6/5/06 Tippy McTernan: 'The Program dominated the fourth quarter by a 16-5 margin and captured the Funsport Junior Pros championship with a decisive 44-35 victory over the Broncos at Baruch College on Sunday. In a game matching teams with identical 8-1 records, the squads split the four quarters in the title contest, but The Program easily won the final period, capitalizing on nine Bronco turnovers, strong rebounding (a 35-24 margin for the game) and clutch free-throw shooting. The Broncos entered the fourth quarter with a 30-27 lead and matched their biggest lead of the game when Jabbare Benford hit Bobby Beldo for a layup and a 32-27 margin with 6:11 remaining. The Program then stepped up their fullcourt pressure and edged ahead 33-32 when David Coley finished a 6-0 run with a pair of free throws with 4:18 left. After an exchange of baskets, MVP Davontay Grace sparked a game-ending 11-1 surge with a lane pullup and a three-point play that clinched the Junior Pros title for The Program.

Grace, who finished with a team-high 14 points, stunned the crowd by slamming home a dunk off a fast break in the first quarter that helped The Program build an early 12-4 advantage. Coley also finished in double figures with 10 points and 7 rebounds while Rick Cumberbatch led all rebounders with 15 boards for the winners. Benford again led the Broncos with 14 points and 6 rebounds followed by Beldo with 8 points and a game-high 4 assists.

As part of their championship award, The Program will receive an expense-paid outing to Great Adventure this week. Also invited will be those student-athletes selected to the First Team All-Tourney and the First Team All-Academic. The complete list of individual award winners is shown below:

All-Tournament Teams -- First Team -- Erick Turpin, United Brooklyn, Jabbare Benford, Broncos, Justyn McMichael, Brooklyn Patriots-8G, Joshua Rosa, Navy Yard & David Coley, The Program.

Second Team -- Joel Casado, Navy Yard, Wayman Aaron, I.S. 323, Saquan Thompson, I.S. 323, Jeff Petway, Harlem Lions, Vinnie Marchiano, Brooklyn Patriots-8G.

All-Academic Teams -- First Team --Daniel Morris, Brooklyn Patriots-7G, Joe Scali, Brooklyn Patriots-8G, Ed Sullivan, Brooklyn Patriots-7G, Wayman Aaron, I.S. 323, Theron McGregor, I.S. 323.

Second Team -- Pat Steffans, Brooklyn Patriots-7G, Armani Cardwood, I.S. 323, Omari Bennett, The Program, Adam Turay, Harlem Lions & Ruben King, United Brooklyn.'

6/4/06 Tippy McTernan: 'The Program started the final period with a 12-1 run and held off a late rally by United Brooklyn to reach the Funsport Junior Pros championship game with a 39-33 victory in the first semifinal game at Baruch College. The Program expanded their 16-12 halftime margin to 21-14 when Davontay Grace converted a three-point play with 3:40 left in the third quarter. But United Brooklyn then came alive and grabbed the lead by finishing the quarter with an 11-0 spurt. Earl Ash scored on successive drives, Erick Turpin (team-high 13 points) converted a three-point play and Marvin Pitchford knocked down a pair of free throws to give United Brooklyn a 25-21 advantage entering the final quarter. David Coley quickly turned things around for The Program in the fourth quarter, drilling a three-pointer from the left corner and scoring 10 of his 12 points in the last seven minutes. When Grace reached a team-high 13 points with a strong drive with 2:07 left, The Program was back up 33-26.

A final comeback by United Brooklyn narrowed the gap to 33-32 when Sebastian Douglas (game-high 9 rebounds) scored off a steal with 1:24 to go. But United Brooklyn failed on two subsequent chances to take the lead and The Program closed out the contest with a 6-1 run. Clarence Elder hit a pair of clutch free throws for the winners and finished with 11 points and a team-high 7 rebounds.

In the second semifinal, the Broncos jumped out to a 15-4 lead but needed a strong finish to prevail over I.S. 323 43-39. Employing a solid halfcourt defense from the start, the Broncos opened their biggest lead of 31-17 when Jabarre Benford scored inside with 5:40 remaining in the third quarter. Suddenly, however, I.S. 323 started finding the gaps in the Bronco defense and got a pair of threes from Waymon Aaron that ignited a 14-3 surge that closed the margin to 34-31 at the end of the third quarter. I.S. 323 continued their momentum at the start of the final period and even went ahead when Bryant Frederick scored six straight points, including a free throw that gave I.S. 323 its first lead of 37-36 with 3:28 left. That lead was short-lived, however. The Broncos regained the lead when Bobby Beldo scored on a drive off an inbounds play with 2:57 on the clock and Benford added another pair of inside baskets that put the game out of reach. Benford recorded game-highs of 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Broncos, who also received 8 points each from Beldo and Daniel Thompson. Aaron topped I.S. 323 with 13 points, followed by Frederick and Saquan Thompson with 12 points apiece.

The Program and Broncos, both sporting 8-1 records, will play for the Junior Pros championship today, June 4 at 2:00 pm at Baruch College. During the regular season, the Program downed the Broncos 70-61.'

5/30/06 Tippy McTernan: 'The final four of the Funsport Junior Pros Tournament for junior high school players moves into Baruch College this weekend after an eight-week regular season conducted at the Navy Yard Boys Club in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

In the opening semifinal on Saturday, June 3rd at 2:00 p.m., The  Program (7-1) takes on United Brooklyn (5-4). United Brooklyn, which dropped a 53-52 decision to The Program during the regular season, is coming off a 53-46 upset of top-seeded Brooklyn Patriots in the quarterfinals. They are led by All-Tourney 1st Team selection Erick Turpin, who won the Junior Pros scoring title this season. The Program, meanwhile, advanced with a 45-40 triumph over Triple Threat behind the solid play of David Coley, another 1st Team All-Tourney performer, and Davontay Grace.

In the second semifinal at 3:00 p.m., the Broncos (7-1) will face I.S. 323 (5-3). Jabarre Benford, who was named to the 1st team All-Tourney after finishing second in both the scoring and rebounding lists, will lead a Bronco team that was unbeaten until the final game of the regular season. I.S. 323 counters with a pair of 2nd Team All-Tourney picks in Wayman Aaron and Saquan Thompson.

The championship game for the semifinal winners will be Sunday, June 4th at 3:00 p.m., also at Baruch.

For more info on the Funsport program : www.funsportinc.com.'

5/21/06 Tippy McTernan: The quarterfinals of the Funsport Junior Pros were held Saturday at the Navy Yard Boys Club in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

Game Summaries: United Brooklyn 53 Brooklyn Patriots-8G 46. United Brooklyn was the only team to defeat the Brooklyn Patriots-8G during the regular season and now they have eliminated the top seed from the East Division, leading from start to finish while withstanding two big runs by the Patriots. United Brooklyn opened the contest with a 6-0 lead and expanded it to 21-10 when John Ward converted one of two free throws with 3:58 left in the first half. The Patriots rallied with a 12-2 spurt to pull within 23-22 before United's Marvin Pitchford found Jared Friedland for a layup at the halftime buzzer that made it 25-22. In the second half, United Brooklyn rebuilt the margin to 43-28 early in the fourth quarter when the Patriots started another comeback. Led by Vinny Marchiano (game-highs of 17 points and 9 rebounds), the Patriots got back to 45-40 on a 12-0 run that ended with a Marchiano putback with 3:05 remaining. Pitchford again responded for United Brooklyn with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer that put the game out of reach. Erick Turpin led the winners with 13 points while Ward added 12 points and 3 assists.

The Program 45 Triple Threat 40. Triple Threat battled with the higher-seeded The Program until falling short in the final minute of this fast-paced, closely-played contest. The Program led for most of the first half until Triple Threat's Ronald Branch capped a 10-4 run with a pair of layups that gave TT a 22-18 advantage just before halftime. A layup by Clarence Elder pulled The Program within 22-20 at the break before Branch netted a three-pointer to open the second half, and Triple Threat had its biggest lead at 25-20. The Program regained control with a 14-4 spurt that put them up 34-29 midway through the final quarter. Branch, who scored 10 of his game-high 21 points in the final period, got TT even one last time at 40-40 when he drove the lane with 2:30 remaining. But Triple Threat failed to score again and Davontay Grace put The Program ahead for good with his own drive from the left corner. David Coley led the balanced scoring column for The Program with 14 points and 6 rebounds, followed by Elder with 13 points, and Grace and Matthew Walker with 9 points apiece.

Broncos 59 Navy Yard 13.As expected, the first seed from the West Division had little trouble with the host team, putting them away early with 14-2 first-quarter and 36-5 halftime margins. Jabarre Benford was dominant inside for the Broncos with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Daniel Thompson chipped in with 13 points for the winners while Darnell Boyd added 10 points and 7 rebounds.

The fourth quarterfinal game was to be the Harlem Lions vs. IS 323. The Harlem Lions, comprised mainly of players from Frederick Douglass Academy, pulled out this week for what was termed "team disciplinary reasons". IS 323 will thus advance to the semifinals.

The semifinals will take place on Saturday, June 3 - the venue has been moved to Baruch College, which was already slated to host the championship game on Sunday, June 4.'

5/13/06 Tippy McTernan: 'The Broncos had already clinched the West Division title of the Funsport Junior Pros spring league and were looking to head into the playoffs with an unbeaten record. But The Program, runners-up in the East Division, derailed those plans by placing five players in double figures to stop the Broncos 70-61.

The scoring column for The Program was topped by Devon McMillan with 16 points, followed by David Coley and Rick Cumberbatch with 11 points apiece, and Jai Kellman and Davontay Grace with 10 points apiece. Cumberbatch led all rebounders with 11 boards while Grace had a game-high 4 assists for the Program (6-1). The Broncos (6-1) countered with four double-digit scorers of their own, led by Daniel Thompson with a game-high 21 points. Next was Jabarre Benford with 12 points and 9 rebounds, and Matt Hall and Neil Menard with 10 points each.

The Patriots-8G had earlier clinched the top seed in the East, concluding their 6-1 regular season with an 80-30 romp over MAD Inc. Justyn McMichael led four Patriots in double figures with 20 points while Vincent Marchiano added 17 points, Joseph Scali had 15 points and 5 assists, and Naquan Ellerbe scored 12 points with 5 assists.

Although the final day of the regular season produced a number of top individual performances, the best was turned in by the host Navy Yard’s Justin Cherry, who recorded 27 points and 26 rebounds in a 68-48 triumph over MAD Inc. In that contest, teammate Joel Casado also tallied a double-double with 23 points and 18 boards. Cherry later added another double of 16 points and 12 rebounds in a 65-54 setback to the Harlem Lions, who finished with a 4-3 mark behind Jeff Petway’s 19 points.

Triple Threat also finished above the .500-mark at 4-3 by downing IS 323 51-44. Shaquille White paced the winners with 13 points and 7 rebounds while Waymon Aaron scored a team-high 10 points for IS 323 (4-3).

The first round of the Funsport Junior Pros playoffs takes place this Saturday with two games starting at 11:00 a.m. at the Navy Yard Boys Club in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.'

5/4/06 Tippy McTernan: 'The Broncos swept a pair of games to clinch the top spot in the West Division for the upcoming Funsport Junior Pros playoffs. First they held off a late rally to edge United Brooklyn (43-39) then ran their unbeaten record to 6-0 by pulling away from Triple Threat (60-39).

In the first game against United Brooklyn, the Broncos jumped out to a 10-2 lead at the start and led by as many as 15 points (27-12) before settling into a 30-21 halftime margin. Jabarre Benford sparked the Broncos by scoring 12 of his game-high 18 points in the first half. United Brooklyn (1-5) began chipping away in the second half behind Erick Turpin (17 points, 10 rebounds) and John Ward (14 points, 7 rebounds), and got within 41-39 with 1:38 left when Turpin converted an offensive rebound. But Benford answered that score at the other end and the Broncos held on.

Later in the day, the Broncos and Triple Threat were locked in a close game for most of the first half before the Broncos edged ahead on a pair of free throws by Chase Clare that helped them take a 21-17 lead at the half. The Broncos then blew it open by scoring 15 unanswered points to start the second half and never looked back. Benford had another strong game for the winners with 20 points and 11 rebounds while Clare finished with 15 points and Daniel Thompson added 11 points. For Triple Threat (3-3), Adam Savion had the high with 15 points followed by Ronald Branch with 12.

In a battle of the Brooklyn Patriots, Daijan Palmer tallied a game-high 17 points and grabbed 9 rebounds but his 7G team was beaten 54-39 by the 8G team, which got 12 points apiece from Joe Scali, Justyn McMichael and Vincent Marchiano (with 10 boards). The Patriots-8G remained tied for first place in the East Division at 5-1 with The Program, 70-16 winners over MAD Inc. David Coley (15 points) and Devon McMillan (11 points) led a balanced scoring attack for The Program in their easy win.

MAD, Inc. had a rough day in its Junior Pros debut, dropping all three games as they play catch-up in the schedule. IS 323 (4-2) received a pair of double-doubles from Saquan Thompson (14 points, 13 rebounds) and Peter Williams (12 points, 11 rebounds) in a 65-28 romp over MAD, which got a game-high 15 points from Javon Veasey. Veasey again reached 15 points in a 72-39 setback to the Harlem Lions, who evened their record at 3-3 behind Adam Turay with 19 points and Jeff Petway with 18 points and 6 assists.'

5/1/06 Tippy McTernan: Trailing at the end of each of the first three quarters, IS 323 took control in the fourth quarter to overtake United Brooklyn 49-42 behind the 23-point performance of Waymon Aaron. Aaron knocked down a pair of three-pointers to spark the winners to a decisive 18-8 margin in the final period. Saquon Thompson contributed 10 points and 16 rebounds for IS 323, which improved to 3-2 and remains in second place in the West Division standings. United Brooklyn, which fell to 1-4, received 13 points from John Ward and 11 points from Erick Turpin.

The Broncos remained unbeaten (4-0) atop the West division with an 88-19 romp over the Brooklyn Patriots-7G. Jabarre Benford (23 points, 14 rebounds) and Matt Hall (14 points, 16 rebounds) recorded double-doubles for the Broncos, who also received 13 points and 6 assists from Daniel Thompson. Daniel Morris led the Patriots (1-4) with 11 points.

In the East division, the Brooklyn Patriots-8G pulled even with the idle Program at 4-1 by coasting past the host Navy Yard 60-26. Jostyn McMichael led the way for the Patriots with 20 points and 8 rebounds, followed by Joseph Scali with 12 points and Justin Exum with 11. For the Navy Yard (1-4), Amir McCants scored 9 points and Joel Casado grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Harlem Lions pulled away just before halftime to down Triple Threat 49-35. The Lions (2-3) had three scorers in double figures: Victor Sheriff and Thay Brown, each with 15 points, and Pape Konteye with 11 points. Michael Rosemond topped Triple Threat (3-2) with 9 points and Kevin Vice recorded a game-high 10 rebounds.'

4/17/06 Tippy McTernan: 'Week 4 Results from the Funsport Junior Pros Tournament at the Navy Yard Boys Club.

United Brooklyn raced to a 16-4 lead and held off a late rally to hand the Brooklyn Patriots-8G their first loss of the season, 50-41. The Patriots managed to get within 20-14 at halftime before United Brooklyn regained control and opened their biggest lead of the game at 30-16 on a pair of free throws by John Ward with 3:16 left in the third quarter. The Patriots surged again at the start of the final period with a 6-1 run, pulling within 35-31 when Justin Exum netted one of two free throws with 5:01 remaining. But United Brooklyn's Erick Turpin slammed the door by converting an offensive rebound of a missed free throw into a three-point play to restore the margin to 38-31 with 3:24 to go, and the teams essentially traded baskets the rest of the way. Turpin was dominant inside with 22 points and 13 rebounds while Ward added 12 points for United Brooklyn. Joseph Scali scored 15 points to top the Patriots, who dropped into second place in the East Division with a 3-1 record.

United Brooklyn played a second game later in the day with a chance to even their record but faltered down the stretch and lost a 53-52 decision to The Program. David Coley scored the game-winner off an inbounds play with 19 seconds left to lift The Program (4-1) to a half-game lead over the Patriots-8G in the East. United Brooklyn had led by as many as 8 points in the first half, 30-23 at halftime and 41-34 after three quarters before The Program mounted its comeback. Jai Kellman capped an 11-4 spurt that tied the game at 45-45 on a layup with 2:04 left. Turpin had another big three-point play that put United Brooklyn up 48-45 with 1:53 left but Kellman struck again with a clutch three for The Program that made it 52-51 with 36 seconds remaining and set up the dramatic finish. Coley had a game-high 20 points for The Program, which also received 12 points and 9 rebounds from Clarence Elder, and 10 points from Kellman. For United Brooklyn (1-3), Turpin recorded his second double-double of the day with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Ward added 13 points.

Triple Threat (2-1) got 22 points and 17 rebounds from Shaquile White in a 55-44 triumph over the Navy Yard, which was led by Joshua Rosa with 15 points. Earlier in the day the host team won its first game, edging Brooklyn Patriots-7G 41-39 behind Joel Casado (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Rosa (13 points, including a halfcourt buzzer-beater at halftime).

I.S. 323 evened its record at 2-2 and took over sole possession of second place in the West Division behind the idle Broncos (3-0) with a 66-41 victory over the Harlem Lions (1-3). Saquan Thompson led the winners with 15 points and 9 rebounds, and Peter Williams added 10 points. Victor Sheriff scored 15 points to top the Lions.'

4/15/06 Tippy McTernan: 'Week 3 Results from the Funsport Junior Pros Tournament at the Navy Yard Boys Club.

The Brooklyn Patriots-8G received 20 points and 9 rebounds from Vinnie Marchiano to post a 46-32 triumph over Triple Threat. The Patriots, who built a 25-13 halftime advantage with a solid second quarter, stand atop the tournament's East Division with a 3-0 record. Triple Threat, which fell to 1-1, was led by Shaquille White with 12 points and 21 rebounds.

The Broncos, leaders in the West Division, also improved to 3-0 with a 76-22 romp over the Harlem Lions (1-2). Four players reached double figures in scoring for the Broncos, who ran off to a 23-4 lead in the first quarter. Kimon Murray led the winners with 18 points, followed by Jabarre Benford (15 points, 11 rebounds), Frankie Smith (11 points) and Daniel Thompson (10 points, 5 assists).

The Program (formerly Brooklyn USA) placed four scorers in double figures to down the host Navy Yard 60-52. David Coley netted a game-high 15 points and 7 assists to lead The Program (3-1), which also got 13 points from Kwame Egerton, 12 points from Jai Kellman and 10 points from Clarence Elder. The Navy Yard (0-2) was led by Joshua Rosa (13 points), Joel Casado (10 points and 10 rebounds) and Justin Cherry (10 points).

Wayman Aaron scored a game-high 19 points and I.S. 323 (1-2) pulled away from a 20-20 halftime deadlock to defeat the Brooklyn Patriots-7G 59-30. Kieran Monaghan led the Patriots (1-2) with 10 points and 7 rebounds.'

3/20/06 Tippy McTernan: 'The Spring 2006 season of the Funsport Junior Pros Tournament is now underway with most of the ten teams seeing action during the first two weeks of play at the Navy Yard Boys Club in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.

There are two open spots in the tournament for 8th grade teams with players born after 1/1/91 who are maintaining an average of 70 or better in their school work. New teams this season include the Broncos, Ron Artest's Triple Threat Team, JHS 323, Navy Yard BC and the Harlem Lions. Games will at 11:00 a.m. every Saturday and all players will receive tournament uniforms and bags. The championship game will be held at Baruch College on June 4th with the winners receiving a private luxury bus trip to Six Flags Great Adventure. For further information or to enter your team, contact Funsport, Inc. President Ricky Rivers at (646) 302-9510 or visit the web site at www.funsportinc.com.

Highlights from the first two weeks:

The Brooklyn Patriots “A” are 2-0 after defeating IS 323 (41-31) and defending Junior Pros champ Brooklyn USA (47-46) on a putback by Anthony Mason (12 points) that broke a 45-45 tie with 53 seconds remaining. Davontay Grace (16 points, 15 rebounds) had a chance to tie it for Brooklyn USA after getting fouled with 8.4 seconds to go, but he missed the second shot and the Patriots held on. Justyn McMichael had 15 points and 10 boards to lead the Patriots, who also had a double-double effort in their previous win over IS 323, getting 11 points and 10 rebounds from Vincent Marchiano. Armani Cardwood had a game-high 19 points and Saquan Thompson a game-high 11 rebounds for IS 323 in the loss. Brooklyn USA was coming off a pair of victories over the Harlem Lions (50-43 in overtime) and Brooklyn Patriots “B” (47-15). David Coley led the way with 21 points and 12 rebounds against the Lions while Kwame Egerton netted a game-high 16 points in the second contest.

The Broncos won a pair of games in their Junior Pros debut. After trailing IS 323 15-4 after the first quarter and 29-13 at the half, the Broncos turned it on in the second half, outscoring IS 323 12-2 in the final period to pull out a 39-38 decision. Jabarre Benford hit a short jumper for the game-winner with 37 seconds left. Benford then recorded 20 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Broncos to a 56-46 triumph over the host Navy Yard BC, which received 6 three-pointers for 18 points from Devarel Harte.'