Katie’s Komets 34, No. 10 Roger C. Peace Rollin’ Tigers 20
No. 2 Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers 39, No. 18 TIRR Memorial Hermann Hotwheels 18
Consolation Bracket
No. 9 Fairfax Falcons 49, No. 16 ParaSport Spokane 17
No. 12 Memphis Rollin’ Grizzlies 32, No. 13 Mad City Badgers 27
No. 6 Chicago Skyhawks 49, No. 14 Dallas Junior Wheelchair Mavericks White 44
No. 10 Roger C. Peace Rollin’ Tigers 56, No. 18 TIRR Memorial Hermann Hotwheels 36
Second Round
No. 8 ATX (Austin) 53, No. 1 Nebraska Red Dawgs 46
No. 4 SAAS Junior Wildcats 40, No. 5 Bennett Blazers 32
No. 11 Kansas City Kings B Team 40, No. 3 Adaptive Sports Ohio ASOC 39
No. 2 Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers 32, No. 7 Katie’s Komets 22
Prep Division
Play-In Games
No. 16 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets 20, No. 17 Louisville Lightning 18
No. 18 Katie’s Komets 21, No. 15 Orlando Magic Wheels 17
No. 14 Cincinnati Dragons 28, No. 19 Bennett Blazers 17
No. 13 Music City Thunder 33, No. 20 Michigan Rollverines 14
First Round
No. 1 Dallas Junior Wheelchair Mavericks Blue 38, No. 16 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets 11
No. 9 RHI 32, No. 8 ATX (Austin) 25
No. 4 New York Rolling Fury 41, No. 13 Music City Thunder 18
No. 5 Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers 32, No. 12 Courage Kenny Rolling Rowdies 20
No. 6 WASA Marquette Eagles 40, No. 11 LWSRA Synergy Junior Hawks 18
No. 3 Fairfax Falcons 35, No. 14 Cincinnati Dragons 27
No. 7 Lakeshore Sharks 36, No. 10 Kansas City Kings 32
No. 2 BlazeSports Junior Hawks 36, No. 18 Katie’s Komets 13
Consolation Bracket
No. 8 ATX (Austin) 36, No. 16 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets 5
No. 12 Courage Kenny Rolling Rowdies 27, No. 13 Music City Thunder 26
No. 11 LWSRA Synergy Junior Hawks 23, No. 14 Cincinnati Dragons 19
No. 18 Katie’s Komets 27, No. 10 Kansas City Kings 24
Second Round
No. 1 Dallas Junior Wheelchair Mavericks Blue 43, No. 9 RHI 25
No. 4 New York Rolling Fury 33, No. 5 Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers 23
No. 6 WASA Marquette Eagles 45, No. 3 Fairfax Falcons 32
No. 7 Lakeshore Sharks 29, No. 2 BlazeSports Junior Hawks 25