Trojans Gold takes NJB title
The National Junior Basketball Division 11 (fifth/sixth grades) championship game was an all-USC affair Sunday and it was the Trojans Gold team that came away with the title.
The Trojans Gold defeated the Trojans Black team in a hard-fought defensive battle, 36-28, at Marina High.
Both teams went 8-2 in the regular season and survived close semifinal games Sunday to advance to the final. The Trojans Gold, the No. 3-seeded team in the tournament, had defeated Trojans Black during the regular season.
For Trojans Gold, Reid Fisher led the team in rebounds and hit the game-winning basket, the only basket in overtime, in a 38-36 semifinal victory over the No. 2-seeded UCLA Bruins. Andre Medina led the team in three-point shots and converted a four-point play in the final minutes of the semifinal win. Dominic Riola made several key drives to the basket in both the final and semifinal games and made a three-point shot in the semifinal to tie the score with 10 seconds remaining in regulation play. Tyler Mangold, the team’s captain, hit a three-point shot to bring Trojans Gold withing 36-33 of the Bruins with 30 seconds remaining in the semifinal game.
In the semifinals, Trojans Gold overcame a 13-point deficit in the third period and an eight-point deficit with a minute left in the final period to pull out the victory.
The Division II regular season title race was a close affair with five teams battling for the title. The Georgia Bulldogs (9-1) entered the tournament with the No. 1-seed followed by the UCLA Bruins (8-2), Trojans Gold, Trojans Black, and the Kentucky Wildcats (7-3).
USC Trojans Black knocked off the Kentucky Wildcats in one semifinal.
The USC Trojans Gold are Jovahn Darden, Reid Fisher, Corey James, Alan Jiang, Tyler Mangold, Andre Medina, Dominic Riola and Nick Vento. The team is coached by John Bishop and Steve Mangold.
Team members Darden, Fisher and Medina, and coaches Bishop and Mangold, have been nominated to the division’s All-Star team.
— Reader submission