The 70th National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament presented by ABC Medical ended with an exciting Sunday as the Junior Divisions wrapped up their seasons. The first championship game played was the NIT Championship pool, followed by the Junior Prep and Junior Varsity championships.
The NIT Championship game was played between the 17 seed Mary Free Bed Jr. Pacers and the 22 seed Motor City Wheelz. The Motor City Wheelz started out hot, scoring the first two baskets of the game, but the Pacers picked up their form shortly after that. They had an eight-point lead at halftime and their barrage did not stop throughout the rest of the game. In the end, the Pacers defeated the Wheelz, 43-41, to win the NIT pool Championships.
The second championship game of the day was for the Junior Prep Division at 12:00 p.m. EST. The one seed Minnesota Rolling Rowdies played the three Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets – Purple in a highly anticipated game after both teams had a strong tournament. Through the first half, the teams stayed neck and neck with each other, but the second half was when the Hornets took their advantage. Led by Preston Howell on both ends of the floor, the Hornets took the victory with a final score of 32-26.
To end the day, the Junior Varsity Championship game was played between the TIRR Memorial Hermann Hotwheels and the Blazesports Jr. Hawks. The game, which had the loudest fans of the day by far, was a thriller from the very beginning. Neither team ever had a double-digit lead and fans never knew what to expect after the lead changed so many times. But the Hotwheels were able to pull out the 62-56 victory through the leadership of Peter Berry and Carrington Marendes.
With the end of the Junior Division Championships, the National Wheelchair Basketball Tournament presented by ABC Medical ended as the largest tournament ever in its 70 years of existence.
Here are all of the Junior Division award winners:
Junior Division Awards
Junior Varsity Division
Female 1st Team All-Tournament
Male 1st Team All-Tournament
Male 2nd Team All-Tournament
Female Varsity MVP
Emilee Gustafson of the Minnesota Jr. Rolling Timberwolves
Male Varsity MVP
Carrington Marendes of the TIRR Memorial Hermann Hotwheels
Sportsmanship Award
Tyler Tippin of the Lakershore Lakers
NIT
Female 1st Team All- Tournament
Male 1st Team All-Tournament
Male 2nd Team All-Tournament
Female NIT MVP
Josie DeHart of the Denver Jr. Rolling Nuggets
Male NIT MVP
Gabe DenBraber of the Mary Free Bed Jr. Pacers
Junior Prep Division
Female 1st Team All-Tournament
Male 1st Team All-Tournament
Male 2nd Team All-Tournament
Male Prep MVP
Preston Howell of the Charlotte Rollin’ Hornets
Female Prep MVP
Harmonee Ruets of the LWSRA Hawks
Sportsmanship Award
KJ Fields of the Lakeshore Sharks