The 2018 Hoodie’s House Hoops Classic crowned a local champion Saturday night as the Charlotte Christian Knights downed the Long Island (NY) Lutheran Crusaders 54-39 at Rocky River High School.
Seth Bennett poured in a game-high 22 points for Christian while Efosa U-Edosomwan added 15 for the Knights. Jalen Celestine paced the Crusaders with 15 points
“We knew we had to make shots tonight,” said Christian coach Shonn Brown. “You look at Seth Bennett, you look at Peter (Lash) hitting that 3-pointer and we were fortunate to make shots tonight. That forced them to really stretch out and guard us, and then Paul Hudson went to work in the middle.”
Christian handed Long Island Lutheran (8-1) its first loss of the season while the Knights improved to (14-1).
Christian took a 16-7 first-quarter lead thanks to an eight-point period by U-Edosomwan. Bennett took over in the second half with 13 of his game-high 20 points in the final two quarters. The Knights lead by seven at the half and never trailed the entire game.
Long Island Lutheran had a big height advantage over Christian with six players that were 6 feet, 5 inches or taller. The tallest, 6-9 Crusaders’ center Essam Mostafa, was held in check by the smaller Knights and finished with only seven points.
“It was another great year,” said Tournament Founder and Director Jeff Hood. “It was a very talented group of teams and players we had from around the country. It was great to see one of our local teams step up to the challenge and beat a nationally-ranked team (Long Island Lutheran – ranked No. 23 by Max Preps).
THREE WHO MATTERED:
(Seth Bennett – Charlotte Christian) Named the tournament MVP, Bennett led was the key performer for the Knights, especially in the semi-finals and finals where he led Christian in scoring with 15 and 20 points respectively.
(Jalen Celestine – Long Island Lutheran) Tied for the championship game’s second-leading scorer with 15 points but could have had more had he not gotten into foul trouble and missed a large portion of the second half
(Efosa U-Edosomwan – Charlotte Christian) Named to the All-Tournament team and also won the Hoodies Classic dunking contest.
WORTH MENTIONING:
WHAT’S NEXT: Charlotte Christian plays next on Friday, January 4 in Raleigh facing Ravenscroft, while Long Island Lutheran will play a first-round game in the Apparel Challenge in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday, January 6.
Seth Bennett poured in a game-high 22 points for Christian while Efosa U-Edosomwan added 15 for the Knights. Jalen Celestine paced the Crusaders with 15 points
“We knew we had to make shots tonight,” said Christian coach Shonn Brown. “You look at Seth Bennett, you look at Peter (Lash) hitting that 3-pointer and we were fortunate to make shots tonight. That forced them to really stretch out and guard us, and then Paul Hudson went to work in the middle.”
Christian handed Long Island Lutheran (8-1) its first loss of the season while the Knights improved to (14-1).
Christian took a 16-7 first-quarter lead thanks to an eight-point period by U-Edosomwan. Bennett took over in the second half with 13 of his game-high 20 points in the final two quarters. The Knights lead by seven at the half and never trailed the entire game.
Long Island Lutheran had a big height advantage over Christian with six players that were 6 feet, 5 inches or taller. The tallest, 6-9 Crusaders’ center Essam Mostafa, was held in check by the smaller Knights and finished with only seven points.
“It was another great year,” said Tournament Founder and Director Jeff Hood. “It was a very talented group of teams and players we had from around the country. It was great to see one of our local teams step up to the challenge and beat a nationally-ranked team (Long Island Lutheran – ranked No. 23 by Max Preps).
THREE WHO MATTERED:
(Seth Bennett – Charlotte Christian) Named the tournament MVP, Bennett led was the key performer for the Knights, especially in the semi-finals and finals where he led Christian in scoring with 15 and 20 points respectively.
(Jalen Celestine – Long Island Lutheran) Tied for the championship game’s second-leading scorer with 15 points but could have had more had he not gotten into foul trouble and missed a large portion of the second half
(Efosa U-Edosomwan – Charlotte Christian) Named to the All-Tournament team and also won the Hoodies Classic dunking contest.
WORTH MENTIONING:
- Christian advanced to the championship game with victories over South Atlanta and Nazareth Regional (NY). Long Island Lutheran worked its way into the final with wins against Charlotte’s Ardrey Kell and Holly Springs (NC).
- The Knights were the first local team to win the Hoodies’ national tournament since Providence Day won back-to-back championships in 2015 and 2016. Christian and Providence Day are the only two Mecklenburg County teams to win since the tournament began 18 years ago.
WHAT’S NEXT: Charlotte Christian plays next on Friday, January 4 in Raleigh facing Ravenscroft, while Long Island Lutheran will play a first-round game in the Apparel Challenge in Brooklyn, New York on Sunday, January 6.
