King of Kings 7/30 Game Recap by Nigel Dunkley

Nigel Dunkley is an intern for the King of Kings Life Development Program. He is a senior at Thomas R. Proctor High School in Utica, New York. His interest in sports communications has grown throughout the King of Kings season, and he will now be a regular contributor to the King of Kings Blogspot account.

Monday night at the King of Kings Summer Pro Am. (Men’s division), Mookie Jones and Utica Select took on James Southerland and the Bless Ballers.  Southerland along with Jones and Rakeem Christmas play Division I basketball for Syracuse University.  All three came out to Utica and played tonight at the King of Kings Summer Pro Am. Utica Select also boasts Division I talent with E.J. Gallup from Coastal Carolina and Cornelius Vines from Hofstra.

 

Utica Select won the tip and went on a 7-0 run to start the game behind James Southerland, the teams leading scorer. Although they were down early the Bless Ballers didn’t give up. The shooting of Jones and Vines’ allowed The Bless Ballers to get back in the game including Vines’ buzzer beater in Southerland’s face to end the 1^st quarter while falling to the ground. 

 

At the start of the 2^nd quarter Syracuse’s 6’8 Southerland attacked the basket and dunked over Bless Ballers #23. That would not be the only jam for Southerland before halftime. After Vines missed a free-throw #24 on Utica Select turned the rebound  into a fast-break, throwing the alley-oop to Southerland. With time winding down The Bless Ballers get the ball into the hands of Mookie Jones and he completed a buzzer beater three from way down town before the half.

 

Although Bless Ballers were in control for most of the game Utica Select did not give up. In fact, they made a run late including Southerland’s three pointer with 4.8 left to bring them within three. Even though Gallup made 12 three pointers, the shooting of Vines and Jones was too much for Utica Select to handle. The Bless Ballers won 97-92.