Brandon Jennings made his return to The Drew a winning one, Leon Gibson posted a monster game and Garrett “G-Money” Nevels kept Hank’s Houdini’s All-Stars undefeated with a game-winning 3-pointer Saturday in Drew League action.
By Dave Rogahn
COA 88, Scrapes and Gravel 82
The first game saw Jennings, who signed a contract with the New York Knicks this past week, make his first appearance in The Drew since rupturing his Achilles Tendon. He was instrumental for COA in the win over Scrapes & Gravel.
Jennings had 22 points, including 3 three-pointers, plus 4 rebounds and 3 assists for the winners, while Jordan Crawford (China) had 22 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals.
DeAnthony Melton (Crespi/USC) led all scorers with 23 points for Scrapes & Gravel, and he also had 5 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot.
Victor Michel (Chaffey CC/Mexico) had 17 points, including a half-court shot at the end of the third quarter, and Jonah Mathews (Santa Monica/USC) had 15 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals.
Birdie's Revenge 90, Hank's I Can All-Stars 53
The next game was pretty one-sided as Birdie’s Revenge jumped out to a quick 23-5 lead and trounced Hank’s I Can All-Stars, 90-53. Franklin Session (LA Jordan/Saddleback/Cal State LA/NBDL) had 22 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 steals to lead the Birdies.
Marcus Bell (CS Stanislaus/Mexico) had 16 points and 9 rebounds, and rapper/team owner The Game (Jayceon Taylor) had 13 points, including 3 three-pointers, plus 4 rebounds and 4 assists.
Leon Jacob (Utah Valley State/TAMIU/Estonia) led I Can with 11 points, and Terrance Joyner (Washington HS/Mississippi Valley State/Mongolia) had 10 points.
#Juglife 71, the Pandas 68
In the next game, Jordan Hamilton (Dominguez/Texas/NBA/Venezuela) had 31 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals to lead #Juglife to a 71-68 win over the Pandas.
#Juglife took a 65-64 lead on a 3-pointer by Jordan Burris (Nevada/NBDL) midway through the fourth quarter and held on for the win. Burris finished with 16 points, including 4 threes, plus 7 rebounds.
Seketoure Henry (Lynwood/Nebraska/Jamaica) came off the bench for 11 points and 5 rebounds. Metta World Peace (St. John’s/Lakers) led the Pandas with 22 points, and he added 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. His son, Ron Artest III (Beverly Hills HS), had 12 points.
LA Loop 91, Problems 76
Then Leon Gibson (Houston/Mexico) had a monster game with 34 points and 24 rebounds, and Patrick Rembert (UCI/Saudi Arabia) had 30 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists as LA Loop routed Problems, 91-76.
Raysean Hairston (CC San Francisco/Campbellsville) had 23 points for Problems, and Russell Byrd (The Master’s College/Israel) had 22 points.
Hank’s Houdini’s All-Stars 79, the Clozers 78
And finally Hank’s Houdini’s All-Stars saw a 21-point second-half lead disappear but remained undefeated when Garrett “G-Money” Nevels (Palisades/Hawaii/Spain) drained the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.9 seconds left to lift the Houdinis to a dramatic 79-78 victory.
Nevels finished with 26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot. Jourdan Sweeney (Concordia OR) had 14 points and 8 rebounds, and Josh White (Mt. SAC) had 13 points.
Devin Watson, who is headed to San Diego State after starting his college career at the University of San Francisco, had a game-high 27 points plus 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 6 steals for the Clozers.
Dwayne Polee (Westchester/SD State/NBDL) had 19 points and 9 rebounds, and Shawn Hampton (Dorsey/Pasadena CC/Siena/IBL) had 12 points and 6 assists.
Drew League action continues every weekend through August at King-Drew HS in Willowbrook. Admission is free but is also first-come first-serve so get there early when the NBA guys are playing! Check the league website (http://www.drewleague.com) for the schedule and more info.
