June 28, 2023
By Morgan Wenger
League Director

Details won their second consecutive Dawg Days Summer League championship in 2023

The first semifinal game featured a rematch of last year’s championship game, which Details won in overtime. 23 And Under, fresh off their overtime quarterfinal win against Rim Wreckers, was looking to get back to the championship game and finish the job this time around. Carter Piatt gave 23 And Under an early 2-0 lead, but that was the only lead they would have all night long. Braylon Wenger scored inside and was fouled on the next play to give Details the lead, and the top seeded Details team rode the strength of their half court defense to build a comfortable 33-16 halftime lead. Braylon Wenger made two three pointers just before the midpoint of the half to give Details a 17-7 lead. The game would never get closer than that again. Wenger led Details with 15 points in the first half, while Carter Piatt led 23 And Under with 11 points.

The defensive effort was great on both ends of the court to start the second half, as both teams struggled to gain a consistent rhythm on offense. Bryce Holmes gave Details an offensive jolt around the middle of the second half, scoring on two drives to the basket and then knocking down a triple from long range to extend Details’ lead to 46-23. Although the game stayed hotly contested until the last minute or so, the rout was on at this point. Braylon Wenger finished with 33 points and Jaiden Malone added 13 points to lead Details to the 62-44 victory and a chance to repeat as league champions. Carter Piatt (22 points) was solid throughout the game for 23 And Under.

The second semifinal game featured league veterans E3 General Services against the Tropics. The Tropics had won a tight game when these teams faced off during the regular season. The Tropics, led by Owen Beatty and Tyler Baer, jumped out to an early 9-2 lead in this game. E3 General Services quickly erased that lead, and the remainder of the first half was a back-and-forth battle. Some late scoring activity from Ebon Cruse pushed E3 General Services halftime lead out to 26-19. Beatty and Baer led the Tropics with eight points apiece in the first half, while Cruse led a very balanced E3 General Services attack with seven.

The Tropics needed a good start to the second half to stay in this game, and E3 General Services would not let it happen. Their swarming defense led to several run outs that resulted in open court baskets from Greg Wallace and Ebon Cruse. Cruse dropped in three shots from long distance as well to eliminate any chance of a Tropics comeback. Cruse (28 points) and Wallace (18 points) led the way for E3 General Services, as they completed the 67-46 win to advance to the championship game against Details. Owen Beatty had a monster second half for the Tropics in defeat. Beatty finished with 26 points for the game, while Tyler Baer finished with 10 points.

This set the stage for a very evenly matched championship game between Details and E3 General Services. E3 General Services, on the strength of two Braden Rostool three pointers, had the first mini run of the game to claim an early 14-7 lead midway through the first half. Both teams were locked in defensively for the entire game. Details, with clean looks at a premium, looked to Braylon Wenger to provide the offense. Wenger was scoring in transition, from behind the arc, and on drives to the basket as he scored Details’ first 20 points of the game. His three-pointer around the eight-minute mark of the half gave Details their first lead since 2-0 at 20-19. The rest of the first half was a grind for the defending champions on the offensive end. E3 General Services stymied a seemingly tiring Braylon Wenger, while holding the rest of the squad in check. A Jaiden Malone basket in transition with about two minutes remaining was the only offensive output Details had in the final eight minutes of the half. Baskets were hard to come by for E3 General Services too, but Tre Fite’s three ball as the clock expired gave them a 27-22 lead and all of the momentum heading into halftime.

After a basket and free throw by Wenger cut the lead to 27-25 early in the second half, E3 General Services tried to land the knockout punch on Details. Tre Fite scored a couple of buckets in transition, and Braden Rostool continued to blister the nets from three-point land to give their team the biggest lead in the game on either side 43-34. After a Details timeout to calm things down, Braylon Wenger went back to work for Details. Wenger slipped inside for a nifty finish in traffic, then sandwiched a tough old fashioned three-point play in between three shots from outside the arc to give his team a 49-47 lead around the six-minute mark. Trevor Donaldson hit a three pointer on the next possession to give E3 General Services the lead back 50-49. With the score knotted at 54 inside of a minute to play, Wenger missed a contested shot around the basket. Greg Wallace was able to corral the rebound for E3 General Services, but he was immediately surrounded by three Details players. Jaiden Malone stole the outlet pass and dropped a beautiful assist to Kaiden Roscoe to give Details a 56-54 lead with under 15 seconds to play. Undeterred, E3 General Services immediately pushed the ball up the sideline, and Ebon Cruse drove the length of the floor with his right hand before sneaking a crafty left-handed finish off the glass with about six seconds remaining. Details pushed the ball up the floor, but Jaiden Malone’s game winning three-point attempt bounced off the rim to send the game into overtime.

Caden Granger hit the first basket of overtime; a three pointer from the left wing with 1:25 left on the clock to put Details in command. Ebon Cruse scored on the other end to cut the lead to one. Kaiden Roscoe, who scored 10 huge second half points for Details, scored on an offensive rebound around the one-minute mark to extend his team’s lead to 61-58. E3 General Services had a couple of open looks from three-point land in the final minute, but they could not find the range. Braylon Wenger knocked down two free throws with six seconds remaining to put the finishing touches on back to back league titles for Details and a league championship game record 45 point performance for himself. Kaiden Roscoe chipped in 10 points for Details in the 63-58 victory. Roscoe came up big down the stretch for Details, as eight of his 10 points came in the final eight minutes of regulation and overtime. Ebon Cruse scored 12 of his 19 points in the second half to lead E3 General Services. Braden Rostool made five three pointers as part of his 16-point night for E3 General Services, while Tre Fite chipped in with 11 points.

Dawg Days Home