Quarterfinal Game 1 – Slashers 64, Gryphons 57
A capacity crowd at Las Vegas’ Cox Pavilion on Tuesday night watched the Slashers cut down the Gryphons, 64-57, to advance to a semifinal matchup against the Buzzsaw. The Gryphons held a slight 16-14 lead after the first quarter, but it was all Slashers the rest of the way. The Slashers did not meet much resistance on their way to the hoop, converting 21 of 24 rim attacks. Tony Crosby II (Long Beach, Calif.) and Alonzo Scott Jr. (Petersburg, Va.) both scored 19 points while going 7-for-7 when they attacked the basket. Crosby also contributed seven hits, six assists and four loose ball recoveries. The Gryphons received a 25-point effort from KyShawn Jones (Danville, Va.).
Quarterfinal 2 – Lava 64, Wrath 40
The Lava were on a serious roll entering the playoffs, winning four of their last five regular season games, then steamrolled the Wrath, 64-40, in the quarterfinals. The Lava surged to a 20-3 lead to open the contest and went into the intermission up, 41-13. The Wrath had no answers for Bryce Moragne (Tampa, Fla.) and Jihad Shockley (Columbus, Ohio), who generated 21 and 20 points, respectively. For the first time since Week 2, Moragne, who was sidelined much of the season with an ankle injury, looked like the player the Lava drafted No. 1 overall. He was also responsible for six assists, four LBRs and two hits. The Wrath, who lost their fourth straight game, were led by Ty McGee (Littleton, Colo.), who dropped in 22 points. The Lava will meet the undefeated Mob in the semifinals on Thursday night.Foll
Slam & Jam Dunk Contest
Following the second quarterfinal game, eight of SlamBall’s highest fliers competed in a slam dunk contest. The Ozone’s Bryan Bell-Anderson (Sarasota, Fla.) and KyShawn Jones both executing gravity-defying, acrobatic dunks in the final. After audience voting could not determine a winner, the judges declared Bell-Anderson the champion.
The field is set for the SlamBall semifinals and championship game, which will take place at Cox Pavilion in Las Vegas this Thursday at 8:00 p.m. PT/11:00 p.m. ET:
Thursday, August 17 – 8:00 p.m. PT/11:00 p.m. ET (ESPN)
Semifinals 1: No. 2 Buzzsaw vs. No. 6 Gryphons
Semifinals 2: No. 1 Mob vs. No. 5 Lava
SlamBall Championship Game