Even though the travel season is winding down, the CAVS 11U pulled together enough players to participate at the HAX West Coast Challenge the weekend of July 31 and August 1.  The CAVS 11U were playing without a few of their key players including team captain DJ McDonald, but it was a great opportunity for the remaining players to show that the CAVS 11U are a great all around team.  The CAVS opened play against the HAX Red team.  CAVS guards Brian Deveraux and Taj Regans scored to start the game, and the CAVS took an early 5 – 2 lead.  The HAX Red team battled back after some CAVS turnovers, trailing 10 – 12 with 6 minutes until halftime.  But the CAVS finally started to find their rhythm.  Chasen Pender and Mike Irving scored easy lay ups underneath the basket.  The CAVS 11U held a 21 – 12 lead at halftime.  In the second half, the CAVS continued the sharp shooting.  Elijah Walker hit some wide open jumpers.  Jordan Wilder and Colden Davis all scored on open looks at the basket.  The CAVS rolled to a 36 – 30 win.

            Next up for the CAVS was the HAX Black team.  The HAX Black team had some post players with height and initially caused some problems for the CAVS.  Elijah and Brian had some early drives to the basket, and the CAVS led early 7 – 6.  The size of the HAX players caused some problems, as the CAVS committed some turnovers.  Chasen and Mike struggled to score in the post, at halftime the CAVS trailed 13 – 17.  In the second half, the CAVS defense tightened up, as the CAVS players swarmed the court for every loose ball.  Brian scored on some easy lay ups, and after 5 minutes the CAVS tied up the game 19 – 19.  The lead didn’t last long as the CAVS continued to give up lay ups down low to the HAX post players.  With 4 minutes remaining, the CAVS trailed 27 – 32.  The teams exchanged baskets but the CAVS could not erase the lead.  The CAVS went on to lose 33 – 38.

            On Sunday, the CAVS faced the Bearcats.  The CAVS started slowly on the offensive side, but on defense the players swarmed the court.  Colden Davis and Jordan Wilder played tough defense and forced multiple turnovers.  Midway through the first half the CAVS trailed 7 – 12.  Elijah and Brian continued to push the ball and drive to the basket.  At halftime, the CAVS led 19 – 15.  In the second half, the CAVS continued the tough defense.  The Bearcats could not score, and Chasen and Mike started to hit empty shots down below.  The CAVS went on to win 36 -24. 

            The CAVS were entering the playoffs as the second seed.  The first playoff game matched up the 2nd and 3rd seeds in the bracket.  The CAVS would have to face the Bearcats an additional time.  This second game would be much different than the first time.  The CAVS controlled the game from the opening tip.  Colden and Elijah forced multiple turnovers which led to easy baskets.  With 4:27 to halftime, the CAVS led 11 – 4.  The CAVS defense continued to be stingy, and at halftime the CAVS led 14 – 7.  In the second half, Brian and Elijah handled the offensive scoring, and the CAVS went on to win 34 – 24. 

            The CAVS had earned their way to the championship, and the team would have a chance to avenge their loss against HAX Black.  The home court team had been waiting for the CAVS for the better part of the morning, and now both teams would face off for the championship.  This time the CAVS would be ready for the HAX Black team.  The CAVS made some adjustments at halftime to adjust and have weak side help for the post players.  Elijah and Brian looked for their shot from the perimeter.  Midway through the first half, the CAVS led 9 – 6.  The CAVS continued tough defense against the HAX tall post players.  At halftime the CAVS led 18 – 9.  As the CAVS came out to start the 2nd half, the offense was firing on all cylinders.  Mike and Chasen scored from down low.  Brian and Elijah scored from the guard positions on offense.  The CAVS jumped out ahead 20 -10 for an early lead.  HAX was not about ready to give up.  With only 5 minutes remaining, the Bearcats continued to play hard and but receipts when they could  With only 5 minutes left the CAVS were holding on to a 23 -19 lead.  The CAVS offense had a difficult time scoring.  On the defensive side, the CAVS were having a hard time slowing the HAX team.  With 6:30 left, the teams were tied 22 – 22.  Both teams battled on both sides of the ball.  With only 2:40 remaining, the CAVS found themselves down by 1 point.  With 45 seconds left, Elijah hit a wide open shop for the lead.  With only seconds left on the clock, HAX had the ball for one final push.  The CAVS defense swarmed all of the Desiree’s lead.  That sound sgood.  Thanks.

The CAVS 11U were looking to fine tune their game in preparation for the final road trip to Las Vegas.  The weekend of July 17th and 18th the CAVS participated in the Impact Basketball Summer Invitational.  The CAVS opened the tournament against Impact Pasadena.  The CAVS took control of the game from the opening tip.  DJ McDonald and Taj Regans scored early as their pressure defense forced multiple turnovers.  Chasen Pender and Mike Irving controlled the post, and their rebounds led to multiple fast break baskets.  The CAVS cruised to an early 20 – 5 lead.  In the second half, Brian Deveraux and Elijah Walker joined in the scoring as they drained open shots from the perimeter.  James Watson and Jordan Wilder grabbed offensive rebounds and scored lay ups down low.  The CAVS went on to win 42 – 9.

            The CAVS 11U faced off against the CV Falcons next.  The CAVS offense once again started the game quickly.  The CAVS took an early 10 point lead, and then used the remainder of the 1st half to fine tune and execute their set offense.  Franklin and Colden Davis joined their teammates in the scoring column as the CAVS held almost a 30 point lead at halftime.  Coach Darryl used the second half to work on specific defensive and offensive plays.  The CAVS offense was a finely tuned machine as the CAVS went on to win 50 – 4.

            On Sunday July 18th, the CAVS worked overtime and pulled double duty as they filled in for open slots in the 12U division as well as the playoffs for the 11U division.  On Sunday July 18th the CAVS 11U faced off against the ACES 12U team.  The game was close as the CAVS were undersized against the ACES team.  The two teams traded the lead back and forth as neither team could build a lead by more than 5 points.  In the second half, the CAVS defense dug in and shut down the ACES offense.  Chasen and Mike played tough post defense.  At the guard position, Kihei Clark and DJ pressured the ACES front court and forced multiple turnovers.  The CAVS started to make their move as ACES struggled to get the ball up the court.  Midway through the 2nd half, the CAVS held a 30 – 21 lead.  The CAVS defense swarmed the court and pressure the ACES players at every turn.  The CAVS converted baskets after multiple lay ups and started to pull away.  The CAVS went on to win 41 – 28.

            The CAVS 11U then resumed play for the 11U playoffs.  The CAVS had a skeleton crew as the team was split in half.  The other half went on to play another 12U game.  The CAVS 11U took the court with 5 players, Colden, Elijah, Franklin, Jordan and Mike.  With only 5 players the CAVS still took control of the game.  Elijah started the scoring early for the CAVS against Hoopmasters.  Jordan and Mike both scored from the post.  The CAVS jumped out to an early 10 point lead.  Although without their main players, the CAVS bench showed that they are also a force to be reckoned with.  Franklin and Colden both scored on open looks at the basket.  At halftime, the CAVS led 21 – 5.  In the second half, the CAVS players tired a bit since they were playing without any subs.  But the players pulled together and played great defense against the Hoopmasters.  The CAVS contested every shot.  On offense the CAVS continued to run their offense as they have been coached.  The CAVS earned their way to the championship with a 36-11 victory.

            In the championship, the CAVS 11U faced off against Impact Basketball.  The CAVS players were exhausted having played 7 games over the course of the weekend.  The CAVS started very slowly, and Impact took advantage.  Impact raced up the court after multiple turnovers and took the early lead 14 -5.  The CAVS struggled early but slowly started to heat up.  DJ and Brian scored from the perimeter, as James controlled the post play.  The CAVS players drove to the basket at will.  Midway through the first half, the CAVS started to wake up and got their game back on track.  The defense started to shut down Impact and started to extend their lead.  All the CAVS players scored in the game.  It was good all around game for the entire team.  The CAVS went on to win 70 – 37.  Great tune up for the CAVS in preparation for Las Vegas.

            The CAVS 11U returned to the California State Games to defend their title from the previous year from July 9th – 11th.  The CAVS opened play against Lobos Marinos Ensenada.  The CAVS started the game on fire from the opening tip off.  DJ McDonald and Elijah Walker dominated from the guard position.  Both guards scored easy baskets after forcing turn overs on defense.  James Watson and Chasen Pender dominated from the post position as they both grabbed every loose ball that came their way.  Midway through the first half the CAVS were dominating 19 – 3.  Taj Regans and Brian Deveraux swarmed the court on defense which led to easy baskets by their teammates.  At halftime, the CAVS led 29 – 2.  In the second half, the CAVS continued to work on their set offense, trying to execute specific plays.  Kihei Clark and Remy Martin came in off the bench to contribute in the second half.  The CAVS went on to win 38 – 7.

            The second game for the CAVS was against St. Mary’s of San Francisco.  The CAVS started slowly against St Mary’s.  The tough team defense by the CAVS kept them in the game.  DJ and Taj’s sharp shooting gave the CAVS the early lead.  Midway through the first half the CAVS led 13 – 7.  James, Chasen and Mike Irving continued to dominate in the post.  At halftime, the CAVS held a comfortable lead 28 – 12.  In the second half, the CAVS offense continued to fire on all cylinders.  Remy, Kihei and DJ continued to hit open shots.  Brian, Elijah and Taj drove to the basket at will.  The CAVS went on to win 47 – 16.

The CAVS earned the first seed in their pool, and their semi-final game would match them up against the San Francisco Rebels.  The Rebels had multiple post players with good size which would pose a problem for the CAVS early on.  The Rebels forced some turnovers early in the game.  Midway through the first half, the CAVS trailed 7 – 2.  The CAVS offense could not find its rhythm most of the first half.  With only a few minutes remaining until halftime, the CAVS still trailed 9 – 11.  The CAVS players showed toughness by digging in on defense and fighting back to tie the game 11 – 11 at halftime.  As the second half started, Coach Darryl rallied his players to get them ready.  The CAVS brought their intensity to the court on defense.  Kihei and DJ swarmed the Rebels guards on defense.  In the post Remy, James and Chasen shut down the Rebels post players.  With 12 minutes remaining in the game, the CAVS took their first lead 21 – 19.  The CAVS offense slowly started to come alive as DJ and Brian both scored on open shots.  The CAVS held a marginal lead 27 – 21 with only 2:30 remaining.  The Rebels started getting desperate as they could not score from their set offense.  The clock was winding down and the Rebels were forced to foul as the CAVS were run a spread offense to run time off the clock.  DJ and James both hit free throws, and the CAVS were able to get a 33 – 27 victory.

            The CAVS had earned their way to another championship game against Flight Elite.  Flight Elite has been an elusive team for the CAVS, as they have multiple losses to this team.  Flight Elite has a size advantage against the CAVS, and it is a challenge.  Flight Elite took the early lead in the championship, but midway through the first half, the CAVS battled back to tie the game 8 – 8 behind some tough post play by James.  The CAVS held on to a 12 – 8 lead as DJ’s sharp shooting kept the team in the game.  Flight Elite did not give up and used their size advantage to score from offensive rebounds.  At halftime, the CAVS trailed 16 – 17.  As the second half started, Flight Elite started to build a lead.  The CAVS had a difficult time generating offense.  With only 8:26 left, the CAVS trailed 24 – 17.  The two teams exchanged baskets, and the CAVS could not cut in to the lead.  With only 2:30 left, the CAVS still trailed 30 – 24.  The CAVS put together one last push to try and re-take the lead.  Elijah came in to hit a big basket, and the CAVS cut the lead to 4 points with only 90 seconds left in the game.  However, the CAVS would go scoreless the rest of the game.  Flight Elite went on to win the game 30 -26.  The CAVS were disappointed in not being able to defend their State Games championship.  The team will get back to practice and be ready for the Las Vegas to end the travel season.