IS8 Spring Championship: Beacon Elite Dethrones Defending Champions, NEBC

By David Cordova

Ever since the beginning of the IS8 Spring League, there have been plenty of teams that had promise and talent. There were the teams with the stars and the teams with the underrated talents. Yesterday, the final two teams met up for battle for the gold ball, otherwise known as the championship.

The two teams in this David vs. Goliath matchup were the Northeast Basketball Club, the defending champions from the fall, which were laden with plenty of major names throughout the spring, and Beacon Elite, which featured the finest talent from the borough of Queens. In this game, the heavily-favored team struggled through most of the contest, while the other underrated team kept their game plan intact and used their strong play to emerge victorious and take the IS8 crown.

Beacon Elite 73, Northeast Basketball Club 55

The beginning of the game showed both teams with having the jitters, but Jawaun Daniels kept things together for NEBC with his inside play. But then Beacon Elite would raise their stakes with their shooting & would go on to a 17-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The second quarter would show more physical play from both teams, but NEBC would get within three, 22-19, with more than four minutes to go in the first half. But Beacon Elite would continue to hold on to the lead, due to the great play of Wesley Nelson, which contributed to them leading, 30-25 at halftime.

In the third quarter, Beacon Elite continued their torrid play, as they would cruise to a thirteen-point lead, 45-32, midway into the quarter. At the end of the quarter, Beacon Elite would maintain a double-digit lead, 51-37.

In the fourth, Beacon Elite carried the momentum by going up seventeen, but then NEBC would cut the deficit to eleven, 59-48, with less than four minutes left. But then Beacon Elite would never relinquish the lead, which would then lead to them winning the game & the IS8 spring title.

Horton and C.J. Kelly both added 21 points and Taj Anderson contributed 13 points for Beacon Elite. For Northeast Basketball Club, Daniels led with 14 points in the loss.