Buckets topped Harambe 74-69 for their second straight Orange County men’s basketball title in Hillsborough. Four players in double figures, headed by 25 from Ricky Council, provided much of the scoring. Ace Smith and Max Lighterman netted 13 each, Qasim Frederick 11. They trailed 36-29 at halftime. Buckets won the league’s winter championship.
J. Michael Adams (22) and Tom (18) led Harambe. J. McCallister added 12 and Jahill R. ten.
#4 Harambe beat #9 Send Help 54-53 and #6 Buckets downed #3 Baja Elite 88-84 in the semis. Unbeatens #1 King Ballers and #2 Dynasty were eliminated in the second round. The summer league started with 22 teams and 16 made the SE tournament.
Winning coach Dy Norman told CSN, “Regarding the championship and our sixth-place season finish, we won 6 games, only lost 2 and one was in double OT. So there were several teams with identical records and the seeding was determined by point differential. This Buckets team played well together.
“We had a balanced attack, with great guard play and tough inside presence. We won this league because we enjoy playing with each other. We have great chemistry and it showed during the tournament. We are back-to-back league champs and we look forward to the next season.”
The winter league registers in December and begins play in January.