Some of the nation's best college players, whose eligibility recently expired, competed on the first night of the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament at Churchland High School Wednesday as dozens of professional basketball scouts watched.
Cleveland State's Tristan Enaruna scored 25 points and Jani King led the team to an 85-79 victory over Portsmouth Sports Club. Mississippi State's Tru Smith III added his 18 points and UNLV's Kaylan Boone added his 10 points.
Virginia Tech's Hunter Kattore, the 2022 ACC Tournament MVP, had nine points, five rebounds and three assists for Jani King, leading 70-51 at the end of the third quarter on Friday. They advanced to the semi-finals against Mike Duman Auto Sales, which will be held on the 7th.
At Portsmouth Sports Club, St. John's Joel Soriano had 28 points and 12 rebounds, while Alabama's Aaron Estrada and former Richmond Spiders star Tyler Burton of Villanova each added 13 points. .
Mike Dueman Auto Sales 93, Norfolk Sports Club 86: Six of Duman's eight players scored in double figures, with Florida's Tyrese Samuel and Nevada's Jarrod Lucas each scoring 19 points. Samuel made 8 of 11 shots.
Illinois' Quincy Guerrier replaced Duman with nine points and 11 rebounds, and Eastern Kentucky's Isaiah Cozart had 11 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.
Norfolk Sports Club led 39-36 at halftime, with Xavier's Quincy Olivari scoring 20 points and eight rebounds, and Washington State's Isaac Jones scoring 20 points and grabbing seven rebounds.
Thursday schedule
Portsmouth Sports Club will play Norfolk Sports Club in a repechage match starting at 3:15 p.m.
Four teams will play for the first time on Thursday. Sales Systems, Ltd. will face Portsmouth Partnership at 7 p.m., followed by Roger Brown's Restaurant and K&D Round Landscape Services at 9 p.m.
Among the players scheduled for Thursday night is former Virginia Tech player Tyrese Radford of Sales Systems. DJ Horn of North Carolina for the Portsmouth Partnership; Former George Mason player Josh Oduro of Providence, Roger Browns. and TJ Bickerstaff from James Madison in the K&D round.
