JV Gladiators and JV Lady Gladiators play well in Italy hosted tourney

Barry Byers Posted Lady Gladiator Basketball
Image: Alex Minton-Felder(3) scores gets bumped while in the act of shooting to earn a trip to the line. Minton-Felder finished with 8-points to help lead the JV Lady Gladiators to a 27-21 win in the tournament championship game against Itasca during a tournament hosted in Italy this past weekend.

Alex Minton-Felder(3) scores gets bumped while in the act of shooting to earn a trip to the line. Minton-Felder finished with 8-points to help lead the JV Lady Gladiators to a 27-21 win in the tournament championship game against Itasca during a tournament hosted in Italy this past weekend. (Barry Byers)

Italy — Both the Italy JV Gladiators and Lady Gladiators played well during their Italy hosted basketball tournament this past weekend.

Italy’s JV Lady Gladiators defeated Rice 44-11 in the first-round and then defeated Itasca 27-21 in the second-round to win the girls tournament championship.

The JV Gladiators posted a 1-1 mark after a first round 50-38 loss to Dawson and a second round 44-30 win over Rice.

JV Girls – Round 1:
The JV Lady Gladiators set the tone for their tournament campaign with a convincing 44-11 victory over Rice. Janae Robertson and teammate Alex Minton-Felder led Italy with 13-points each to help secure the win.

JV Lady Gladiators roster and scoring vs Rice:

  • T’Keyah Pace – 2
  • Janae Robertson – 13
  • Annie Perry – 5
  • Alex Minton-Felder – 13
  • Vanessa Cantu – 6
  • Lizzie Garcia – 2

JV Boys – Round 1:
Against Dawson, Italy pulled back into the game to trail the Bulldogs by 1-point, 37-36 with 3:00 remaining. With James Walton already fouled out, three other Italy starters fouled out to join Walton on the bench with Anthony Lusk, Garrett Janek and Gary Escamilla also exiting the game early.

Italy could only muster 1-point in the final few minutes as Dawson pulled away for the win. Garrett Janek led Italy’s scoring effort with 13-points.

JV Gladiators Roster and Scoring vs Dawson:

  • Joshua Cryer – 10
  • Gary Escamilla – 6
  • Jorge Galvan – 2
  • Anthony Lusk – 4
  • Dylan McCasland
  • James Walton – 3
  • Garrett Janek – 13
  • Ty Hamilton
  • Cade Roberts
  • Michael Hughes
  • Byron Lusk, Jr.

JV Girls – Round 2:
The JV Lady Gladiators had a tougher go of it in the final-round against Itasca. With both Alex Minton-Felder and teammate Janae Robertson scoring 8-points each, however, Italy outlasted the Lady Cats for a 27-21 tournament championship win.

The JV Lady Gladiators were head coached by Tina Richards with help from assistant coach Nicole Tindol.

JV Lady Gladiators roster and scoring vs Itasca:

  • T’Keyah Pace – 2
  • Janae Robertson – 8
  • Annie Perry – 4
  • Alex Minton-Felder – 8
  • Vanessa Cantu – 4
  • Lizzie Garcia – 1

JV Boys – Round 2:
The JV Gladiators rebounded quickly in round-two to defeat Rice. Italy overcame an 11-0 deficit to have a 29-20 advantage early in the second half. Joshua Cryer led Italy’s scoring attack with 12-points, including two 3-pointers. Anthony Lusk added 9-points and James Walton put in 8-points, also dropping in a pair of 3-pointers.

Ty Hamilton, Michael Hughes were dominant on the boards in the second-half while teammates Cade Roberts, Dylan McCasland and Byron Lusk, Jr. also aided in keeping any comeback hopes of Rice at bay. It was a total team win by the JV Gladiators.

The JV Gladiators were head coached by Bobby Campbell.

JV Gladiators roster and scoring vs Rice:

  • Joshua Cryer – 12 (Two 3-pointers)
  • Gary Escamilla – 3
  • Jorge Galvan – 2
  • Anthony Lusk – 9
  • Dylan McCasland – 1
  • James Walton – 8 (Two 3-pointers)
  • Garrett Janek – 5 (5-of-6 from free-throw line)
  • Ty Hamilton – 2
  • Cade Roberts – 2
  • Michael Hughes
  • Byron Lusk, Jr.

Go Italy!