12/25/06 Tippy McTernan:  'After two exciting semifinal games before a packed house at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brooklyn, the championship game of the Funsport Junior Pros fall league was almost anti-climatic, as New Heights-8th rolled over the Long Island Lightning 60-32. New Heights, with the league's top backcourt duo of Sterling Gibbs and Corey Edwards, a vastly-improved big man in Jermaine Sanders, and a consistent shooter in Isaiah Morton, simply had too many weapons for their opponents throughout the regular season. It showed again in the title contest as New Heights opened a double-digit lead early in the second quarter and continued to expand the margin the rest of the way. Gibbs led all scorers with 19 points for New Heights while MVP Sanders accumulated 14 points and 10 rebounds. Morton added 13 points and 4 assists for the winners while Nkereuwem Okoro topped the Lightning with 17 points and 7 boards.

Earlier in the day, the Lightning advanced to the final by winning its third straight playoff game over a higher seed, as Nicholas Padgett scored 16 of his game-high 20 points in the second half to lift the Lightning to a 47-40 semifinal victory over New Heights-7th, the #1 seed in the Navy Division. The Lightning used an 8-0 run to take a 12-9 lead after one. New Heights countered with a 6-0 run in the second quarter and a short jumper by Dashawn Suber just before halftime gave New Heights a slim 21-20 lead at the break. The lead changed hands several times in the third quarter until Padgett sparked a 7-0 Lightning run with a fastbreak layup with 1:06 left and scored again with 10 seconds left in the period to give his team a 31-25 advantage entering the final period. Padgett kept his streak going in the final session with a three-pointer and an and-one layup, giving him 8 straight points and the Lightning a commanding 37-28 lead with 5:01 left. New Heights staged a brief rally but another Padgett trey with 1:10 left sealed the win for the Lightning. Kyle Anderson added 7 points and 4 assists for the Lightning and Okoro had 6 points with 6 rebounds. Suber topped New Heights with 18 points, followed by Winston McLeod with 9 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

In the second semifinal, New Heights-8th squandered an early 13-1 lead but got a reprieve when Gibbs made a clutch three with a minute left, enabling New Heights to hold on for a 51-47 decision over the Broncos. New Heights got 14 first-half points from Sanders while taking control early but the Broncos began chipping away in the middle quarters, getting within 38-32 entering the final period. The Broncos went ahead for the first time when Darrel Luckey converted a steal and score for a 44-43 lead with 2:04 on the clock. Gibbs got that one back for New Heights with his own converted steal with 1:33 left, then delivered the game-clinching three-pointer from the right corner. Gibbs and Sanders (game-high 11 rebounds) each finished with 20 points for the winners while the Broncos got 10 points apiece from Luckey and Michael Taylor.

As part of Funsport Junior Pros Championship Day, the All-Academic and All-Tournament teams were announced, as follows: All-Academic : Eddie Sullivan, Brooklyn Patriots; William Davis, New Heights-8th; Miles Neil, New Heights-7th; Shawn Ponds, Broncos; Jamel Torrence, Long Island Lightning All-Tournament: Sterling Gibbs, New Heights-8th; Jevaune Dawson, Real Scout; Davontay Grace, I.S. 323; Nkereuwem Okoro, Long Island Lightning; Corey Edwards, New Heights-8th.'

12/22/06 Tippy McTernan: The fall 2006 season of the Funsport Junior Pros will conclude this Saturday, December 23rd at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brooklyn. A pair of semifinal games will commence at 1:00 p.m. followed by the championship game at 4:00 p.m. In the opening semifinal, New Heights-7th will face upstart Long Island Lightning, followed by New Heights-8th versus the Broncos. New Heights-7th was the top seed in the Navy Division during the regular season while the Lightning was seeded #5. However, the defending 12-under national AAU champions got a monster performance from Nkereuwem Okoro (25 points and 13 rebounds) to upset Real Scout, the #1 seed in the Red Division. New Heights-8th (Navy #2 seed), which captured the 14-under national title as S. Carter Elite, will look to repeat its regular-season victory (65-55) over the Broncos (Navy #4 seed). The winners will face off for the 2006 Junior Pros championship.

12/13/06 Tippy McTernan: 'Nkereuwem Okoro had a second straight dominating playoff performance, recording 25 points and 13 rebounds to power the Long Island Lightning to 48-45 upset of Real Scout in the Funsport Junior Pros quarterfinals at the Brownsville Recreation Center. Real Scout was the #1 seed in the Red Division during the regular season while the Lightning was #5 in the Navy. Okoro set the tone early as he outscored Real Scout by himself in the opening quarter with 9 points and 7 boards, giving the Lightning an 11-7 lead after one. The Lightning expanded the margin to 19-7 on a three-point play by Kamari Murphy at the 5:40 mark of the second quarter. Real Scout suddenly awoke, using a pair of threes by Tayriq Smith and Jevaune Dawson to fuel a 17-4 surge that ended with a layup by Dawson and a 26-25 Real Scout lead with 1:49 left in the half. The game remained close the rest of the way but the Lightning went ahead for good at 43-41 on a lane pullup by Murphy with 2:45 remaining. Real Scout had several chances down the stretch to get even but the Lightning managed to hold on and advance to the semis. The winners also received 12 points and 8 rebounds from Murphy, and a game-high 6 assists from Kyle Anderson. Dawson paced Real Scout with 20 points and 10 rebounds while Sidiki Johnson added 9 points and 5 boards.

The Lightning will need to get past another #1 seed to reach the final, as New Heights-7th (#1 in the Navy Division) built a 32-17 halftime and went on to down the Brooklyn Patriots 45-29. New Heights went up 18-7 after the opening session and maintained a double-digit advantage the rest of the game. Dashaun Suber led the way for New Heights with 14 points, followed by Stewart Warren with 12. Jensen Jose topped the Patriots with 10 points and a game-high 8 boards.

The other semifinal will also be an All-Navy affair, pitting #2 New Heights-8th versus the #3 Broncos. The Broncos got 18 points apiece from Tysean Saigo and Michael Taylor while coasting to a surprisingly-easy 61-30 victory over Starrett City. Saigo also recorded 13 rebounds as the Broncos dominated the glass at both ends. Daniel Thompson had a game-high 7 assists for the Broncos while Aaron Williams and Johnathan Vinas each had 10 points to lead Starrett City.

In the final quarterfinal contest, New Heights-8th got 20 points from Jermaine Sanders and 19 points from Sterling Gibbs to pull away from I.S. 323 68-46. Gibbs nailed successive three-pointers to lift New Heights to a 19-18 first-quarter lead and Sanders climaxed a key 8-0 run in the second quarter with a putback that widened the gap to 31-21 with 2:56 left in the half. I.S. 323 made several brief rallies over the next ten minutes but New Heights maintained control and began pulling away again in the closing minutes. I.S. 323 placed three scorers in double figures: Eric Turpin (18 points and a game-high 11 rebounds), Daniel Davis (13 points) and Davontay Grace (10 points).

The Funsport Junior Pros semifinals and championship games will both be held on Saturday, December 23 beginning at 1:00 p.m. at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brooklyn.'

12/4/06 Tippy McTernan: 'Long Island Lightning got 29 points and 10 rebounds from Nkereuwem Okoro and advanced to the quarterfinals of the Funsport Junior Pros playoffs with a 52-42 triumph over Visitation. Nahun Nunez dropped a three to give Visitation the first lead at 3-0 but then the Lightning struck with 11 straight points and never looked back. Okoro had 20 points in the first half as the Lightning built a commanding 30-8 margin at the break. Jonathan Flores was next with 8 points and 8 rebounds for the Lightning. Visitation, which narrowed the final margin with a 26-9 fourth quarter, placed two scorers in double figures: Nunez (14 points) and Terrence Robinson (13).

The Broncos ran up an 18-0 lead at the start and rolled over Team Stay 54-23. Daniel Thompson led four Broncos in double figures with 15 points and 5 assists, followed by Darrell Lucky (13 points), Shawn Ponds (12 points) and Tysean Saigo (11 points and 12 rebounds). Andrew Williams had a team-high 10 points for Team Stay, the host team at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brooklyn.

In the day's opening contest, I.S. 323 had three scorers reach double figures while coasting over United Brooklyn 71-15. Joseph Caraballo scored a game-high 16 points, Eric Turpin posted a double-double of 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Shaquil Bryant added 12 points for the winners. Albert Pierre topped United Brooklyn with 7 points.

The quarterfinal matchups for next Sunday, December 10, starting at 12 noon are as follows: Real Scout vs. Long Island Lightning, Starrett City vs. Broncos, New Heights-7th vs. Patriots, New Heights-8th vs. I.S. 323.'

11/28/06 Tippy McTernan: 'Twenty-two of the top 7th- and 8th-graders in the metropolitan area, many of whom are nationally-ranked, were on the court Sunday for the Funsport Junor Pros All-Star game at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brooklyn. Sterling Gibbs and Corey Edwards, both members of the New Heights-8th squad, were named co-MVP's after leading a late rally that lifted the Blue Division Stars to a 55-51 decision over the Red Division Stars. Gibbs led all scorers with 17 points while Edwards added 10 points and a game-high 5 assists, including a nifty cross-court feed to Eric Young (Assassins) for a layup that gave the Blue Stars a 45-43 lead with 4:51 remaining. The Red Stars, led by the trio of Davontay Grace (I.S. 323 - 15 points), 6-5 Isaiah Battle (Starrett City - 7 rebounds) and Jevaune Dawson (Real Scout - 8 points and 3 assists) closed out the first half with a 13-3 run to take a 26-24 halftime lead. Other standouts for the Blue Stars were Jermaine Sanders (New Heights-8th - 8 points and 5 rebounds), Nkereuwem Okoro (LI Lightning - 6 points and 6 rebounds) and Jensen Jose (Brooklyn Patriots - 6 points and 2 rebounds). The Red Stars also got contributions from Sidiki Johnson (Real Scout - 7 points and 5 rebounds), Andrew Williams (Team Stay - 5 points and 3 assists) and Aaron Williams (Starrett City - 4 points and 3 rebounds).

The All-Star program began with a lecture by noted academic advisor Rich Kosik, who spoke to the rising stars about the need to focus on their academics right from the start of their high school career as part of a overall plan to take control of their own future.

The Funsport Junior Pros playoffs gets underway on Sunday, December 3rd with the following first-round games: 12 noon - I.S. 323 vs. United Brooklyn, 1:00 p.m. - Visitation vs. Long Island Lightning, 2:00 p.m. - NY Skyriders vs. Brooklyn Patriots, 3:00 p.m. - Broncos vs. Team Stay. Starrett City, Real Scout, New Heights-7th and New Heights-8th all received byes into the quarterfinal round.'

11/23/06 Tippy McTernan: 'With the regular season now completed, the Funsport Junior Pros Tournament will take a break before the playoffs get underway for its All-Star game this Sunday, November 26 at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brooklyn. The 2:00 p.m. contest, matching the stars of the tournament's Red and Navy divisions, will feature some of the top eighth-grade prospects in the metropolitan area, most of whom will become standout performers on the high school scene starting next fall.

The following were selected as Funsport Junior Pros All-Stars for the fall 2006 season: Red Division: Davontay Grace, Rachard Moody and Erick Turpin of I.S. 323;  Jevaune Dawson, Sidiki Johnson, Parrish Cleveland and Malik Suber of  Real Scout; Isaiah Battle, Aaron Williams and Mark Parisi of Starrett City; Shamik Mingo of the Stompers; Omar Calhoun of Visitation; George Davis of  NYC Panthers; Randy Bradford of the Patriots; and Anthony Williams of Team Stay.

Navy Division: Sterling Gibbs, Jermaine Sanders and Corey Edwards of  New Heights-8th; Winston McLeod, Daijan Palmer and Dashaun Suber of New Heights-7th; Daniel Thompson, Tyquan Goodlette, Michael Taylor and Darrel Lucky of the Broncos; Dontay Payne and Lebrent Walker of NYC Skyriders; Dame N'Diaye of United Brooklyn; Timothy Brandon of L.I. Lightning; and Eric Young of Assassins.

The first round of the Funsport Junior Pros playoffs will get underway on Sunday, December 3 at the Brownsville Rec.

11/8/06 Tippy McTernan: 'In what was arguably the most exciting game of the Funsport Junior Pros season, Real Scout staged a dramatic fourth quarter rally only to fall short in two overtimes, 95-89 to I.S. 323 for their first loss of the season. Both teams placed five players in double figures in the high-scoring affair. After a close first half which ended with I.S. 323 ahead 28-27, the scoring floodgates opened wide in the second half. Joseph Caraballo dropped 12 points in the third quarter as I.S. 323 expanded its lead to 51-43. The gap grew to as much as 16 points before Real Scout’s Jevaune Dawson and Sidiki Johnson ignited a fourth-quarter rally that tied the game at 72-72 when Dawson hit a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left in regulation. Real Scout went up by 8 late in the first overtime but couldn’t hold on and then lost the battle of attrition as four of its five starters fouled out. Eric Turpin carried I.S. 323 in the overtime and finished with 24 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Davontay Grace was next with 21 points and 6 assists before fouling out. Also reaching double figures for I.S. 323 (4-1) were Caraballo (17 with 8 boards), Daniel Davis (14) and Rachard Moody (11). For Real Scout (3-1), Dawson netted a game-high 26 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. Johnson had a double-double of 16 points and 10 boards, Parrish Cleveland scored 16 points, Gerrell Martin had 13 and Malik Suber had 10 points and 5 assists.

In another exciting finish, Jayquan Belton hit a huge three-pointer with 2:57 remaining to lift Team Stay to a 32-31 comeback win over the Brooklyn Patriots. The Patriots maintained a slim lead through most of the contest but faltered down the stretch. Team Stay’s Kevin Kennedy, who led all scorers with 13 points, scored on successive drives to pull his team even at 27-27 and set the stage for Belton’s big shot. Belton ended with 12 points and 8 rebounds for Team Stay (2-3) while Jensen Jose recorded 12 points and 12 rebounds in a losing effort for the Patriots (1-4).

Sterling Gibbs scored 21 points and Jermaine Sanders added 17 points and 8 rebounds as New Heights 8th ran their unbeaten mark to 4-0 with a 48-37 victory over Long Island Lightning. Nkereuwem Okoro topped the Lightning (1-3) with 11 points and 7 rebounds.

In the day’s opening game, Starrett City built a 33-8 halftime advantage and withstood a spirited second-half comeback effort by the Panthers to post a 47-40 victory. Jonathan Vinas led Starrett (4-1) with 12 points and 9 rebounds while Aaron Williams chipped in with 11 points and 3 assists. George Davis, held scoreless in the first half, sparked the Panther rally with a game-high 13 points, all in the second half.

Visitation pulled away in the third quarter to move above the .500-mark at 3-2 with a 32-25 decision over the Stompers. Nate Wilson scored 15  points,  Omar Calhoun had 11 points and Junior Williams recorded 4 assists for the winners. The Stompers received 13 rebounds from Antonio Fenty and 7 points from Shaquille Alexander while falling to 1-3.'

11/3/06 Tippy McTernan: 'Week 4 of the Funsport Junior Pros Tournament at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brooklyn featured a battle of unbeaten teams, Starrett City and Real Scout. After holding a slim 17-15 advantage at the end of the opening session,  Real Scout took control in the second quarter and posted a 51-45 victory.  Sidiki Johnson provided the early spark for the winners, scoring 15 of his team-high 20 points as Real Scout took a 29-20 lead at the break. Aaron Williams kept Starrett (3-1) close in the second half with 14 of his game-high 22 points but it wasn't enough as Parrish Cleveland (14 points) and Jevaune Dawson (10 points, 8 rebounds, 7 assists) also reached double figures for Real Scout (3-0).

While Real Scout is the last unbeaten team in the Red Division, three teams in the Blue Division reached the 3-0 mark this week. The Broncos built a 21-6 first-quarter lead over United Brooklyn and coasted to a 56-37 victory. Darryle Lucky topped a balanced scoring column for the Broncos (3-0) with 14 points, followed by Michael Taylor and Tysean Saigo with 8 points and 6 rebounds apiece. Albert Pierre scored 11 points and Dame N'Diaye had 10 points for United (1-2).

S. Carter Elite changed its name to New Heights but both of its teams continued their winning ways. The 8th grade unit overcame a slow start with a 19-5 second quarter that carried them to a 46-17 rout of Triple Threat. Sterling Gibbs led New Heights (3-0) with 13 points while Jermaine Sanders grabbed 8 boards. Darryl Merritt had 5 points and Tier Gibbons 7 rebounds for Triple Threat, which fell to 0-3.

Meanwhile the 7th grade unit received a 14-point, 11-rebound performance from Winston McLeod in a 31-28 decision over the Skyriders (1-2), which got 12 points from Lebrent Walker. Daijan Palmer added 7 points and 7 rebounds for New Heights (3-0), which held a 16-14 halftime lead.

The Patriots got their first win of the season, running up a 13-2 margin after one quarter en route to a 46-35 triumph over NYC Panthers. Ed Sullivan tallied a game-high 16 points for the Patriots (1-3) while David McFadden (12 points) and Justin Jaikissoon (10 rebounds) reached double digits for the Panthers (0-2).

The Long Island Lightning also recorded its first win, placing four scorers in double figures in a 65-16 romp over the Assasins (0-3). Timothy Brandon topped the Lightning (1-2) with 14 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Jamel Torrence (14 points), Nkereuwem Okoro (11) and Nicholas Padgett (10).

Visitation evened its record at 2-2 by rallying from a 14-9 first-quarter deficit to down host Team Stay 46-40. After getting within 19-18 at the half, Visitation took the lead early in the second half. Nate Wilson scored 12 points for the winners, while Team Stay (1-3) got 13 points apiece from Jayquan Belton and Knigel Boone, who also recorded a game-high 11 boards.

Davontay Grace poured in 19 points and Eric Turpin pulled down 11 boards as I.S.323 improved to 3-1 with an easy 69-22 win over the Stompers (1-2).'

10/24/06 Tippy McTernan: 'In week three action of the Funsport Junior Pros at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brooklyn, Dashaun Suber converted a clutch three-point play with 2:34 left as S. Carter Elite-7th held off the Long Island Lightning 41-33. Winston McLeod scored 10 points in the first half for the Elite, which reached halftime with a 25-17 advantage after a putback basket by Ronald Lindsey. The Lightning chipped away at the lead throughout the third period and got within 31-28 entering the fourth quarter. But after the Lightning's Kimari Murphy scoredoff a feed from Chad Holley to make it 31-30 on the first play of the final period, the Lightning failed to score again until there was just eight seconds left in the contest. By then, the Elite got three baskets (including the and-one)  by Suber to put the game out of reach. Suber finished with 14 points and McLeod added had 12 for the Elite (2-0). The Lighning, now 0-2, got team-highs of 9 points and 8 rebounds from Murphy.

S. Carter Elite-8th also remained unbeaten, as Sterling Gibbs scored 8 straight points late in the first half to spark the Elite to a 59-42 win over the New York Skyriders. The Skyriders had an 11-10 lead after the first quarter and were still ahead 14-13 early in the second before the Elite closed out the half with a decisive 11-0 run. Gibbs led all scorers with 21 points while Jermaine Sanders contributed 19 points and Nicholas Lamont had 10 rebounds for the Elite (2-0). The Skyriders (0-2) received a double-double from Dontay Payne (17 points, 18 rebounds) in the loss.

Starrett City opened its game with a 12-0 run and placed three scorers in double figures in a 65-40 triumph over Visitation. Aaron Williams topped the winners with 16 points, followed by Raymond Logan (14) and Mark Parisi (12 points with 7 assists). Starrett is now 3-0. For Visitation (1-2), Omar Calhoun tallied a game-high 19 points and Albert Williams grabbed a game-high 9 rebounds.

Leading just 21-17 at the half, the Broncos started the second half with a 12-2 run and went on to defeat Triple Threat 59-34 to remain unbeaten at 2-0. Jefflyn Noels recorded 13 of his 15 points after halftime to ignite the Bronco second-half surge. Michael Taylor also dropped 15 points and grabbed 9 boards while Daniel Thompson tallied 6 assists for the winners. Triple Threat (0-2) had two players in double figures: Tequan Smith with 17 points and Tier Gibbons with 10 rebounds.

Real Scout took control late in the opening period and posted a 46-24 runaway victory over Team Stay. With the score knotted at 4-4 midway through the first quarter, Real Scout's Jevaune Dawson converted a pair of steals into layups and Real Scout never looked back. Dawson finished with 14 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists in a solid outing. Teammate Sidiki Johnson led all scorers with 16 points and added 7 rebounds for Real Scout (2-0). Knigel Boone had 14 points and 4 rebounds to lead Team Stay, which dropped to 1-2.

I.S. 323 built a 19-4 advantage in the first quarter and rolled to 69-25 triumph over the Brooklyn Patriots. Erick Turpin was dominant inside for the winners, recording game-highs of 27 points and 16 rebounds. Turpin's 16 rebounds were just one less than the Patriots' team total. Davontay Grace added 13 points and 9 assists for I.S. 323 (2-1) while Jose Jensen and Anthony Hemingway led the Patriots (0-3) with 6 points apiece.'

10/8/06 Tippy McTernan: 'In the opening game of the 2006 Fall Junior Pros Tournament for 8th-graders at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brooklyn, the Visitation Hawks overcame an early deficit to post a 35-27 victory over the Brooklyn Patriots. The Patriots, behind Jose Jensen (10 points, 12 rebounds) and Randy Branford (8 points, 7 rebounds) built an early 11-5 lead with 4:02 left in the first half. Visitation rallied behind Omar Calhoun (game-high 11 points) to pull within 13-11 at the half. The Hawks' momentum continued in the second half with a 9-2 run, starting with a pair of inside scores by Calhoun that made it 15-13 for Visitation with 4:50 left in the third period. The Patriots were still within 20-19 at the start of the final quarter before Albert Williams took over for Visitation and the Hawks padded their lead the rest of the way. Williams tallied 8 points and grabbed 8 boards in the final period to finish with a double-double of 10 points and a game-high 13 rebounds.

Shamik Mingo dropped 25 points and the Stompers controlled the boards while leading wire-to-wire in a 50-39 triumph over host Brownsville. The Stompers opened the game with a 7-0 run and got 12 first-half points from Mingo and 10 points from Mark Lewis while taking a 24-14 halftime advantage. The home team fought back at the start of the third quarter, using fullcourt pressure to ignite an 8-0 rally that made it 24-22 on a layup by Andrew Williams (15 points) with 4:20 to go in the quarter. But the Stompers regained their composure and used their inside dominance (36-15 rebounding margin) to maintain control and rebuild their lead to double digits. Lewis finished with 20 points for the winners while Winston Belgrave led all rebounders with 11 boards and Montel Brown added 10 rebounds.

In the opening day's final matchup, Starrett City received 23 points and 16 rebounds from Richard Council and another 21 points from DeVaughn Reid while pulling away for a 63-47 win over I.S. 323. Starett led 7-0 at the start and 14-4 late in the first quarter before IS 323's Rachard Moody (15 points) knocked down a pair of threes to narrow the gap to 20-15 by the end of the quarter. A layup by 323's Daniel Davis made it 24-21 early in the second quarter before Starrett opened a 37-27 advantage at the half. After Starrett went up by 49-32 early in the third quarter, I.S. 323 staged another comeback effort, this one a 14-2 rally that ended with a steal and layup by Davis that cut the lead to 51-46 with 2:29 left. But I.S. 323, which was outrebounded 41-17, could get no closer down the stretch.'

10/6/06 Tippy McTernan: 'The Funsport Junior Pros Tournament for 8th-graders gets underway this Sunday, October 8th at the Brownsville Recreation Center in Brooklyn.Opening day matchups are as follows: 10:00 am - Visitation vs. Brooklyn Patriots, 11:00 am - Stompers vs. Brownsville, 12:00 pm - IS 323 vs. Stars of the City, 1:00 pm - Broncos vs. NY Skyriders, 2:00 pm - United Brooklyn vs LI Lightning.