ORLANDO, FL — The North Mississippi Wildcats advanced to the second round of the winners bracket of the 17U AAU National Tournament with a 72-63 win over Connecticut Gold today at Disney’s Wide World of Sports’ Josten’s Center.
Brandon Blake (Oxford) continued his stellar play with scoring 16 points, 14 in the fourth quarter, 8 rebounds and 4 assist.
Andrew Bell (Pontotoc) scored 12 while his high school teammate Josh Green and Caleb Van Tassell (Hickory Flat) added 10 points each for the Cats. Reed Clayton (Tupelo) 7, Austin Harrelson (Tupelo) 5, Griffin McCormick (Pontotoc) 3, Zavion Adams (Hickory Flat) 3, Trevor Boren (Saltillo) and Zach Carnell (Ingomar) added two each.
The Cat’s picked up the defensive intensity as they held Connecticut well under their 78 points per game average during Pool Play this week.
Riley Kirsch led the Gold with 16 points. Justin Kuntz and Matt Conway added 13 points each.
North Mississippi will play in the second round of the winners bracket against the PT Cruisers (South Carolina) today at 5 p.m. — 4 p.m. Mississippi time.
The opening round win guarantees the team a game on Friday while a win tonight will put the Cats into the tournament’s Sweet Sixteen.
NMS 16 19 16 21 72
CG 14 9 17 23 63
NMS — Brandon Blake 16, Andrew Bell 12, Josh Green 10, Caleb Van Tassell 10, Reed Clayton 7, Austin Harrelson 5, Griffin McCormick 3, Zavion Adams 3, Trevor Boren 2, Zach Carnell 2.
CG — Riley Kirsch 16, Justin Kuntz 13, Matt Conway 13, Wesley Scott Clark 9, William Cardarelli 5, Spencer Calling 4, Seamus Ward 2, Sean Dempsey 1.
