July 30, 2022
By Morgan Wenger
Tournament Director

The High School division started off with Details looking like the team to beat. Details rode a 22-point explosion from Braylon Wenger in dismantling the Norwayne Tigers 30-10 in the first round of pool play. Ethan Hann led Norwayne with six points in defeat. The favorites followed that up with a 10-point victory against the Blue Ballers. Kyrie Gaut got in on the act in this game for Details. Gaut fired in five three pointers to lead Details with 15 points, while Braylon Wenger chipped in another 13. Ray Stokes led the Blue Ballers with nine points.

Next Level pumped the brakes on any ideas Details had that they might dominate all the way through the championship in the next round. After Details jumped out to a big lead early on, Tillman Brown went to work for Next Level. Brown scored from all three levels as he amassed an impressive 17 points to give Next Level a 28-27 lead late in the game. Braylon Wenger (16 points), with ice in his veins, hit a tough step back three-pointer to give Details a hard fought 30-28 win. Kyrie Gaut added another 11 points for Details as they clinched the top seed on the bracket.

The rest of the pool play games took the form of the tilt between Next Level and Details. Hard fought games that came down to the last few plays. Next Level beat the Blue Ballers by four points. Matthew Fahey (11 points), Tillman Brown (10 points), and Sullivan Chadbourne (9 points) led a balanced attack for Next Level to overcome a 12-point effort from the Blue Ballers’ Ray Stokes. Stokes got more help in the next round, as Bronson Gilyard pumped in 13 points to match another 13 from Stokes. It was not enough, however, to defeat the Norwayne Tigers. Parker Metsker scored 11 points to help secure the 30-26 Norwayne Tigers win. That left one game between Next Level and the Norwayne Tigers to determine the second and third seeds on the bracket. After a fiercely competitive start to the game, Next Level pulled away from Norwayne late to secure an impressive 30-22 victory. Matthew Fahey continued his hot shooting in this game, as he hit two shots from deep as part of his 14-point effort for Next Level. Parker Metsker led the Norwayne Tigers in defeat with 10 points.

Details' Braylon Wenger drives against Jake Ryan of the Norwayne Tigers

Details, once again, found themselves in a battle in the semifinal round of bracket play against the Blue Ballers. This time it was Caden Winston who was trying to derail their journey to the championship. Winston scored on a variety of plays; making three shots from outside the arc, driving to the basket, and converting offensive rebounds into baskets as he racked up an impressive 15 points for the Blue Ballers. As had been the case all day, Braylon Wenger was up to the challenge for Details. He matched Winston shot for shot and then some. Wenger scorched the nets for 24 points to help Details pull away for a 30-23 victory and a berth in the championship game. Predictably, the other semifinal rematch between Next Level and the Norwayne Tigers came down to the last few plays. This time around it was Norwayne who pulled away down the stretch. Braden West, Parker Metsker, and Ethan Hann all made key plays as Norwayne scratched out a 30-24 win to earn another shot at Details in the championship game.

The Norwayne Tigers established very early on that this championship game would not be a repeat of the 30-10 drubbing that took place in pool play between these two teams. Hitting timely three pointers and battling defensively, Norwayne got off to a good start against Details in the championship game. Braylon Wenger and Kyrie Gaut steadied the ship for Details, and the top seeded squad forged their way into the lead as the game reached its midpoint. Two three pointers by Gaut and three pointers from Wenger and Colin Pearson gave Details a commanding 25-16 lead heading down the stretch. Norwayne was not ready to concede just yet. Ethan Hann popped in a triple for the Norwayne Tigers, and then hit another three pointer after Braylon Wenger had matched him with a three pointer of his own to make the score 28-22. Braden West hit another long distance bomb to bring Norwayne within 28-25. With the game getting tight down the stretch and baskets getting tough to come by for his squad, Colin Pearson nailed a three pointer from the corner to clinch the division title for his team. Braylon Wenger (15 points), Kyrie Gaut (10 points), and Colin Pearson (6 points) led the way for Details, while Ethan Hann led the Norwayne Tigers with 11 points in defeat.

Details (Colin Pearson, Braylon Wenger, Braden Fiesler, and Kyrie Gaut)

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