Team Takeover (17U), Nightrydas Elite (16U) and Team CP3 (15U) capture titles at EYBL Finals at Nike Peach Jam in South Carolina.
The EYBL Finals 17U title game at Peach Jam pitted one program accustomed to the championship stage of the prestigious event’s top division, while the other was looking for a title in its first championship game appearance. Team Takeover, unbeaten at Peach Jam entering Sunday’s final, knocked off Mokan Elite in the semifinals, 70-59. That was the team that defeated the Washington, D.C.-based, Nike-sponsored travel ball club in 2022’s title game by one point (53-52). Vegas Elite, meanwhile, defeated the New York Rens in their semifinal contest, 80-68.
The championship game was full of offensive fireworks in the first half, but Team Takeover clamped down on the defensive end in the second half and outscored Vegas Elite, 36-20, after the break to record a 76-61 win. The terrific team defensive effort led Team Takeover (8-0 in North Augusta) to its third EYBL Peach Jam title, winning in 2018 and the inaugural one in the summer of 2010. Vegas Elite finished 6-2 at the event, losing to the same team during pool play on the Fourth of July by one point, 65-64.
By the time Team Takeover had an early 19-8 lead, Duke-bound Darren Harris, a 6-foot-6 rising senior (2024) from Paul VI (Chantilly, Va.), already had 15 points. Team Takeover had a 21-15 at the end of the first quarter (17U is played with quarters and a shot clock), but Vegas Elite got back in the game behind the inside play of Pharaoh Compton, a 6-foot-6 2024 power forward from AZ Compass Prep (Chandler, Ariz.) and the long-range shooting of Ohio St.-bound Juni Mobley, a 6-foot combo guard from Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah). Vegas Elite took a 22-21 lead on Comtpton’s layup and at one point in the second quarter, Mobley and Harris went back and forth from long range. Mobley had a big second quarter and Vegas Elite led 41-40 at intermission. By halftime, Harris made 4-of-4 3-pointers and had 23 points, while Mobley made 4-of-5 3-pointers and had 18 points.
The second half was much different.
Team Takeover went on a 7-0 run to take a 49-45 lead and led the rest of the way. Keith Stevens’ program had a 57-53 lead entering the fourth period and pulled away down the stretch behind its defensive effort and disciplined offensive looks. Vegas Elite was also hurt when Compton fouled out with 6:05 remaining in the game and his team trailing, 61-53. Mobley didn’t convert a field goal after intermission and finished with 20 points. Compton finished with 12 points on 6-of-6 shooting. Compton shot an incredible 76.3 percent (29-of-38) from the field during Peach Jam.
The only main statistical difference that stood out between the two teams was assists, which favored Team Takeover, 22-14.
Harris finished with 28 points (5-of-7 3-pointers) and four assists. Syracuse-bound Donovan Freeman, a 6-foot-9 power forward from St. John’s (Washington, D.C.), added 13 points, while Patrick Ngongba, a 6-foot-11 center from Paul VI, had 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
As it usually is for the successful travel ball club, Team Takeover’s victory truly was a team effort. Team Takeover joins Mokan Elite as the two clubs that have won three championships at Nike EYBL Peach Jam.
Boozer-Flagg Trilogy: Big One Goes To Boozer
The 16U championship at the Riverview Park Activities Center in North Augusta, S.C., was hyped as perhaps the most anticipated game at that level of club ball in many years. That’s because the game between Maine United and the Nightrydas Elite featured the two best high school basketball players regardless of class: Cameron Boozer of the Nightrydas, last season’s Mr. Basketball USA choice at Columbus (Miami, Fla.), and Cooper Flagg of Maine United, who starred last season at Montverde Academy (Fla.) and put up video game numbers at Peach Jam in leading his team to the title game.
There would be no video game numbers in the title game from either player, and even though Cameron Boozer finished with only five points, his Nightrydas Elite team extracted a measure of revenge with its 58-50 victory. Maine United came into the 16U final undefeated at Peach Jam, including a Wednesday pool play victory over the Boozer brothers’ club. Maine United upset the Nightrydas, 73-65, as Flagg’s supporting cast came up big to hand the Florida-based team its only loss during the entire EYBL.
The Nightrydas led 27-24 at halftime with Boozer scoring only one point on a free throw in the first 16 minutes. Maine United’s Ace Flagg, the 6-foot-7 brother of Cooper Flagg who is also a 2025 prospect, hurt his ankle with 15:07 to go in the second half but was able to return with his team still in range. The key point in the game came with 9:40 to go in the second half when Boozer picked up his fourth foul and the Nightrydas leading 38-30. When Boozer went to the bench Cooper Flagg went to work with a variety of buckets and plays, but that’s when Cayden Boozer, Cameron’s twin brother and a 6-foot-4 2025 point guard, took over.
Cayden Boozer got his downhill game going and hit the open man, as he helped keep Maine United at bay. The Nighrydas led 49-46 with four minutes remaining when Cameron Boozer re-entered the game. Maine United made one last push, cutting its deficit to one point (51-50), but the Nightrydas’ Dwayne Wimbley Jr., a 6-foot-6 2025 small forward from Westminster Academy (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.), nailed a timely 3-pointer with just over two minutes to go to bring his team’s lead back up to four points. Maine United hunted the 3-pointer down four (the team made 4-of-22 for the game) but could not convert and Ace Flagg’s two missed free throws with 30 seconds remaining were also crucial to the outcome.
Cayden Boozer finished with a game-high 23 points, three rebounds, five assists and three steals. Cameron Boozer had five points on 2-of-6 shooting and added seven rebounds. The second double-digit scorer for the Nightrydas was Dante Allen, a 6-foot-4 2025 shooting guard from Riviera Prep (Miami, Fla.).
Cayden Boozer followed up his terrific performance at the Section 7 Team Camp with a monster Peach Jam to show he’s a legitimate Top 15 player in the 2025 class. He not only had 15 assists in the semifinal victory over Team Why Not, but he also had a 10-assist outing in a victory over the PSA Cardinals and led 16U with 6.6 apg. He also hit in double-figures in all seven games and averaged 14.4 ppg.
Cooper and Ace Flagg were the two only double-digit scorers for Maine United. Ace finished with 12 points and four assists while his more-heralded brother finished with 18 points on 8-of-24 shooting, including 2-of-9 from 3-point range. He didn’t have a ridiculous stat line as he had in many of the pool play and bracket games, but Cooper Flagg still added 12 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and two steals. He had at least 10 blocks in three games in North Augusta and finished with 48 blocks in seven games (7.7 bpg). The versatile rising junior finished No. 3 in the Peach Jam 16U division in points (25.4) and No. 2 in rebounds (13.0), assists (5.7) and blocks, but it was Cam Boozer who got the avenging win and Peach Jam title.
The Boozer-Flagg matchups was much hyped, but it was also the third meeting between the two players in the past few weeks, as they also met in a contest at the NBPA Top 100 Camp. Going forward, every move each makes will be compared and contrasted to the other and they will always be tied to each other, but there is no guarantee the duo will enter college and or the NBA at the same time. There is a good chance Cooper Flagg will re-class up to the 2024 recruiting cycle. If that happens, there will be no longer be a rankings debate between the two.
The majority of this Nightrydas group won the 15U title in 2022.
In this year's 15U final, Team CP3 defeated Albany City Rocks, 61-49, in a wire-to-wire victory. Point guard Dionte Neal, a 5-foot-8 2026 dynamo from Reidsville Senior (Reidsville, N.C.), led the way with 15 points and seven assists. Neal made only one field goal, but was 12-of-15 from the charity stripe. Ashton Pierce, a 6-foot-3 2026 shooting guard from North Mecklenburg (Huntersville, N.C.), also had 15 points for CP3.
No player scored in double figures for City Rocks.
Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores