Both teams had solid bounce-back games after losing in the first round.  Long Island Lutheran, who will get Kiyan Anthony back next week, easily dispatched local team Gateway Charter while Westminster handled Great Crossing out of Kentucky.  Alex Lloyd of Westminster leads the tournament in scoring after two games and it will be interesting to see how he does against the length and athleticism of Lu Hi out of the EYBL Scholastic League.

Lu Hi struck first with a floater from 6’3 senior Kayden Mingo.  A three from Lloyd of Westminster gave them a 3-2 lead.  That lead was short lived as Lu Hi ripped off ten straight points, five from 6’11 junior Omar Essam to go up 12-3 with just under five minutes to play in the first.  Westminster got back into it with a mid-range jumper from 5’10 sophomore D.J. Gaines, a transition basket from 6’9 junior Alexander Constanza and another three from Lloyd to make the score 12-10 with 2:21 to play.  The full comeback did not materialize as Lu Hi closed out the quarter with a 10-0 run, six of those from 6’5 junior Dylan Mingo to go up 22—12 going into the second quarter.

Things went from bad to worse for Westminster in the second.  Lu Hi found success in face-guarding Lloyd, denying him the ball.  The Lions started forcing shots or turning the ball over and Lu Hi made them pay.  Separate runs of 9-2 and 7-0 pushed Lu Hi’s lead well into double digits.  At the break, which couldn’t come soon enough for Westminster, Lu Hi led 40-17.

An 8-2 run by Westminster over the first couple of minutes in the third period drew the Lions to within 42-25.  It didn’t take long for Lu Hi to turn the tables.  They went on a 9-2 run, highlighted by a transition jam from 6’9 junior M.J. Madison to push the score to 51-27 with 3:15 left in the third.  The teams played somewhat even the rest of the quarter but when the horn sounded, Westminster faced a 55-30 deficit.

Westminster scored the first five points of the fourth period, highlighted by a Lloyd slam in transition.  That got them to within twenty, 55-35.  That would be as close as they would come as Lu Hi took advantage of their size inside and seemingly scored at will.  The benches eventually emptied and Lu Hi advances to the Consolation Championship with an easy 74-47 win.

LuHi was led by Dylan Mingo with 21 points.  Kayden Mingo finished with 15 points while both Moussa Kamissoko and Nico Onyekwere added 10 points.

For Westminster, Lloyd finished with 21 points while Constanza added 16 points.