hampionship Sunday is here and we're courtside for the Class A, AA and AAA games that tip at 1, 3 and 5pm this afternoon. We'll update the blog at halftme and the conclusion of each game...
 

Here's the schedule:​
1pm - Phillips Exeter vs. Hotchkiss Academy
3pm - Kimball Union Academy vs. Cushing Academy
5pm - Brewster Academy vs. New Hampton School

Full brackets listed below:

• View the Class AAA Tournament Bracket
• View the Class AA Tournament Bracket
• View the Class A Tournament Bracket

For more immediate game updates follow me on Twitter: @EBlessNHSP

Phillips Exeter and Hotchkiss are warming up and about to tip - next update at halftime.

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Class A Championship - Hotchkiss vs. Phillips Exeter

Great atmosphere for the Class A tip as Hotchkiss has a well-versed group of students who clearly have their act together when it comes to being the 6th man.  On the court Hotchkiss jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead but the offense stalled after that mainly due to the 1-2-2 full court press Exeater deployed falling back into a stingy zone desinged to deny Class A player of the year Makai Mason the ball.  One thing Jay Tilton's teams have always been known for is defense - and Exeter has done a great job on ball screens switching everything and keeping the ball in ball in front of their bodies.

The lead grew to 7 as Terrance Simpson hit a 3 for Hotchkiss to make it 9-2.  Defense for both teams was really on show early as Hotchkiss forced PEA into taking a lot of contested 3's and Exeter at one point was only 1/10 from deep.  

Despite the shooting woes Jeb Helmers has done an excellent job controlling the ball and making good decisions offensively.   He's the point man on their press D and more than once almost pressured Hotchkiss into a 10 second violation.

Around the 7 minute mark both teams finally woke up out of their shooting slump as Helmers, JD Slachert and Perry DeLorenzo all hit deep jumpers.  Mason responded with a floater in the lane and Simposon hit a contested shot fading away from the right corner.  

After what was a very slow start for Exeter they end the half with the lead, 24-22.

Mason leads Hotchkiss with 6 and Simpson has 5.  Slachert has 7 and Foye 5 for Exeter.  It would be fair to expect a very tightly played 2nd half with this one coming down to the wire.

Halftime: Phillips Exeter 24, Hotchkiss 22

Foul trouble early for both teams bigs as Matt Greene from Hotchkiss picked his 3rd up and Miki Ljuboja from Exeter collected his 3rd a few minutes later.  Both stayed in the game and the decision paid off as each made big plays on ensuingn possessions none bigger than Ljuboja's fading layup almost from behind the backboard and foul shot. 

Hotchkiss's other big Noach Daoust also has had a great start to his second half with 5 points including a runner in the lane and free throw that tied the game at 31 with 10:45 to play.  As expected, this game continues to be close and a cuple more lead changes/ties can be expected before this one times out.

After an Exeter TO they ran a motion set that resulted in a Slajchert 3 who's been good on both ends of the court today.  He's a 6-6 guard who can bring the ball up against pressure and will defend and rebound in the paint, a nice commodity for Exeter.

The cold shooting continued throughout the half as Mason hasn't really able to get going offensively. There always seems to be at least 2 defenders in his face everytime he steps within the 3 point line and without the ability to knock down shots the Big Red have been able to stay home and help off their assignments to contain Mason.  

It wasn't until the under 4 minute mark that Mason finally was able to find his touch.  Hotchkiss isolated him in the right corner and there was no help as he rose over his defender hitting a huge 3 with 2:30 to play cutting the Exeter lead to 4. Just 45 seconds later Exeter miscommunicated on a switch and left Mason open for just a split second from the left elbow and he drained ANOTHER deep 3 to cut the lead to 3 this time.

Exeter is an excellent foul shooting team and Tony Karalekas and Slajchert both hit 2 in 1-and-1 situations to keep the lead.  With the game on the line and down 5 Hotchkiss went right back to Mason who was fouled after collecting his own missed 3 and driving the lane.  His free throws would cut it to 3 once more and a missed jumper by Exeter from the corner gave Hotchkiss a chance to tie.

Mason dribbled down and rose up for a deep one that missed and a battle for the rebound ensued ultimately won by Exeter.  Ljuboja missed the front end of a 1-and-1 but Fleming stole the rebound out of a Hotchkiss players hands and was fouled with 40 seconds left.  He calmly hit both free throws.  

Hotchkiss then came down and Mason penetrated kicking to Daoust for an open 3 from the left wing which he nailed to tie the game wiht 10 seconds left.  Jeb Helmers (tourney MVP) then calmly dribbled (as he always seems to do not matter what the situtation) down and swished a 3 of his own with 2.5 seconds left.  After a Hotchkiss TO Exeter employed the "up 3 under 10 seconds rule" and fouled Mason sending him to the line.  He missed the first and the tip ball ended what was a great way to start Champsionship Sunday at Endicott.

Mason ended up with 16, Simpson had 7 and Daoust 11 for Hotchkiss.  Helmers had 10 (8 in the 2nd half - 3 in the last 3 seconds) Lyubuja 7 and Slajchert 11 for Exeter in the win. 

Final: Phillips Exeter 49, Hotchkiss 46

MVP: Jeb Helmers, Exeter

Full Box Score

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Class AA Championship - Kimball Union vs. Cushing Academy

Much quicker start to this game as both teams want to get out and score in transition and both also like to shoot the 3 which can lead to breaks the other way.  

The matchup here will come down to whether or not Kimballs guards can shut down the Cushing backcourt like they did to WMA yesterday in their Semifinal matchup.  One thing they NEED to limit is Jalen Adams on the break, and early on he's gotten loose for 2 layups, one off a nice feed from Kaleb Joseph through the lane. 

Joseph has been the best offensive player early with a 3 of his own, and finding teamates on the break or finishing himself at the rim.  The recipient of most of Josephs assists early have been Idris Taqqee who's got a 3, layup and mid range jumper so far in the first half.  With 4 to play Adams collected a long rebound, pushed the ball to the middle of the court then threw a 1/2 court pass through 3 defenders to Taqqee for an easy lay in.  The game is being played exactly how Cushing likes it - fast and on the move.

Kimball has hung tough the whole half, and really most of it without getting Abu involved down low to this point.  Ainge has hit several 3's to keep them close but everytime they get within 5 Cushing makes a big play.  With 3 to play Connor Gilmore, a stretch forward, did just that as he took Abu outside and drained a 3 to put Cushing up 35-27.  Kimball responded and went on a 9-2 run capped by a Tot jumper from the top of the key as the shot clock wound down.  Cushing got the last laugh of the half however as Adams drew 2 defenders and found a wide open Gilmore who drained a 3 as the clock expired.  

Taqqee leads Cushing with 16, Joseph has 9 and Adams and Gilmore have 6.  Duby has 10, Ainge 9, Tot 6 and Abu 4 for Kimball.

Halftime: Cushing 40, Kimball Union 36

What hurt KUA the most in the first half was transition points. Cushing continued to push the ball on both makes and misses and Taqqee has been able to get behind the defense for easy ones several times.  Offensively Taqqee (headed to St. Boneventure) has been all over the court both rebounding and running in transition.

Adams has been relatively quiet this whole game but he did have a very nice drive where he took it into the body of Abu, hung till he could get the ball over his outstretched hand and swished it home while getting fouled.  The bucket and FT gave Cushing a comfortable 45-38 lead which they would extend on a Gilmore 3 and another Taqqee layup.  

With 10 to play Abu would follow up a Tot miss with a dunk and on the next possession set up deep in the lane and finished to cut the lead back to 7.  On the other end Joseph has stepped up hitting a nice contested jump hook and driving the left side of the defense on consecutive possessions. Kimball needs stops - and they're not getting them as Cushing has been able to get good looks all half.  

Abu has done everything he can this half but he's starting to look gassed and KUA needs his defensive energy more than anything right now.  Down 11 a mini-KUA run was led by Malcom Brent who scored twice in transition, the 2nd which was a beautiful spin move around a defender and finish across his body.  The free throw cut the lead down to 5 with under 4 to play. 

That's as close as Kimball would get however as Adams did what he does down the stretch.  At the 2:30 mark he blocked a Brent 3-point attempt then hit his own on the ensuing transition, pushing the lead back 10.  

With 2 minutes left Abu hit a 3 from the left corner to get it within single digits...If he can consistently knock that down at the next level NC State will have a very dynamic player on their hands.  In the end though the combination of Cushing's guards was too much for KUA who were able to largely bottle up Adams but Joseph and Taqqee both had huge games leading Cushing to a back-to-back Class AA NEPSAC championship.

Abu finished with 16, Duby 13, Brent 14, Ainge 11 and Tot 9 for KUA.  Joseph led Cushing with 24, Taqqee had 20 and Adams 16 for the Champs.

Final: Cushing Academy 78, Kimball Union 70

MVP: Jalen Adams, Cushing

Full Box Score

Video Highlights from CoreyPorter TV

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Class AAA Championship - Brewster Academy vs. New Hampton School

Next up is two of NH's best Prep programs in Brewster and New Hampton.  These two teams have a bit more size than most or all of the Class A and AA teams so it'll be a "bigger" brand of basketball on the court. 

New Hampton showed no signs of nerves as they jumped out to a quick lead after 3 1/2 minutes.  Elijah Bryant hit consecutive buckets then Sracuse committ and big man Tyler Lydon stepped back and hit a deep 3 followed by a Tory Miller layup to make it 9-0.  

Bryant has had a great first 8 minutes as he continues to win his matchup with Devonte' Graham early.  He's scored from all areas of the court and hasn't turned the ball over yet.  With Brewster taking, and missing jumpers NHS has been able to capitalize on what has been a poor defensive effort so far by the Bobcats.

One of the conversations I had with St Andrews HC Mike Hart (he runs the NEPSAC tournament) at halftime of the Cushing/KUA game was how no lead is safe in their league.  Time and time again especially in the Class AAA you see these runs of 10 or more points.  The kids are so talented offensively and well coached its bound to happen.  

At the 10 minute mark Max Twyman subbed in and his presense immediately paid off as he hit a 3 from the top of the key and scored on a reverse layup to get the lead down to 10, 26-16.  Twyman is a UAlbany committ who brings instant offense off the bench for the Bobcats.  

Both teams started to heat up as Lydon hit Mike LeBlanc for a back door layup then Bryant got free off a set inbounds play from the baseline and hit a 3.  Devonte Graham connected on back to back 3's and with 5 minutes left the lead was just 7, 34-27.  Brewster continued their comeback with Copeland hitting a nice runner in the lane over a defender then going baseline for a layup that put the game within 2 for the Bobcats.  With the final seconds winding down Bryant took a Auger screen up top and finished over Copeland to give NHS a 4 point lead heading into halftime. 

Graham leads Brewster with 8 and Mitchell has 6.  Elijah Bryant leads all scorers with 16 and Tyler Lydon has 8 for NHS.  

Halftime: New Hampton School 40, Brewster 

Bryant started the 2nd half right where he left off the first as he used a Tory Miller screen to free himself for an easy elbow jumper to push the lead to 6.  A few plays later Tory Milller finished a monstrous dunk off an inbounds pass to bring the intensity in the gym to a game high. 

With 14:30 to go Terrell got a steal and went to the line where he hit 1/2 but the Bobcats got the rebound, found Terrell out top and nobody picked him up leading to huge dunk of his own down the lane.  2 possessions later he stole the ball on the left side and went in uncontested for the slam pulling Brewster within 1. 

Right back came Aubrey Dawkins and NHS as he 2 jumpshots from the same elbow to get the lead back to 5.  Terrell had been on the bench getting a rest and waiting at the scorers table to get back while NHS spread the lead back to 5 and was not happy about it.  His defense and intensity has been the catalyst getting Brewster back in this especially in the 2nd half.  

Out of a timeout Terrell was back in and able to get to the line on a drive and hit them both to get Brewster within 1. NHS went to a zone look on the next possession leading in missed jumpers by BA on their next 3 possessions.  Copeland  was inserted back into the lineup and was able to attack from the Free throw line and score. 

Minutes later with the shot clock at 2 Brewster inbounded from under their own basket looking for a lob to Copeland that was well defended by NHS.  The ball went deep to Terrell who lined up a deep 3 that missed badly but Copeland collected and finished for a 59-56 Brewster lead with 4 to play. 

Tory Miller on the other end got good deep position and scored over his left shoulder.  Following 2 BA FTs a nice screen and roll produced another Miller hoop as he spun in the lane and hit a shot over Bolden.  With 2:30 left Brewseter again led by 1 as this game continued to be played within 3 points.  

NHS and BA traded 3's with 1:42 left and Brewseter up 1.  NHS had two really good looks at the rim to get the lead back but both rimed out with under a minute left.  Mitchell connected on 4 straight free throws down the stretch to give Brewster the win with a final score of 68-63.

Final: Brewster Academy 68, New Hampton 63

MVP: Donovan Mitchell, Brewster