After three days of competition, the Texas Top Prospects again found themselves in the 17-under championship game of the Sport 2 Sport/Jayhawk Invitational.
But Sunday, the Dallas-area team — which beat California Pump N Run in the 2003 title game — walked away with a smaller trophy, losing to the H-Squad from Los Angeles, 85-69.
“We tried to defend the crown,” Texas coach Kenneth Willingham said. He is the father of freshmen Kansas State guard Dez Willingham and could have used his son’s help Sunday.
The “H” in H-Squad should stand for hotel, because the team played in its fourth tournament during the last six weeks, coming off a tournament in Las Vegas last weekend.
In the first half, the “H” stood for hurry, as the players from Southern California relentlessly raced up and down the court.
Forward Jerry-Davon Jefferson exploded for 35 points, mostly off rim-rattling dunks and coasting finger rolls on his way to becoming the tournament MVP.
“Everybody came to play,” said Jefferson, whose list of prospective colleges include Arizona, USC, Washington, Louisville and Connecticut. “We already knew we could win this before we got here, but we didn’t want to come out too cocky.”
Forward Rashad Austin provided interior support with 10 points and two blocks, all while wearing a white Jayhawk headband.
“They’ve been sending me letters, so we all went to the bookstore and bought some,” Austin said of the headband.
Austin’s college list includes KU, Arizona, USC and Louisville, among others.
Bolstered by the post presence of Jefferson, Austin and Andrew Green, H-Squad opened on a 9-0 run and upped the margin to 44-21 by halftime.
To Texas’ credit, the club was able to dwindle H-Squad’s 23-point lead to 13 midway through the second half.
The surge of the Top Prospects largely came from the efforts of guard Marquez Haynes who scored 19 of his team-high 23 points in the second half.
Oklahoma State signee Roderick Fleming added 14 points — 12 off four three-pointers. Future Texas Tech Red Raider Justin Wilkerson chipped in 11 as well for Texas.
Earlier in the day, the Tulsa Bulldogs beat Heartland Premier Select for the 15-under title, and K.C. Pump N Run beat the St. Louis Eagles for the 16-under championship.