Defenders tactically dismantle BABC

Aaron Harrison knew all too well the daunting task he and the Houston Defenders (Texas) faced headed into the AAU 17U Super Showcase, a part of the ESPN RISE Games, title game against BABC (Mass.).

Harrison, a rising junior combo guard, knew BABC had only lost one game all season, and in that loss star center Nerlens Noel, a rising junior ranked No. 3 in the ESPNU Super 60, went down early with a sprained ankle. Harrison knew BABC won the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League Peach Jam title in convincing fashion just 12 days ago. He knew BABC made a public guarantee they would win the Super Showcase, too.

“Guess they got that one wrong,” said Harrison, ranked No. 16 in the ESPNU Super 60. “We knew we’d have to bring our best effort because they are a great team, but if we did that I knew we’d win pretty easy.”

Harrison scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds to help the Defenders roll past BABC, 55-45, Wednesday night at the ESPN Wide World of Sports in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Harrison’s twin brother Andrew added six points and 10 assists and Derrick Griffin, a rising junior forward, chipped in with 16 points in the win. Georges Niang, a rising senior forward, led BABC with 18 points.

“It was just a game that we knew we could win,” said Andrew Harrison, ranked No. 8 in the ESPNU Super 60. “We’ve won a ton of tournaments and we’ve won 50 games in all, so we’re a pretty confident team. It was close there for a while, but we knew we’d need to open up the lead.”

After leading by just two at the half, the Defenders opened up the second half on an 11-3 run, capped off by a posterizing dunk and the foul from Shaq Cleare, a rising senior, over Noel late in the third quarter.

“[Noel] had been talking junk to me because he blocked my shot earlier in the game,” said Cleare, who added 10 points and 10 rebounds in the win. “I just got up and dunked it over the top of him. It was a big play for us.”

Added Aaron Harrison: “They were done after that.”

Noel, who’d been exceptionally dominant on both ends of the floor all summer, fouled out with 2:21 left in the game. He finished with just 10 points and three blocks.

“We knew how to take him out of the game,” Andrew Harrison said. “All you’ve got to do is take it to his chest. He’s a great player, but this was just our time. This is the best tournament on the circuit and to win it all at the end on ESPN was the best scenario that anyone could come up with.”