July 27, 2024
By Morgan Wenger
Tournament Director

The game between Mansfield and the five time defending champion White Shirts was the most intense game of the first round of the winner’s bracket in the Top Dawg division. Mario Young bullied his way inside for eight points to lead Mansfield. Cam Brooks-Harris scored 11 (three three pointers) of the first 16 points for White Shirts to give them a slight lead at the midpoint of the game. This is when Marcus Ernst put White Shirts on his back. Mansfield had no answer for Ernst. The talented Ernst scored on the interior and used his big, athletic frame to attack from the outside as he scored 12 of his team’s final 14 points to pull away from Mansfield by the count of 30-21. Ernst tallied an impressive 18 points to lead the way for White Shirts.

The winner’s bracket semifinals pitted tournament veterans THE against the defending champions. THE had blitzed Timeout 30-6 in the quarterfinal round behind monster games from Dee Lewis (14 points) and Jason Pitts (13 points). This game was hotly contested throughout, with balanced scoring on both sides. Once again, Cam Brooks-Harris knocked down two early long balls to get White Shirts going, but THE really found their range from three point land as the game went on. All four players on THE’s roster hit at least one long ball as they knocked down six three pointers as a team to pull ahead as the game entered the stretch run. Marcus Ernst was driving to the basket effectively in this game as well, but THE’s shooting was simply too much to overcome. Dee Lewis scored the final two baskets to put the game away for THE and advance to the winner’s bracket championship. Jason Pitts led THE with 10 points while Lewis added nine. Cam Brooks-Harris led White Shirts with 10 points in defeat.

The other winner’s bracket semifinal pitted Seeing Green against Norwayne. Seeing Green pulled away from a game Mamba Mentality squad in the quarterfinals by a 30-20 count. Tyler Johns nailed three trifectas as part of his 15 point outing to lead Seeing Green while Tre Fite added 11 points. Caleb Scott scored 12 points to lead Mamba Mentality in defeat. Norwayne earned their berth in the semifinals by outlasting Smaller Baller Brand 30-25. Tyson Hess picked up right where he left off in the high school division for Norwayne. Hess scored from all over the court in amassing an impressive 20 points to overcome the three point marksmanship from Smaller Baller Brand’s Jackson Triplett (14 points, four three pointers) and Jacob Farthing (nine points, three three pointers). Seeing Green established their dominance early in their game against Norwayne. The seasoned veterans were simply too much for the young Norwayne team to handle. Tyler Johns made four three pointers as part of his 18 point total to lead the way for Seeing Green. Tre Fite scored half of his points from inside the arc and half of his points from outside the arc to add 12 points for Seeing Green. Braden West scored 11 points to lead the way for Norwayne.

White Shirts' Marcus Ernst shoots a jump hook

This set up the winner’s bracket championship game between THE and Seeing Green. Seeing Green had yet to be challenged in the earlier rounds, but that changed quickly against THE. Dee Lewis was unguardable for THE. The diminutive, explosive guard sandwiched five finishes at the rim with two three pointers to help THE pull away from Seeing Green for a convincing 30-20 victory and a spot in the best of three championship series. Tre Fite knocked in three long balls to lead Seeing Green with nine points in defeat. Joe Pope added eight points in support of Dee Lewis for THE. Tyler Johns and Greg Fite each scored seven points for Seeing Green.

Mamba Mentality scored a 30-12 win against Timeout in the opening round of the loser’s bracket behind 11 points from Caden Winston. Jacob Maurer led Timeout with eight points. Mansfield, with their focus heightened after their opening round loss against THE, completely overwhelmed Smaller Baller Brand by a 30-11 count. Mario Young (15 points) and Jayden Jeffries (11 points) led the way for Mansfield. Jackson Triplett scored five points to lead Smaller Baller Brand.

Greg Fite attempts a reverse layup for Seeing Green

The going got tougher for Mamba Mentality in the next round against Norwayne. Tyson Hess (13 points) and Braden West (11 points) were too much for Mamba Mentality to handle as Norwayne pulled away for a 30-21 win. Caleb Scott tallied nine points in defeat for Mamba Mentality. The most intense game of the tournament up to this point happened in this round between White Shirts and Mansfield. Both teams had championship aspirations in this tournament, and neither team wanted to enter the elimination bracket this early. Mario Young was in full throat from the start in this game. Young mixed in some outside shooting with a variety of drives and finishes as he racked up a monstrous 23 point effort to outlast Marcus Ernst (16 points) and White Shirts 30-28. Mario Young continued his brilliant play in the next round against Norwayne as he racked up another 14 point outing. Jayden Jeffries added 10 points for Mansfield as they pulled away from Norwayne for a 30-18 victory. Braden West knocked in nine points for Norwayne in defeat. Seeing Green made stopping Mario Young a point of emphasis in the next round. For the first time all day, Young was held in check. With their leading scorer stymied, Mansfield needed to slow down the offensive exploits from Seeing Green. They could not get it done. Greg Fite (14 points) and Tyler Johns (13 points) put on a three point shooting display in this game. The duo connected on seven three pointers between the two of them to overwhelm Mansfield 30-23 and move into the loser’s bracket final. Keon Johnson scored eight points to lead Mansfield in defeat.

Cam Brooks-Harris shoots a three pointer for White Shirts

Mamba Mentality opened up the elimination bracket with a resounding 30-9 disposition of Smaller Baller Brand. Caden Winston caught fire for Mamba Mentality in this game. The athletic, high motor wing connected on four shots from deep and worked his way inside for two more baskets as part of his 16 point outing. Jackson Triplett scored four points to lead Smaller Baller Brand. Coming into the day as the reigning five time defending tournament champions, White Shirts certainly did not envision themselves playing an opening round game in the elimination bracket. They started their trek with a convincing 30-12 win against Time Out. Cam Brooks-Harris found his stroke in this game for White Shirts. Brooks-Harris hit eight three pointers as part of his game high 28 point effort. Jacob Mauer knocked in two three pointers to lead Timeout with six points in defeat. Cam Brooks-Harris catching fire gave White Shirts new life. Brooks-Harris continued to seethe from the outside in the next round against Mamba Mentality. He pumped in 17 points and got eight points in support from Marcus Ernst to dispatch Mamba Mentality by a 30-19 count. Eric Spicer and Caleb Scott scored seven points each for Mamba Mentality. Hitting shots from almost every angle and distance imaginable, Brooks-Harris hit seven three pointers as part of another 25 point explosion in the next round to eliminate Norwayne by a 30-19 score. Dylan Smith led Norwayne with eight points.

This set the stage for the third matchup of the day between White Shirts and Mansfield. Both teams turned to the three point shot early in this game. Quan Hilory (three), Keon Johnson (two), and Mario Young (one) all knocked down long balls to forge Manfield into the lead as the game hit the stretch run. Not to be outdone, Cam Brooks-Harris continued his scintillating play by knocking down four three pointers of his own. As the game entered the stretch run, Marcus Ernst started to insert himself in a big way for White Shirts. Ernst was equally dominant in the post and driving to the basket. He repeatedly finished at the rim or drew fouls. This put White Shirts in command 28-24 late in the game. Inexplicably, Ernst missed four consecutive game clinching free throws to keep Mansfield alive. Baskets by Keon Johnson and Mario Young tied the game at 28. Ernst muscled his way inside one last time and rattled in a short jump hook to move his team into the loser’s bracket finals against Seeing Green. Ernst scored a game high 16 points to lead White Shirts, with Cam Brooks-Harris adding 12 points. Keon Johnson led the way for Manfield with 12 points.

Needing to beat Seeing Green twice to advance to the best of three championship series, White Shirts got right to work. More specifically, Cam Brooks-Harris got back to work. Brooks-Harris’ skills were on full display as he ripped the nets five times from deep as part of his 19 point effort in this back and forth affair. Tre Fite led a balanced effort for Seeing Green with 12 points and teammate Greg Fite knocked in three trifectas to put Seeing Green in position to win the game late. Marcus Ernst finished another strong 12 point effort with a game clinching score to move his team one game closer to the championship round. Ernst finished the game with 12 points to help notch the 30-28 victory for White Shirts.

With the tough games piling up for White Shirts, the physical toll was bound to wear them down at some point. That, and an early Marcus Ernst ejection, made winning the next game an almost impossible feat against Seeing Green. Tyler Johns made sure White Shirts’ run was over. The athletic shooting guard had it working from deep into three point land in this game. Johns knocked in five three pointers and punctuated his 19 point performance with a monstrous dunk to catapult his team into the championship series with a 30-17 win against White Shirts. Tre Fite added eight points for Seeing Green. Ebon Cruse scored 10 points to lead White Shirts.

The championship series was moved indoors due to darkness, and Tyler Johns wasted no time in lighting up the gym. Johns played his most complete game of the day, knocking down four three pointers as part of a dominant 22 point effort. Joe Pope was not going down without a fight though. The craft lefty was scoring from outside the arc and using a bevy of moves to score inside as well. His last bucket brought THE within 29-28, but Tyler Johns converted a contested layup after a left to right crossover to clinch Game 1 of the best of three championship series for Seeing Green. Tre Fite added seven points for Seeing Green. Joe Pope finished with 15 points to lead the way for THE in defeat.

Tyler Johns attacks a closeout for Seeing Green

With their backs against the wall, THE rode the hot hand of Joe Pope to an early lead in Game 2 of the championship series. Pope was using his exquisite footwork in the post and spinning into shots when his drives from the perimeter were cut off to the tune of an impressive 21 point effort. Dee Lewis started to find his rhythm in this game for THE as well. Lewis added nine points as THE pulled away for a 30-17 victory to set up a winner take all Game 3. Tre Fite scored seven points to lead Seeing Green.

Tyler Johns hit two three pointers to open the scoring for Seeing Green in Game 3, but their lead was short lived. Dee Lewis scored on a drive and a three pointer to close the gap for THE. Joe Pope took over from there. Combining his unique skill set inside the arc and knocking down a couple of three pointers made him a tough cover for Seeing Green. Pope twisted and turned his way to a game high 14 points for THE. Dee Lewis, clearly having the most energy on the court at this point, finished the deal with several physical, purposeful drives to the basket for layups. THE won their first Dawg Days Basketball championship with a 30-22 triumph over Seeing Green. Dee Lewis finished with 13 points for THE. Tyler Johns matched Joe Pope’s 14 points to lead the way for Seeing Green. Joe Pope was named the 2024 Dawg Days Basketball MVP.

THE (Red Morris, Joe Pope, Jason Pitts, Dee Lewis)

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