
The team kicked off the tournament against Elite Blazin Bayou from Zachary, Louisiana. Though the team started off sluggish, they proved to be too much to handle for the well coached Louisiana team. Zaire Hayes scored 23 points to bring TK Hayes 2021 to a 63-38 victory. The team scored early claiming a 31-24 lead at the half. Hayes set the offensive pace going 11 for 16 (69%) from the field. CJ Jackson, contributed double digits, scoring 12 points (6-for-9). Meanwhile, both Kyron Drones and Kendrick Paul offered 8 points each to solidify the win. Jaylon Calvin offered a solid performance on both ends of the floor contributing 7 points, along with Shaun Walker who posted 2 points and 3 rebounds.
Next up....the Memphis Wildcats. The Wildcats was led by Chandler Lawson (6'2) who is "ranked" on several national sites among the class of 2021 players. Kyron Drones, put 14 points on the board despite the 52-38 lost to the Wildcats. Sinking 75% (6-for-8) of his free throws, Kyron played an aggressive game for Kemistry. CJ Jackson offered another double digit performance with 13 points, while Jacolbi Harris, the teams floor general posted 5 points. With Zaire Hayes and Kendrick Paul only contributing 2 points each, the team was unable to handle the Wildcats ON THIS DAY. Turnovers, poor shot selections and a lack of intensity on both sides of the ball kept Kemistry out the Platinum bracket.
On Sunday morning, Team Kemistry faced Capital City crushers and a very rowdy group of fans. That's okay, because Kemistry rallied back from a 39-33 deficit at the half to eject the Crushers from the Gold Cup Bracket. Once 2021 settled into their game it was all she wrote. CJ Jackson scored 26 points in the 83-64 victory over the Crushers. Kyron Drones and Zaire Hayes contributed 18 and 17 points respectively. Also, contributing for 2021 were Kendrick Paul (7 points) and Jacolbi Harris (4 points). The boys posted a 50 point second half and the win sent the boys to the Gold bracket championship game.
The only thing that stood between Kemistry Hayes-2021 and the Gold Bracket title was a very physical Baton Rouge Blazers. CJ Jackson showed leadership leading the team with 21 points, again making 100% of his shots from the field. Jacolbi Harris topped a great weekend off with 11 points continuing to demonstrate significant growth at the point guard position. Despite his lack of defensive intensity over the weekend, Zaire Hayes posted 11 points contributing his 3rd double digit effort for the weekend. Kyron Drones, played with aggression the entire weekend and offered 7 points and a crucial steal. Jaylon Calvin (2 points) continues to be a defensive powerhouse for TK and offers a unique spark of energy and basketball IQ. Both Kendrick Paul (3 points), Lawrence "Tank" Clark, jr. (2 points and several key rebounds) and Shaun Walker also with key rebounds defensively contributed to the championship win in grand fashion.
Congrats TK 2021 Hayes on stepping up to the plate and pulling off a great performance. Special shout-out to our Coaches, Hayes and Drones for continuing to push the boys toward great basketball. The boys couldn't have saluted their mom's in a greater fashion.