It could have been an all Florida final. However, Arlington Country Day came up 9.3 seconds short in their loss to Niagara Falls, NY in one of the two semi-final games on Tuesday evening. Palm Beach Lakes held their ground in the second semi-final as they defeated Seattle Prep. The championship game featured Niagara Falls, NY and Florida's own Palm Beach Lakes. The trio of Daniel Bryant, Corey Claitt. and Jarrett Brown would be called upon again to face one of the best teams in the nation. Palm Beach Lakes came into the tournament unranked nationally. However, their wins over South Gwinnett, lead by Class of 2005 #1 overall player Louis Williams and Georgia-bond Mike Mercer, Seattle Prep, with their own version of future Division I standouts in Washington-bound 6'-7" senior Martell Webster and Class of 2006 6'-11" Spencer Hawes, and a traditionally tough west coast Fort Myers Green Wave squad would leave Palm Beach Lakes placed in the Top 25 before the championship game even started. It was a battle that Palm Beach Lakes would eventually lose by a score of 52-51.

I was really glad to see Donnie Wilkie invite Palm Beach Lakes. I had mentioned to him at last season's MLK tournament at Palm Beach Lakes game what a the great addition the Rams would be. An outstanding job by Coach Lorenzo Hands to bring the team focused and ready to make some noise in one of the best tournaments that the nation has to offer.

Mater Dei, CA 89, Athens, AL 49
This was one of the uglier games of the day. UCLA-bound Taylor King and Mike Gerrity led Mater Dei to an easy win. A 19-0 1st quarter run said it all in this yawner. Alabama-signee Richard Hendrix look out of sorts in this one with his 3 0f 13 shooting in the first half.

South Gwinnett, GA 74, Dunwoody, GA 65
This was billed as a battle of Georgia power house teams. Two #1's met in this consolation game. Louis Williams and Gwinnett prevailed in this matchup. Williams' 12 of 13 shooting from the charity stripe helped the team's cause in what looked like another lackluster effort on Williams' part.

Milwaukee-Vincent 57, Denham Springs, AL 34
LSU signee Tasmin Mitchell just wasn't interested in playing in this game. The 37-17 halftime score was evident. Vincent did a good job of pouring it on as they scored more points in the first half than Denham Springs scored in the entire game.

Episcopal Academy, PA 77, Fort Myers 49
Yawn! Another really ugly game featuring Wayne Ellington and Gerald Henderson combining for four more points than the entire Fort Myers squad. I was ready to get up and leave after this one. However, the "real" semi-finals were yet to come.

Niagara Falls, NY 68, Arlington Country Day 67
Finally, the type of game you come expecting to see. Open floor moves and a little guard named Josue Soto made this the game of the evening. It looked like a rout for Niagara Falls from the beginning as they jumped out quickly. However, Soto would singlehandedly not let Arlington Country Day be denied their chance. Soto would put Arlington Country Day on top for most of the game. The game really got interesting with 3:00 left to play. Niagara Falls tied the game. Great effort on both teams part kept it a see-saw battle all the way to the last second. A poor decision on Arlington Country Day junior Chris Merriweather to foul Niagara Falls senior Robert Garrison in the closing seconds proved too costly as Niagara Falls pulled out the win.

Palm Beach Lakes 64, Seattle Prep 60
Palm Beach Lakes continued to make their statement of who is #1 in Class 6A basketball in the state of Florida. Everyone was anticipating a semi-final showdown between Jacksonville-Raines and Arlington Country Day. How many people could have anticipated a possible all Florida final between Florida Hoops #1 and #3 ranked teams? Well, it wasn't meant to be on one side of the bracket. So, it was Palm Beach Lakes turn to get it down and represent Florida in the finals. A tough Seattle Prep team that wouldn't go away gave Palm Beach Lakes "big" trouble. Literally, as 6'-7" Martell Webster and 6'-11" Spencer Hawes tried to control the paint. Keep in mind that senior Daniel Clemons at 6'-6" is the tallest kid off of the bench. However, it is junior guard Corey Claitt that makes the engine go. He quietly had double figures in the 1st half. Senior guard Daniel Bryant, senior forward West Virginia-bound (for football) Jarrett Brown, and junior Lenardo Bryant