The Drew Gooden Soldiers were the lone team remaining from Northern California on the final day of the Best of the Summer Tournament. To advance to the title game, they had to get by the Minnesota Magic Pump N Run.
The first game on Friday was a back and forth affair and tied at 20-20 before the Soldiers went on a 14-6 run to end the half with a 34-26 lead. In the second half, the Minnesota Magic cut the lead to four points before the Soldiers pulled away for a 64-54 win to advance to the championship game. The scoring was completely accounted for by the starting five: Kiwi Gardner (14), Kyle Wiltjer (10), Brandon Ashley (14), Jabari Brown (17), and Nick Johnson (9).
In the championship game, the Soldiers faced hometown favorite, Cal Supreme Red. For both teams, the game was their ninth in four days but the Oakland squad seemed more fatigued at the start of the game, trailing 12-3 and by as much as 14 points with the score 31-17. That's when they went on a 10-0 run to end the half at 31-27.
The Soldiers started the second half on a mini-run to take a 32-31 lead. The lead grew to 62-49 when Brown put down a breakaway dunk ending the game for all practical purposes. Final score 67-59, 9-for 9 in the tournament and back-to-back tournament championships (including Las Vegas Fab 48).
Ashley and Johnson led the team with 16 points apiece. Brown added 15, while Wiltjer and Gardner chipped in 10 and 8 respectively.
So ends a successful season for the Soldiers 17U team. Four of five starters will be headed to NCAA Division I schools next season. However, the team will reload next summer with some quality players who had a fair amount of experience this past summer featuring 2012 5-star prospect Ashley (Bishop O'Dowd). Also returning are Dominic Artis (Salesian 2012) and Richard Longrus (Bishop O'Dowd 2012). Moving up from the 16U team are Jabari Bird (Benecia 2013), Ike Iroegbu (Franklin 2013), and Aaron Gordon (Mitty 2013).
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