The KC Truth Black 2015 beat all opponents in a field of five Gold Division teams.  This sent them to the championship game against the Arkansas Celtics, who had come in 2nd in the division based on the point spread in a three-way tie with the KC 76ers and the Showtime Rec.

The Truth won the KC NIT, ending their summer basketball season with a victory in their hometown.

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The Truth faced Victor Williams’ Kansas City 76ers in the championship game, and won by a healthy margin.

The 76ers had played their semifinal game immediately prior to playing the considerably well-rested Truth Black in the championship game.  The Truth had handily won their semifinal game earlier in the day.   And the 76ers had faced a battle royale against the MoKan 7th grade Elite in their semifinal.  In fact, reporters at the tournament all noted that the semifinal game between the KC 76ers and the MoKan 7th grade elite was the most competitive and physical game in Division I.

The 76ers, after a very short break to stretch and dehydrate, got right back on the floor for their championship game against the Truth.  Fatigue had set in, though, and the 76ers were prey to errant shooting, which ultimately did them in.

Congratulations to the KC Truth Black on their championship.  And congratulations to Victor Williams’ KC 76ers for their gritty performance in back-to-back games.

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The KC Truth Black travelled to Lawrence, Kansas, on December 9-10, for the Jayhawk Classic.  The Truth competed in the 8th grade division against the JBBA Hoops Blue, the Celtics and the Mo-Kan Elite.  The Truth was the only 7th grade team competing in this field of four teams.

On Saturday, the Truth faced the JBBA Hoops Blue first.  The Truth started out slowly, to say the least.  The Hoops jumped out to an early 9-2 lead. Coach Newton called a time-out and strongly advised his team that they needed to kick their game into a higher gear, and fast.  That they did.  In short order, under the leadership of guard Anthony “Fuzzy” Bonner, the Hoops lead was erased and The Truth steadily took the game over, eventually winning by a score of 64-43.

The Truth then moved on to the next game, against the Celtics.  No slow start for The Truth this time around, though, as they quickly took a 12-0 running jump into what would be a very high-scoring game for them.  By the end of the game, The Truth had cruised to victory on the strength of a whopping 76 points.

The Truth would face the Mo-Kan Elite 8th grade team the following day, for what turned out to be a showdown between the two unbeaten teams in the division.

Coach Newton and his team knew that the championship game would be their toughest by far in this tournament.  The Mo-Kan Elite boasted great size and very skilled perimeter shooting.

But there’s nothing that gets The Truth going like a challenge.  The Truth were ready.

As the buzzer sounded to begin the game, The Truth charged out of the gate and quickly took control of the game.  The Truth boasts a highly skilled contingent of guards, any one of which can strike quickly from the perimeter.  In this game, combo guard Cartier Dean set the tone early by attacking the lane and scoring The Truth’s first four points on the strength of 2-2 free throw shooting and a field goal.  Big man Tyrone Gibbs then added a lay-up to put The Truth up 6-0.  The Mo-Kan got on the board with 2 points, then, but The Truth shrugged that score off as Fuzzy Bonner exploded into the lane, collapsing defenders, and dished the rock back to a wide open — you guessed it– Cartier Dean.  Who promptly sunk a three-pointer.

That early 9-2 lead was extended by The Truth to a 17-3 lead, and set the tone for the game.  The Mo-Kan Elite was able to chip away at The Truth lead, but never got to within less than 6 points of that lead.  What was expected to be a nip-and-tuck game from the beginning was dominated by The Truth in all phases.

The Truth have been working extensively on their conditioning and on their defensive strategies and intensity, and the results were evident in this championship game.  The Truth’s perimeter defense was so relentless that the Mo-Kan shooters couldn’t find a comfort zone.  The Truth boasts a contingent of speedy and aggressive guards, and all of them took their turn in creating defensive havoc for the Mo-Kan offense.  In the lane, the Truth big men were unfazed by the larger Mo-Kan players.  They were focussed on boxing out for rebounds and so relentless in protecting the lane that they altered their fair share of the Mo-Kan bigs’ shot attempts.  In fact, Truth big Vince Eskina was so relentless, he ended up fouling out.  But not before making his mark on the game in a big way.

On offense, The Truth showed great chemistry and court savvy, resulting in great success in getting the ball to an open man.  The dribble-drive penetration of Bonner and the other guards often resulted in hand-offs to Truth big men that came close to fooling even the intended recipient of the assist.  Plays were running like clock work, and teammates were looking for and finding each other down court in transition.  The Truth were clicking away at what they do best — run and gun.

In another crucial phase of the game, The Truth guard corps took turns dismantling the Mo-Kan press.  They would coolly scan the court as the Mo-Kan press advanced, waiting until the pressure was almost on and releasing the ball to teammates, creating match-up numbers problems for the Mo-Kan defenders left down court.

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The Truth won their pool by defeating both the KC Spartans Red and the Kansas Elite.  In winning their pool, the Truth once again ended up at the Sprint Center’s College Basketball Experience to play for an MSY Championship.  This time The Truth faced the KC Spartans Black.

The first half of the championship game was hotly contested on both sides.  The Truth faced a disciplined Spartan Team that moved the ball well and shot the ball wisely.  The Spartans also had some success in slowing down The Truth’s fast paced, transition-oriented offense.  The Truth, for their part, kept focused on their offensive game plan, while deploying their trademark stifling defense.  And, although the Spartans kept finding ways to score, The Truth made sure that each Spartan bucket was a hard-earned one.

The score at halftime was 22-21, in favor of the Spartans.

In the second half, however, a different story began to unfold.  The Truth’s defensive efforts started paying dividends.    The Spartans started to wear down under the pressure.  Guard Anthony “Fuzzy” Bonner led the Truth defensive effort with four steals in the second stanza, and his team was ultimately able to limit Spartans to a mere 8 points for the half.  On the other end of the court, The Truth were able to keep up their scoring pace, by capitalizing on steals and forced turnovers, and by staying focussed offensively.  The Truth ended up winning the championship, 43-29, in a game that was played much more closely than the score would indicate.

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There were four teams in the gold division, and each team played the other in a round-robin format.  The 1st and 2nd place teams in the division would earn a trip to the championship game, to be played at the College Basketball Experience (CBE), in the Sprint Center.

The Truth won their pool convincingly by beating the KC Elite, the KC Heat Elite, and the Lee’s Summit Red Raiders, all by double-digit margins.  They then headed to the CBE for the championship game against the Red Raiders, who had come in 2nd in the pool.

The Red Raiders came into the championship with high hopes of beating the Truth.  In their pool game, the Red Raiders had actually gone into half-time with a 22-20 lead on the Truth, largely due to Truth turnovers and missed shots.  However, the Truth came out in the second half of that game firing on all cylinders, and quickly went on a 10-0 run, on the strength of renewed defensive energy and a more aggressive offensive look.  Guards Drew Lock, Anthony “Fuzzy” Bonner, Shawntez Scroggins, and Cartier Dean set the defensive tone right off the bat in the second half by patrolling the Red Raider perimeter, allowing no penetration and causing multiple turnovers.  On the other end of the court Bonner, Lock and Scroggins set an equally agressive offensive tone early in the second half by taking over the lanes and baselines with unguardable  drives to the basket.  Inside, bigs Tyrone Gibbs and Vince Eskina got serious and took over under the basket.  The Red Raiders were shaken up, and never fully recovered from the second-half Truth onslaught, and the Truth went on to win 42-32.

In the championship, the Truth picked up where they left off with the Red Raiders in the pool game, and quickly established a 13-2 lead.  Big man Eskina accounted for 9 of those first 13 points.  Following Eskina’s lead, the rest of the Truth players, went on a balanced, game-long scoring frenzy.  Ultimately, the Truth finished the championship game with a commanding 66-22 victory, dashing the Red Raiders’ hopes for redemption.

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The KC Truth 2015 competed in the 7th Grade division of the KC Storm Fall Classic on November 20-22.

The Truth Red won their pool by beating the MO-KAN Elite 6th Grade and the Spartans 7th Grade.  This sent them to the semifinal game against the KC Heat Elite, an experienced and tough team.  The Truth struck early against the Heat Elite, jumping out to an early lead on the strength of their developing transition offense.  The Truth lead would prove to be insurmountable for the Heat Elite, and resulted in the Truth moving on to the Championship Game of the 7th Grade division.

The Truth Red would face off against the the KC Cowboys in the Championship.

The Cowboys caught The Truth off-balance early, jumping out to an early 16-4 on the strength of their inside game, and led by big man Cody Riley.  On their end, the Truth had trouble converting offensively in the early minutes of the game.  However, when the Truth got it together on offense, they managed to completely erase the Cowboy lead and take a 2-point lead for themselves, on the strength of balanced scoring.  Guard Anthony “Fuzzy” Bonner was not only unstoppable on drives to the basket, but he also racked up assists to teammates DeAngelo Bruster and Gabe Munoz as the Truth gained ground.  In addition, big man Jaylen Gill stepped up to the challenge under the basket, going toe-to-toe with Riley.

Thereafter, the game was nip-and-tuck until the final buzzer.

The final seconds of the game provided for a dramatic finish.  With the game tied at 38-38, the Cowboys had possession of the ball, and, as the clock wound down to the final five seconds, they turned the ball over.  With those five precious seconds left, with his team inbounding the ball on the sideline, Coach Newton drafted the perfect inbounds play.  Truth guard Davis took the ball out of bounds and waited patiently as Smith set the perfect screen for teammate Bonner.  Bonner, who had provided headaches for the Cowboys in the lane throughout the game, got the ball and drove to basket, virtually unguarded after Smith’s perfect pick.  Truth fans felt victory was within grasp. . . and then a whistle blew!  A foul was called on the Truth away from the ball!  And both teams were over the foul limit, which sent a Cowboy player to the free throw line.  Both shots were made, giving the Cowboys a 40-38 lead.  Somehow, five seconds remained yet on the clock.  And with those five seconds at his disposal, the coach put the ball in Bonner’s hand to break the press, and put Davis and Bruster at the three-point line for the shot.  Bonner easily broke the Cowboy press and got the ball to an open Davis.  Davis launched the shot, right on target. . . and the ball hit the inside of the rim, and bounced out.  Twice, the Truth had come so close to victory, and twice their efforts had been foiled.  A hard-fought game was over, and the Truth was left to ponder the fact that their slow start ultimately did them in in the end.

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The KC Truth Red won all three of their pool games in the Viking Invitational, which earned them a trip to the semifinal game against the Mo-Kan Elite 6th grade team.  The semi-final turned out to be a hard-fought battle, from which Mo-Kan emerged the winner.  And while the Truth did not make it to the championship, they clearly made their mark on the division by reaching the semifinal game.

The KC Truth Black Earn Second Place in their Division

The KC Truth Black won all of their pool games in the Viking Invitational, in very convincing fashion.  The Truth then faced the Blue Valley Hawks 8th grade team in the semi-final, and once again posted a solid victory.  However, in moving on to the championship game, the Truth would face their toughest competition of the tournament when they played the Mo-Kan Elite 13Under.   Both of these 7th grade teams had dominated the 8th grade recreational division, and it was inevitable that they would face each other in the championship.

The Mo-Kan Elite came out offensively strong compared to the Truth in the first half, posting twice as many points the Truth did.  By half-time, Mo-Kan was leading 21-10.  The Truth had posted no fewer than 40 points in any game prior to this one (and racking up 70 in one), yet their offense was stalling on missed shots, and passed-up shots.  And while the formidable Truth defense caused a handy number of Mo-Kan turnovers, the Truth were not converting those turnovers to points.

In the second half, though, the Truth started to go to their offensive strengths, while concerning themselves less with their formal offense.  Behind some undefendable drives to the basket by guard Anthony “Fuzzy” Bonner and an increasingly aggressive press, the Truth scored twice as many points in the second half as they did in the first half.  And leave it to the Truth to make it interesting until the end.  With barely a minute and a half to go, the Truth finally employed their full-court press, causing successive turnovers and ending the second half with an offensive flurry by the Truth on an 8-2 scoring run. However, while the Truth outscored Mo-Kan 19-17 in the second half, they paid the price for their offensive inconsistency.  The Mo-Kan played a more consistent game from the beginning, and won the championship, 38-29.

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In pool play, on Friday, the Truth chalked up victories against the Kansas Force and the Memphis, Tennesse, Hornets, but dropped a close game to the Colorado Hawks.  However, in earning the second place in their pool, the Truth moved into the championship bracket.

On Saturday morning, the Truth faced off against the JBBA Hoops, a familiar Kansas City metro area adversary, in the first round of championship bracket play.  The Truth won handily, and moved into the second round of the championship bracket, where they faced the Oklahoma City Spartans, and again posted a solid victory.

Moving closer to the championship, the Truth moved on to the third round of the bracket, where they met up with the Texas Select.  Once again, the Truth prevailed in convincing fashion, which led them to the fourth round of pool play, against the Texas Big 12 Eight.

Played at 10PM on Saturday night, the fourth round game would be the fourth game of the day for the Truth, and the third game of the day for the Big 12 Eight, and would determine which team advanced to the semi-final game the following morning.  Both teams and their coaches would have to fight through physical and mental exhaustion to prevail.

The game ended up being a contrast in styles.  The Truth brought a high-pressure game that featured speedy, aggressive guard play and swarming full- and half-court defenses.  The Big 12 Eight focused on a methodical, half-court offense that featured the biggest and strongest player in the tournament down low.  Ultimately, the Truth prevailed. Crucial three-point shots by guard Anthony “Fuzzy” Bonner down the stretch, and relentless drives to the basket by guard Dee Wilson, saved the game for the Truth in the waning minutes.  The Truth athletes were out of gas, but ready to move on to the semi-final game on Sunday morning.

In the semi-final game, the Truth faced off with the Oklahoma City Wizards, who were undefeated in the tournament up to that point.  Given the Wizards’ record in the tournament, and after the nail-biter they played the night before against the Big 12 Eight, the Truth were fully prepared for another tough game in their semi-final match-up.

As it turned out, though, the Truth came out strong and dominated the semi-final game from the beginning.  The Truth defense flustered the sharp-shooting Wizard guards, and kept them off balance throughout the game.  In turn, the Truth took advantage of multiple fast break opportunities and were very efficient in their half-court offense.   The Truth won the game and moved on.

The KC Truth had earned a trip to the MAYB National Championship game, held at Wichita State University, where they would face the Oklahoma Southwest Elite.

In the championship game, the Elite made a statement right away with the aggressive and versatile play of their highly skilled and athletic big man.  And, while the game was a battle of two very talented teams, the Elite ended up prevailing over the Truth in the end to win the MAYB Championship.

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