The Pittsburgh Basketball Pro-Am came to a close Wednesday night with a high-scoring finale that was a fitting a capstone to a new look to the annual summer league.
There plenty of points, some outstanding plays, some sloppy defense, and plenty of strong individual performances.
The match-up put No. 7 Shale Attorneys, which managed just a couple wins in the "regular season" against top seed System One. System One regularly challenged the 100-point mark throughout the regular season, so it was no surprise that the game quickly headed in that direction.
In the end, it was System One that, well, won.
It wasn't easy for the champs, although the 115-109 final wasn't quite as close at the end as the final score might suggest. There was little drama, as System One was content to run out the clock and give Shale Attorneys a few extra shots to close the gap. That quiet finish also enabled Duquesne's Rene Castro to break Keith Benjamin's old summer league scoring record. Castro had 56 points, breaking Benjamin's previous mark of 51 set back in 2008, and he crossed the 50 point mark in the final few minutes.
Castro had 32 at the half, and that had pushed Shale Attorneys out to a 13-point lead. But Mike Young, the Pitt forward who was named MVP of the summer league earlier this week, came to life and he got plenty of help. With Pitt teammate James Robinson directing traffic and solid contributions coming from LG Gill and Micah Mason from Duquesne plus Marcquise Reed and Aaron Tate of Robert Morris, System One roared to life, closed the gap and eventually pulled away.
Young finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds while Robinson had 22 points and 11 assists. Mason contributed 21 points to the cause. Besides Castro, the only player above 20 points for Shale Attorneys was Pitt walk-on Aron Nwanko, who had 22 points and 7 rebounds.
Maybe Shale Attorneys missed another scoring option, as Charles Oliver was unable to attend. As for the Robert Morris guys who were in attendance, Reed and Tate both played quite well. Reed had 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, plus a perfect 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line. He wasn't credited with a rebound or assist, but I'm quite confident he had at least two of each. He also had four steals by my count, two of them off of inbounds plays when Shale Attorneys got sloppy.
Overall, it was a customary scoring performance from Reed. He knocked down one 3-pointer, but most of his action came from around the basket on short jumpers and drives to the rim. Tate had one of his more active performances, gobbling up nine rebounds to go with his eight points. Tate also dished out two assists, showing some good vision around the basket.
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That brings the summer league action to a close. Basketball will take a back seat for a few months, as football camp opens on July 31. But the hoops season isn't all that far away. Practices begin in late September/early October and the season opens November 14 at home against Lafayette.
There plenty of points, some outstanding plays, some sloppy defense, and plenty of strong individual performances.
The match-up put No. 7 Shale Attorneys, which managed just a couple wins in the "regular season" against top seed System One. System One regularly challenged the 100-point mark throughout the regular season, so it was no surprise that the game quickly headed in that direction.
In the end, it was System One that, well, won.
It wasn't easy for the champs, although the 115-109 final wasn't quite as close at the end as the final score might suggest. There was little drama, as System One was content to run out the clock and give Shale Attorneys a few extra shots to close the gap. That quiet finish also enabled Duquesne's Rene Castro to break Keith Benjamin's old summer league scoring record. Castro had 56 points, breaking Benjamin's previous mark of 51 set back in 2008, and he crossed the 50 point mark in the final few minutes.
Castro had 32 at the half, and that had pushed Shale Attorneys out to a 13-point lead. But Mike Young, the Pitt forward who was named MVP of the summer league earlier this week, came to life and he got plenty of help. With Pitt teammate James Robinson directing traffic and solid contributions coming from LG Gill and Micah Mason from Duquesne plus Marcquise Reed and Aaron Tate of Robert Morris, System One roared to life, closed the gap and eventually pulled away.
Young finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds while Robinson had 22 points and 11 assists. Mason contributed 21 points to the cause. Besides Castro, the only player above 20 points for Shale Attorneys was Pitt walk-on Aron Nwanko, who had 22 points and 7 rebounds.
Maybe Shale Attorneys missed another scoring option, as Charles Oliver was unable to attend. As for the Robert Morris guys who were in attendance, Reed and Tate both played quite well. Reed had 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting, plus a perfect 6-of-6 performance from the free throw line. He wasn't credited with a rebound or assist, but I'm quite confident he had at least two of each. He also had four steals by my count, two of them off of inbounds plays when Shale Attorneys got sloppy.
Overall, it was a customary scoring performance from Reed. He knocked down one 3-pointer, but most of his action came from around the basket on short jumpers and drives to the rim. Tate had one of his more active performances, gobbling up nine rebounds to go with his eight points. Tate also dished out two assists, showing some good vision around the basket.
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That brings the summer league action to a close. Basketball will take a back seat for a few months, as football camp opens on July 31. But the hoops season isn't all that far away. Practices begin in late September/early October and the season opens November 14 at home against Lafayette.
