It's that time of year again. The Little Dribblers is back
and better than ever.

Dates: October 4, 2009 - November 22, 2009

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The CAVS 10U went to San Diego, CA July 17th – 19th, to compete in the coveted California State Games.  The CAVS opened pool play against the Oakland Soldiers.  The CAVS opened the game quickly.  Guards DJ McDonald, Skyler Barry, and Brian Deveraux all scored early on open looks at the basket.  Chasen Pender was a force down below scoring in the post and playing staunch defense.  The Soldiers cut into the lead, but the CAVS held a 15 – 9 lead at halftime.  The second half would be very close as the Oakland Soldiers tried to overtake the CAVS.  The front court of the Soldiers was up to the task, as the CAVS pressed full court in the second half.  With 10 minutes left in the second half, the CAVS held a 26 – 22 lead.  The teams exchanged baskets and, with 4 minutes left, the CAVS held a 28 – 24 lead.  With less then a minute left, the Soldiers hit 2 long 3-pointers.  With 18 seconds left in the game, the CAVS only held a 31-30 lead.  DJ hit 2 free throws to seal the game and the CAVS won 33 – 30.

Next up for the CAVS 10U was the Circle City Kings.  This proved to be an easier effort for the CAVS.  The CAVS guards continued their solid play.  Kyle Fisher connected on some long range baskets.  Chasen Pender, Mike Irving and Maurice Walton were successful down low as they used their size advantage.  The CAVS held an 18 – 4 lead at halftime.  In the second half, the CAVS would continue to dominate as the defense limited the scoring by the Kings.  DJ and Elijah Walker scored on easy lay-ups and midway through the 2nd half, the CAVS had built a 29 – 11 lead.  The CAVS never looked back and went on to win 37 – 12.

The final pool game for the CAVS would be against Flight Elite.  The CAVS started the game slowly and built a 7 – 4 lead behind DJ’s scoring.  Kyle continued his sharp shooting from the outside.  The CAVS defensive pressure continued to force the Flight Elite guards into turnovers.  The CAVS held a 21 – 14 lead.  In the second half, the CAVS bench continued to apply defensive pressure.  The defensive pressure applied by Isaiah Luckey, Isaiah Roby and Colden Davis force numerous turnovers.  Flight Elite wasn’t finished and they continued to fight their way back into the game.  With 6:40 left in the second half, Flight Elite cut the lead down to 4 points.  The CAVS regained their composure.  Their size advantage led to some lay-ups down low.  Mike and Maurice executed the high-low game.  The CAVS would go on to win 33 – 25 and earn a spot in the Championship.

The CAVS would match-up with the Oakland Soldier again for the Championship.  The CAVS wanted to bring home the championship banner that they had been seeing all weekend.  The team started the game with fierce intensity.  The CAVS defense swarmed the court and the team jumped out to an 11 – 0 lead.  The Soldiers were not ready to give up.  Their guards kept battling, and were determined to get their team back into the game. At halftime, the CAVS led 17 – 9.  The second half would be a contentious battle.  The CAVS guards continued to lead the charge as DJ, Brian and Kyle all scored.  The Soldiers' team speed posed some challenges for the CAVS and, with 2 minutes left in the game, the CAVS clung to a 32 – 27 lead.  The Soldiers guards would again score 2 long range 3-pointers.  CAVS big man, Chasen, fouled out of the game.  Colden entered the game.  With the game tied 33 – 33 and 15 seconds on the clock, the Soldiers were looking to steal the championship away from the CAVS.  On a defensive switch, Colden ended up on the Soldiers point guard and made a great defensive play to steal the ball.  The CAVS called a time out.  With 4 seconds left on the clock, the CAVS walked back out on the court to try and get of a game winning shot.  DJ’s shot fell short and the team headed into overtime.

In overtime, the two teams exchanged baskets.  The CAVS then pulled ahead by 2 points on DJ’s jump shot.  With 22 seconds left, the CAVS led 37 – 35.  The CAVS tried to run the clock out, but the Soldier regained control of the ball on a turnover.  The Soldiers had the ball with 5 seconds left on the clock.  The CAVS defense stymied the Soldiers who could not get a shot off.  The final buzzer sounded and the CAVS players swarmed the court.  The CAVS won 37 – 35 and are the new 10U California State Games Champions.  Congratulations CAVS!

                                               

The CAVS 9U packed their uniforms and headed to Las Vegas to participate in the Star Vision Center Stage Tournament.  The CAVS opened pool play against the Edge Basketball International 8U.  The Edge Basketball team was severely undersized for the CAVS team.  The post play by Austin Olsen, Mike Irving, and newcomer Grant Drogsch dominated the game.  Each player scored in the post and controlled the boards with their rebounds.  From the perimeter, Jalen Bolden, Khari Roddy-Osborne, and Kyle Fisher all hit wide open jumpers.  The CAVS jumped out to a 14 – 0 lead early in the game and never looked back.  The CAVS held a 36 – 8 lead at half time and went on to win 44 – 10.

The next game for the CAVS 9U would be very different from the first game.  The CAVS matched up against the Rising Stars of America.  The CAVS started slowly against the team.  The Rising Stars were able to slow down Mike and Austin down low.  Kyle Fisher and Khari worked hard on defense to slow down the speedy guards of the Rising Stars.  The first half slowed down quite a bit as the Rising Stars players were getting into foul trouble.  In the first half, the Rising Stars had multiple players with 3 fouls.  At halftime, the CAVS trailed 15 – 11.  In the second half, the CAVS pounded the ball inside to try and take advantage of the foul trouble of the Rising Stars.  Austin and Mike scored multiple baskets in the second half to get the CAVS back into the game.  Khari and Kyle’s pressure defense forced multiple turnovers to shut down the Rising Stars offense.  The Rising Stars then lost one of their players who fouled out.  With less than 1 minute in the game, the CAVS trailed 28 – 29.  The CAVS defense forced a turnover and pushed the ball up the court.  Kyle passed the ball to an open Mike who scored the winning bucket.  The CAVS went on to win 30 -29.

The final game of pool play was against Triple Threat Youth Organization (TTYO).  The CAVS were motivated to secure the first seed heading into the playoffs.  This game would see great contributions from the CAVS bench.   Anthony Spann, Hunter Barry, and Cyrus Eslamieh all had multiple points during this game.  The CAVS used their size advantage to score easy lay-ups.  The CAVS built a 31 – 5 lead at halftime.  The CAVS would carry the momentum into the second half as Grant and Kyle joined the team in the scorer’s column.  The CAVS cruised to a 44 – 10 victory.

The CAVS first playoff game would be against the Kings Basketball Academy.  These two teams have met on multiple occasions and this game would not end any differently than the previous outings.  Mike used his size advantage to score early at the free throw line.  The Kings had multiple players get in early foul trouble trying to stop the CAVS post players.  The CAVS jumped ahead with a 15 – 4 lead in the first half.  The Kings guards could not handle the CAVS defense and committed multiple turnovers.  The CAVS led 24 – 6 at halftime.  The Kings would never pose a threat.  The CAVS went on to win 34 – 12.

The championship game would be rematch with the Rising Stars.  The Rising Stars were positive that they were robbed of a victory when the teams played earlier in the tournament.  The teams traded baskets early in the first half.  The CAVS defense worked on containing the Rising Stars guards.  The CAVS led 10 -8 midway through the first half.  The CAVS pressure defense spurred the offense on a run.  Kyle hit multiple long range 3-pointers.  Mike controlled the post, and the CAVS built a 26 – 12 lead at halftime.  The second half would be very different than the first half.  The CAVS defense had very little luck containing the Rising Stars guards.  The Rising Stars began to press full court and scored on some easy lay-ups.  With only 57 seconds left, the CAVS lead was only 44 - 41.  The Rising Stars then hit a 3-pointer to tie the game with 26 seconds left.  The CAVS players were a little shaken after leading throughout most of the game, but were determined to pull out the victory.  The CAVS turned over the ball, but Kyle stole the ball right back.  He raced down the court with the ball, and the Rising Stars fouled him.  With only a few seconds left on the clock, Kyle stepped up to the line and sank both free throws.  The CAVS would win 46 – 44!  It was a great victory by the entire CAVS 9U team.  Great job!!