Rootstown, OH- Rootstown middle school and high school were the sites for the 8th Annual Bailey Simons Memorial alumni basketball tournament. This annual tournament is named after Bailey Simons, a former Rootstown high school student and cheerleader who tragically died in a car accident in 2015. All proceeds from the event went towards the Bailey Simon/Frank Family Scholarship Fund coordinated by the Portage Foundation.
Eight alumni teams took the floor at Rootstown middle school and high school at 3:00 PM including 2022 champion Crestwood. Here are the results of the 2023 Tournament.
Round 1:
Crestwood - 66 Streetsboro - 62
The defending champs got off to a good start at the high school by mounting a comeback after trailing by double digits in the first half to knock off the Rockets alumni 66-62. Crestwood outscored Streetsboro 29-21 in the second half. They were led my Mason Jakacki who dropped in 15 points.
Leading scorers:
Crestwood
Mason Jakacki - 15 pts
Aaron Czerny - 14 pts
Trent Jakacki - 13 pts
Mason Angle - 13 pts
Streetsboro
Devin Reese - 23 pts
Avery Van Reeth - 14 pts
ZaMar Harris - 12 pts
Nick Wilson - 10 pts
Waterloo - 67 Garfield - 64
The middle school opener saw the 2022 runner up Garfield fall to Waterloo in a tightly contested game. Garfield missed a potential game tying three at the end and the Vikings alumni held on for the three point win. Kam Shockley led Waterloo with 19 points.
Leading scorers:
Waterloo
Kam Shockley - 19 pts
Kyle Shockley - 14 pts
Caleb Francis - 11 pts
Navarre Alhassan - 10 pts
Garfield
Ryan Brown - 15 pts
Trystan Gedeon - 14 pts
Tom Bissler - 11 pts
Mogadore - 88 Rootstown (Blue) - 55
Game 2 of the opening round at the high school saw an offensive explosion from the Mogadore Wildcats alumni as they routed Rootstown Blue by 33 points. Mogadore hit 18 three balls with 8 of them coming from leading scorer Stephen Stott who dropped in a game high 30 points.
Leading scorers:
Mogadore
Stephen Stott - 30 pts
Zeddie Pollock - 16 pts
David Wolverton - 16 pts
Lukas Swarts - 12 pts
Rootstown Blue
Nick Wancik - 17 pts
Scott Steger - 9 pts
Rootstown (White) - 56 Field - 53
The round one second game at the middle school was another close battle that saw Rootstown White get fast Field 56-53. Conner Formick led the Rover attack with 16 points including four shots from deep.
Leading scorers:
Rootstown White
Conner Formick - 16 pts
Tyler Lane - 8 pts
Jason Urcheck - 8 pts
Tom Nader - 6 pts
Field
Jacob Gartner - 19 pts
Trevion Ridgell - 9 pts
Caleb Wohlwend - 8 pts
Levi Lowden - 8 pts
Semi-finals:
Crestwood - 77 Rootstown (White) - 54
In the semi-final game at the high school, the defending champs rolled back into the championship game with a 23 point win over Rootstown White. Crestwood built a 46-25 lead at the half and never looked back. Aaron Czerny came up big for the Devils with 20 points.
Leading scorers:
Crestwood
Aaron Czerny - 20 pts
Mason Angle - 14 pts
Mason Jakacki - 12 pts
Trent Jakacki - 10 pts
Rootstown White
Conner Formick - 15 pts
Jason Urcheck - 10 pts
Chandler England - 9 pts
Waterloo - 74 Mogadore - 71
Waterloo punched their ticket to the championship game with a three point nail biting win over Mogadore. The Wildcats missed an opportunity to hit a game tying three at the buzzer. Kam Shockley once again led the way this time scoring 20 points for the Vikings alums.
Leading scorers:
Waterloo
Kam Shockley - 20 pts
Max Adelman - 16 pts
Kyle Shockley - 15 pts
Navarre Alhassan - 11 pts
Mogadore
Zeddie Pollock - 17 pts
Kole Jaber - 16 pts
Stephen Stott - 15 pts
Lukas Swartz - 11 pts
Championship Game
Waterloo - 48 Crestwood - 40
The Crestwood Red Devils alumni were looking for a three peat entering the 2023 Bailey Simons Memorial Tournament championship. Standing in their way were the pesky Waterloo Vikings alums.
The Vikings jumped on the defending champs early in the first half building a solid 32-18 halftime lead. The Shockley brothers (Kam & Kyle) combined for 20 of the Vikings 32 first half points with Kam leading the way with 12. Kyle took the lead in the second half scoring 7 of his game high 15 points. Crestwood was able to cut the deficit down to 8 late but could not get any closer and that ended up being the final deficit. It was a physical game throughout with both teams exchanging unpleasantries nearly causing a stoppage of the game. The Vikings were able to take home the 2023 title after not winning a game in last seasons tournament.
Leading scorers:
Waterloo:
Kyle Shockley - 15 pts
Kam Shockley - 12 pts
Caleb Francis - 7 pts
Luke Simons - 7 pts
Crestwood:
Trent Jakacki - 11 pts
Aaron Czerny -10 pts
Mason Jakacki - 7 pts
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