Junior Hardballers Win Invitational

Although he passed away two years ago, former Milby coach George McClellan's legacy lives on as youth basketball teams from across the greater Houston area came into Jones High School Gym on Saturday and Sunday to celebrate the life of the beloved coach under the eyes of college scouts at the third annual George McClellan Invitational basketball tournament.

The tournament, which raises scholarship money for the community and provides a friendly atmosphere for college recruiters, invited sixteen teams to compete for a chance to win the event.

 

Eliminated teams were provided with a consolation bracket, maintaining  a constructive atmosphere for the young men not fortunate enough to claim victory and emphasizing a major theme of the day: keeping kids off the concrete streets and in the hardwood gym.

 

After the qualifying rounds on Saturday, the action really heated up on  late Sunday with four teams squaring off in two games for the semi-finals: the Houston Lynx vs. the T-Mac All Stars in one and the Junior Hardballers vs the Rashard Lewis team.

 

The Lynx got a surprise effort out of forward Maurice McNeil, who led the team to a 62-55 victory with a staggering 29 points. The T-Mac All Stars fought hard the whole way behind the scoring of feisty point guard Jamal Fintley, who poured in  18 points of his own. 

 

In the other semi-final the Junior Hardballers gained confidence coming into the championship by dispatching the Rashard Lewis team in a close game, 57-53.

 

In the championship game, the Junior Hardballers set a pace too fast for the Lynx, winning out in the end by a score of 54-49. The game could have gone either way with the Lynx pushing a comeback and coming to within three points in the final minute. Once again McNeil led the Lynx with 14 points, while Theo Ard led the champs with 20 point effort.

 

Ultimately, it was a day of exciting basketball for a wonderful cause. It was a day that embodied the charitable spirit and perseverance of a community.

 

It was a day George McClellan would have enjoyed.