No. 5 Seed Bennett Blazers Knock Off Junior Prep Division’s Top Seed
After winning their National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) Junior Prep Division wheelchair basketball tournament semifinal, Bennett Blazers coach Gwena Herman was so excited, she hugged and lifted two of her team’s players halfway out of their wheelchairs.
They made it to the finals as a No. 5 seed, knocking off the top seed LWSRA/Synergy Hawks in Saturday afternoon’s semifinals — and once again won a tournament game in thrilling fashion.
Trailing by a point, Landon Brown hit a pair of free throws with 38.8 seconds left, and the Blazers hung on after a missed foul shot and other field goal attempts by the Hawks for a 42-41 victory at the Henrico Sports & Events Center in Glen Allen, Va.
“I’m just so very proud of all of them. Our motto all season has been ‘Together, anything is possible,’ and that’s what I’ve told them all along. You come out, play the game and anything is possible. So, we came in a fifth seed and we made it to the championship game,” Herman says. “Our prep team actually were national champions in 2019, but we haven’t had anybody make it to the final four since then.”
Now, they’re back with another chance.
Owen Stewart scored three points and hit 1-of-2 free throws in the final 3 minutes and 31 seconds, along with Brown’s two free throws, to help the Blazers pull out the victory.
They’ll take on No. 2 seed ATX Austin Wheelchair Basketball Team in Sunday’s Junior Prep Division championship. ATX Austin defeated the No. 6 seed New York Rolling Fury, 36-30, in Saturday’s second semifinal. ATX Austin (29-0) enters the title game undefeated.
New York led 18-12 at halftime, but ATX Austin rallied and moved ahead in the fourth quarter.
“I’m proud of the kids. They’re all so dedicated,” says ATX Austin assistant coach Joe Fischer.
Lakeshore Survives
The Varsity Division’s top seed, the Lakeshore Lakers used a late offensive semifinal game spurt to hang on and advance to their division’s championship game. They’ll still have a chance to repeat as NWBA Varsity Division champions.
Lakeshore closed the final 1 minute and 50 seconds on an 8-0 run to earn a 54-44 victory over the physical and pesky No. 4 seed New York Rollin’ Fury at the Henrico Sports & Events Center in Glen Allen, Va. Lakeshore won each of its first two tournament games by 30 points or more. But the semifinal game was much different.
“They’re a very physical team, and that’s a challenge that we didn’t hit yesterday [Friday] in Round 1 and Round 2, so I think that took us a little bit of time in the first half to get our shot regiment to fall. We were having a lot of good looks, but I think just with the physicality and the speed of the game, they weren’t falling,” says Lakeshore coach Savannah Gardner. “But I think we did a great job of playing back physically, as well, but playing smart. And in the end, that brought us the game.”
Lakeshore will take on No. 2 seed Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Purple, which controlled most of the game against the No. 3 seed Bennett Blazers in a 68-58 win in Saturday’s second semifinal game. Charlotte led 38-24 at halftime and was up by double-digits until Bennett cut the lead to 64-56 with 1 minute left. But Charlotte’s Adam Smith hit a pair of free throws and a layup to seal the game late.
Lakeshore has faced Charlotte three times this season and defeated the Rollin’ Hornets Purple in two of the three matchups.
“For us, it just starts with defense — 100 percent defense,” Charlotte coach Mike Godsey says. “Our offense will click as long as our defense is there. We win games with defense.”
DASA Knocks Off Mad City
There were more upsets, this time coming in the NWBA’s Junior Varsity Invitational Division.
The No. 21 seed DASA Rolling Rams knocked off the No. 17 seed Mad City Badgers, 45-30, in an early Saturday afternoon Junior Varsity Invitational Division semifinal at the Henrico Sports & Events Center. DASA led 25-18 at halftime and cruised from there.
DASA will take on the No. 18 Ryan Martin Foundation Trojans in today’s championship game. No. 18 seed Ryan Mountain Foundation rolled to a 44-29 victory over the No. 22 seed Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers in Saturday’s second Junior Varsity Invitational semifinal.
Ryan Martin Foundation led 21-13 at halftime and increased its lead from there.
National Wheelchair Basketball Association Wheelchair Basketball Tournament Championships
At Henrico Sports & Events Center in Glen Allen, Va.
Juniors Varsity Division Saturday Day 2
Semifinals
No. 1 Lakeshore Lakers 54, No. 4 New York Rollin’ Fury 44
No. 2 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets Purple 68, No. 3 Bennett Blazers 58
Consolation
No. 9 Rancho Halos 47, No. 13 RHI Racers 24
No. 7 Kansas City Kings Varsity A 48, No. 14 Junior Road Warriors 37
No. 12 Brooks Bullsharks 49, No. 16 Fairfax Falcons 38
No. 11 Dallas Junior Mavericks Blue 49, No. 15 WASA Marquette Eagles 27
No. 8 BlazeSports Junior Hawks Red 54, No. 5 Courage Kenny Junior Rolling Timberwolves 46
No. 6 LWSRA/Synergy Hawks Varsity 1 52, No. 10 Utah Rush 48
Varsity Invitational Divison
Semifinals
No. 21 DASA Rolling Rams 45, No. 17 Mad City Badgers 30
No. 18 Ryan Martin Foundation Trojans 44, No. 22 Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers 29
Consolation
No. 28 Katie’s Komets 41, No. 25 Bridge City Blazers 35
No. 27 Cincinnati Dragons 65, No. 31 Mississippi Wheelcats
No. 29 Dallas Junior Mavericks White 44, No. 32 SAAS Junior Wildcats 25
No. 24 Adaptive Sports Ohio Cavaliers 38, No. 20 Kansas City Kings Varsity B 29
No. 19 Nebraska Red Dawgs 64, No. 23 Roger C. Peace Rollin’ Tigers 32
No. 26 LWSRA/Synergy Hawks, No. 30 ParaSport Spokane Varsity A
15th-Place Game
No. 32 SAAS Junior Wildcats 38, No. 26 LWSRA/Synergy Hawks 11
13th-Place Game
No. 29 Dallas Junior Mavericks White 41, No. 30 ParaSport Spokane Varsity A 22
11th-Place Game
No. 25 Bridge City Rolling Blazers 38, No. 31 Mississippi Wheelcats 37
9th-Place Game
No. 27 Cincinnati Dragons 24, No. 28 Katie’s Komets 22
Prep Division
Semifinals
No. 5 Bennett Blazers 42, No. 1 LWSRA/Synergy Hawks 41
No. 2 ATX Austin Wheelchair Basketball 36, No. 6 New York Rollin’ Fury 30
Consolation
No. 9 Fairfax Falcons 39, No. 12 Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets 16
No. 7 WASA Marquette Eagles 28, No. 11 RHI Junior Racers 12
No. 13 Lakeshore Sharks 26, No. 16 Music City Thunder 23
No. 15 Cincinnati Dragons 18, No. 14 Katie’s Komets 10
No. 4 Dallas Wheelchair Junior Mavericks Blue 29, No. 8 Kansas City Kings 12
No. 3 Mary Free Bed Junior Pacers 20, No. 10 BlazeSports Junior Hawks 13
15th-Place Game
No. 14 Katie’s Komets 24, No. 16 Music City Thunder 23