Three of the four NEPA Elite teams entered in Zero Gravity’s Boys Finals in Boston opened the championship event with wins before falling in their second games Saturday.
Of the four entries, three completed pool play Saturday and have consolation games scheduled Sunday. The other, the NEPA Elite 17U Frank team, is in a four-team pool with a shot at finishing first.
A look at Saturday’s results:
NEPA Elite 15U Dempsey
Jordan Shaffer was the top scorer in both games as NEPA Elite finished second of three teams in the 9th Grade Division 1A.
Shaffer made four 3-pointers to finish with 16 points and 4 assists while leading 4 double-figures scorers in a 68-53 victory over Stamford (CT) Peace Purple.
Nate Aviles scored 15 points, grabbed 6 defensive rebounds and made 2 steals.
Ayden Agapito, who pulled down a team-high 8 rebounds, and Tony Battaglia added 10 points and 3 assists each. Agapito also blocked two shots while Battaglia made two steals.
Steve Moore chipped in seven points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.
Andrew Kettel had five assists and two steals.
NEPA Elite pulled away from a 37-33 game at halftime to win comfortably.
Dana Barros Elite-Ato from Massachusetts defeated NEPA Elite, 70-64, in the second game.
After building the lead to double figures for much of the first half, Dana Barros Elite led, 37-28, at halftime.
NEPA Elite closed to within four on three occasions, including twice in the last 1:02.
Shaffer went 5-for-9 on 3-pointers while scoring 27 points.
Aviles had all 13 of his points in the second half.
Battaglia added 11 points.
Shaffer and Kettel are from Abington Heights. Aviles is from Dunmore, Agapito from Crestwood, Battaglia from Scranton and Moore from Tunkhannock.
NEPA Elite plays Expressions Elite from New York Sunday at 8 a.m.
NEPA Elite 16U Tillery
NEPA Elite went 0-2 in 10th Grade Division 1C.
The losses were 58-53 to Middlesex Magic-Lambros from Massachusetts and 71-56 to Team Cray NB from New York.
NEPA Elite has two games scheduled Sunday. It plays at 2:30 p.m. against Train’D 2 Go from Essex County, N.J. for the third straight event after splitting the first two meetings. The second game is at 4:40 p.m. against BABC.
NEPA Elite 17U Coyle
NEPA Elite was on the opposite end of a couple of blowout games to wind up second in its three-team Varsity Division 1I.
NEPA Elite hammered Team Sims Cape-Harrigan from Massachusetts, 74-37, before losing to New Hampshire Heat National Prep out of Connecticut, 83-44.
The team is set to face Connecticut Elite HGSL at 3:35 p.m.
NEPA Elite 17U Frank
Chris Ogden from West Scranton scored six points in a 10-second stretch to help rally NEPA Elite past Mass Rivals Regional-McDonald, 58-54, in the Varsity Division 2 Teal opener.
Queens Defenders Gold-Wes then topped NEPA Elite, 75-57.
NEPA Elite enters Sunday at 1-1, but with a chance to finish on top of the pool because it still has a shot at 2-0 NLA White-Coppersmith from Maine in the 9:05 a.m. pool finale.