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STUDENT ATHLETE BRONCOS DEFEAT METRO FOE TO WIN 2001 GymRat CHALLENGE

CNY AAU Upsets Defending AAU National Champions for 16:U Crown
Gauchos Defend 15:U Title by Defeating NYC Rivals

Albany, NY-A field of 124 teams representing programs from fourteen U.S. states and two Canadian Provinces competed over Memorial Day Weekend in Albany, NY for unprecedented team prizes and prominence as 2001 GymRat CHALLENGE champions. With New York City widely regarded as the gold standard in prep basketball, the GymRat CHALLENGE continued to provide a measuring stick for teams from throughout North America as many of New York Metro's most powerful programs clashed for early summer bragging rights.

Only four of the thirty-six teams entering Championship Round competition across the three age divisions (17U, 16U, 15U) reached the maximum +60 rating, and the parity continued deep into the brackets as six games were extended into double or triple overtime marathons.

In the 15:U Age Division, the NY Gauchos defended their 2000 GymRat CHALLENGE Championship by running past their most prominent New York City rivals. In the first round of Championship Bracket play, the #1 seeded Gauchos easily moved past #8 seed CNY AAU, while the #2 seed Albany City Rocks were upended by the #7 Jersey Shore Warriors. #3 seed Riverside Church defeated #6 Providence United 65-57 and #5 New York Ravens topped #4 Long Island Lightning 57-42 to complete the quarterfinal round. In semi-final action, the Gauchos raced by the NY Ravens 60-47 and Riverside Church upended the Jersey Shore Warriors 54-41 to set-up the all NYC final. In the Championship Game, Sundiata Gaines led all scorers with 23 points and Ronald Ramon chipped in with 15 as Marc Jones' Gauchos won the 15:U Big Apple Battle over Riverside Church. The Hawks were led by 14 points from Arturo Dubois.

In the 16:U Division, the reigning AAU National Champion Gauchos looked to make it 2-for-2 as their program attempted to defend their 2000 GymRat CHALLENGE Triple Crown title, but strong resistance came from a Central New York State power. With the top four seeds receiving a bye, the first round featured wins for the Jersey Shore Warriors over the Westchester Hawks, the #5 seeded Gauchos over the Newburgh Zion Church, NOVA United over Vermont Alliance, and #7 CNY AAU over the Franklin Ballers. In the quarterfinal round, the #1 seeded Long Island Lightning upended the Jersey Shore Warriors 66-52, #2 seed Riverside Church was topped 62-58 in a foreshadowing upset by upstart CNY AAU, #3 MASS Hoops Jaguars defeated NOVA United 70-56, and the Gauchos topped the rival NY Ravens 57-46. In the first semi-final CNY AAU continued their run with a 66-64 win over three time Massachusetts state champion MASS Hoops Jaguars. The other side of the bracket featured one of the most hotly contested games of the tournament as the Gauchos outlasted the Long Island Lightning 46-44 in a see-saw triple overtime battle. In the final, John Kelly's CNY AAU team used timely three-point shooting and solid man-to-man defense to jump out to a nine point lead at the half. Despite a game high 20 points from Alex Buzbee of the Gauchos, CNY never looked back, and maintained their lead throughout the second half for a breakthrough victory and the 2001 16:U GymRat CHALLENGE Championship. The CNY balanced attack was led by 11 points from Matt Cooper.

In the 17:U Age Division, overtime was the feature as the #1 seeded Student Athlete Broncos (NYC) held the brackets true to form and outlasted the rest of the field to claim the 2001 GymRat CHALLENGE Championship. The sixty-team division was paired down to a sixteen team Championship Round Bracket as the NorthEastern Basketball Association grabbed the lone wildcard spot and joined the fifteen pool champions in the race for the title. In the opening round the #1 Broncos defeated the wildcard NorthEastern Basketball Association, the #2 NJ RAP defeated the defending champion NY Gauchos 59-41, #3 Westchester Hawks upended #14 Toronto Basketball Association, #4 LI RoadRunners BLUE defeated the Morris County Bulls, #12 Diaper Dans of Virginia rallied past the #5 seeded 92nd Street Y in overtime, #6 CNY AAU defeated the LI Silver Bullets, #10 Jersey Shore Warriors upended #7 LI RoadRunners-Fields, and the #8 Sullivan Eagles topped the Washington Heights Warriors to advance to the quarterfinals. In the quarterfinal round, the Student Athlete Broncos defeated the Sullivan Eagles, the Diaper Dans ran past the LI RoadRunners BLUE, the Westchester Hawks topped CNY AAU, and the NJ RAP outlasted the Jersey Shore Warriors in a defensive battle. Semi-final action in the 17:U Division featured two of the most competitive games of the tournament. On center court at Siena College, the Student Athlete Broncos clashed with the Diaper Dans of Virginia. In a battle of athleticism, the Broncos took a one point lead into the lockerroom and held on for a 48-46 victory. On the other side of the bracket, the Westchester Hawks clawed their way into the finals with a 60-59 double overtime victory over NJ RAP as Rashard Turner and Jeff Lee hit shots with :02 remaining in regulation and the first overtime respectively to extend the game. NJ RAP was led by 16 from Albert Torres. In the hard fought final between Metro NY foes, Marcel Momplaisir's follow-up dunk with 1:52 remaining and subsequent block on the defensive end put the Broncos in control to stay despite a gutsy effort by Westchester's Rushid Simmons (game high 21 points) and teammates. Along with Momplaisir, tournament MVP Jerrel Blassingame led the Bronco charge with 16 points on constant penetration to the basket.