LWOS’ NCAA All-State Tournament is coming to the end with the Final Four. The remaining teams are New York, Maryland/Washington D.C, Georgia, and Minnesota. All four number one seeds are still alive and these matchups are incredible
NCAA All-State Tournament Final Four
#1 New York vs #1 Minnesota
Starters: Obi Toppin, Jordan Nwora, Isaiah Stewart, Elijah Hughes, Cole Anthony
Bench: James Bouknight, Anthony Lamb, Precious Achiuwa, Alpha Diallo, Justin Champagnie
Starters: Tre Jones, McKinley Wright IV, Tyrell Terry, Zeke Nnaji, Daniel Oturu
Bench: Brad Davison, Sacar Anim, Steffon Mitchell, Nate Reuvers, Freddie Gillespie
Game one went the way of Minnesota, 98-90. Jones chipped in 20 points and ten assists while Wright added 20 points and 8 assists.
Game two went the way of New York via overtime, 105-100. Oturu pitched in 34 points and 15 rebounds, but Cole Anthony secured the win with a triple-double.
Game three again went the way of New York, 103-89. Also, Anthony had another major effort with 24 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists.
Game four saw New York secure a 3-1 lead with a 98-90 win behind Nwora’s 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Game five was a pivotal game for Minnesota. They used a massive effort from Jones and Oturu to climb back into the series, 3-2. Jones went for 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists, while Oturu added 17 points and 15 rebounds.
Finally, game six sealed the deal. New York rode their star to a series-clinching win 111-98. Toppin dropped 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Oturu recorded 18 points and 11 rebounds effort in defeat.
Minnesota had some major efforts. Jones averaged 17 points, 4 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game. Additionally, Wright added 15.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4.3 assists. The bigs were the other stars. Nnaji averaged 13 points and 11 rebounds per game. Oturu added 18.2 points and 12.5 rebounds to dominate the paint from the jump.
New York played decent in this series. Toppin averaged 19.5 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.3 assists to lead the way. Meanwhile, Anthony and Nwora also chipped in big efforts. Anthony averaged 19.5 points, 7 rebounds, and 6.2 assists per game. Nwora averaged 18 points and 11 rebounds. Stewart and Hughes added decent efforts and were consistent presences. All of this was enough for New York to advance.
#1 Maryland/DC vs #1 Georgia
Maryland/DC
Starters: Luka Garza, Jalen Smith, Anthony Cowan, Immanuel Quickley, Saddiq Bey
Bench: Jeff Dowtin, Chris Lykes, Jamorko Pickett, Noah Locke, Darryl Morsell
Georgia
Starters: Anthony Edwards, James Banks III, Reggie Perry, Devin Vassell, Kamar Baldwin
Bench: Isaac Okoro, Ashton Hagans, Tre Scott, MJ Walker, Landers Nolley
Game one went the way of Georgia, 115-100. Perry had a monster 28 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists. Maryland had big efforts from their Terrapins, getting 25 points and 13 rebounds from Smith and 20 points and 12 assists from Cowan.
Game two ended in dramatic fashion. Anthony Edwards dropped a deep three at the buzzer to win, 99-96. Once again, Perry was dominant scoring 23 points and 13 rebounds. For Maryland, Smith again held his own adding 26 points and 13 rebounds.
Game three was a big win for Georgia, 97-81. Edwards led the way this time with 28 points and 7 rebounds. On the other side, Smith and Garza notched double-doubles. Unfortunately, Maryland is just unable to stop the NBA star power on the Georgia roster.
Game four ended the series. Georgia gets out the broom and beats Maryland, 91-86. Vassell had his best game notching 20 points and 9 rebounds, while Perry recorded his fourth double-double. Again, Garza and Smith had great games but it was not enough.
Series Recap
Maryland had great efforts from the frontcourt. Smith led the way with 20.3 points and 13.8 rebounds per game, while Garza added 20 points and 9.8 rebounds. Additionally, Cowan was solid with 15 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 7.3 assists per game. Quickley and Bey left something to be desired. That paired with the lack of a bench did Maryland in.
Georgia was all about star power. Perry pitched in 18.8 points, 12 rebounds, and 5 assists per game. Edwards added 20.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.8 assists. Meanwhile, Vassell and Baldwin both had great efforts and impressed beyond expectations.
NCAA All-State Championship
#1 New York vs #1 Georgia
Game one went to the Georgia squad, 106-97. This was a battle of the guards as Edwards added 24 points, 8 rebounds, and 5 assists. Anthony had similar numbers, notching 24 points, 10 rebounds, and 7 assists.
Game two evened up the series with New York winning 107-103. Toppin added 25 points and 8 rebounds, while Nwora had 24 points and 6 rebounds. In response, Perry added 26 points and 13 rebounds while Edwards had 29 points and 7 rebounds. This will be the story for the rest of the series.
Game three ended with a dominant New York win 103-87. Anthony had 22 points and 11 rebounds. Achiuwa and Lamb both had double figures off the bench.
Game four was won by Georgia 104-102 on a Hagans floater at the buzzer. Along with these heroics, Perry added 22 points and 13 rebounds while Baldwin had his best game of the series adding 21 points and 5 assists. Anthony nearly added a triple-double for New York.
Game five was important. New York handled Georgia securing a 3-2 lead. Toppin had 27 points and 14 rebounds while Stewart added a double-double of his own. Reggie Perry secured his second 30 point, 10 rebound game of the tournament.
Game six went to Georgia in a must-win game. This time, New York fought back from ten down with two minutes left, only to lose on an Okoro three at the buzzer. Perry added 26 points and 15 rebounds to go along with Vassell’s 25 points and 8 rebounds.
Next, was the all-important game seven, which was dominated by New York. Toppin rose to stardom with a 25 point, 9 rebound, and assist effort. Hughes had his best game of the tournament adding 21 points and 8 assists.
Series Recap
Georgia produced a valiant effort. Perry averaged 20.1 points and 10.3 rebounds. Edwards struggled in the series with 14.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 3.3 assists. Baldwin helped with 13.1 points as well.
New York was led by Toppin, Anthony, and Nwora again. Toppin averaged 20.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists. Anthony added 18.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.4 assists. Nwora pitched in 17 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 2.4 assists. Stewart also nearly added a double-double.
NCAA All-State Tournament Team
First Team
- Obi Toppin (NY)
- Cole Anthony (NY)
- Jordan Nwora (NY)
- Reggie Perry (GA)
- Anthony Edwards (GA)
Second Team
- Tre Jones (MN)
- Anthony Cowan (MD)
- Jalen Smith (MD)
- Daniel Oturu (MN)
- Isaiah Stewart (NY)
Most Outstanding Player: Obi Toppin (NY)
Toppin had an outstanding tournament. He was clearly the best player on the floor and carried New York to the crown. Toppin averaged 19.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4 assists for the tournament. Ideally, Toppin carries this fake momentum into the NBA Draft.
Main Photo
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