1Q - The game was energetic as both Hamilton and Mesa brought their best game. Both teams measured each other out, trading half court possessions. Mesa displayed a gritty lock up man-to-man defense, where Hamilton used their athleticism and length to clog the lanes with a stifling 3-2 zone defense. Ultimately, Mesa converted more field goals than Hamilton, resulting in the Jackrabbits leading 15 to 10. Both teams had balanced scoring with Mesa’s AJ Seumanu with 3, London Haskell with 3 also and Hamilton’s Davion Harris with 3.
2Q - The Huskies came out of the gate with intensity and energy. They utilized that energy to cut into the Jackrabbits slim lead, 15-12. Mesa would surge back, attacking Hamilton’s 3-2 zone with a lay in by Conway Cummard. Hamilton would answer back with a mid-range basket by Elijah St. Onge. Cummard caught fire by converting two field goals in back-to-back possessions. The Jackrabbits would build a 7-point lead, but St. Onge fired a three point field goal with about a minute left to cut the lead to 4. A lay in by the Huskies' Patrice Epo Mpouli, as time expired, after he picked off a bad pass, helped cut into the lead. Mesa would hold a slim 2 point lead after two quarters.
3Q - The Huskies started off with the possession to start the 3rd. The Jackrabbits defense came up big with a stop. Mesa’s Seumanu came up big with his ability to clog up the lane and clean the glass. He had a big tournament as a result of his rebounding and defensive presence.
Huskies' guard Makai Taylor made some big plays by intercepting a bad pass and converting for a layup, which made it a 1-possession game midway through the 3rd quarter. A few plays later, Hamilton’s Andrew Maier converted a mid-range goal to tie the game at the 3:35 mark. The Jackrabbits would retake the lead with an and-1 layup by Cummard. In the end, the Huskies went on a 7-2 run to close the quarter and took the lead, 34-29.
4Q - Mesa began the quarter with the ball, but Hamilton continued to extend their run taking a 36-29 lead. The gym erupted in excitement from the crowd with loud cheers and organized chants. Mesa would cut into the lead to 4 with a huge offensive put-back by Seumanu. The Huskies would rally back with a big lay up by Patrice Epo Mpouli to bring their lead back to 6. Then Lee would pull a deep three to extend the lead back to 9. In the very next possession, Seumanu went downhill and converted a lay up. Hamilton would still hold a 41-34 lead with 3:13 left in the game.
After a foul by Lee, Mesa converted a successful out of bounds play to Daniel Arnett, where he hit a big three point field goal, which cut Hamilton’s lead to 4. Mesa’s John Peterson would hit a huge lay in to cut the lead to 2 with 1:20 to go. After a bad possession, the Jackrabbits would regain possession with a nice drawn up play to Seumanu. Seumanu’s strength is hard to contain and he muscled his way to the rim converting the and-1. With the huge play, Mesa would regain the lead 42-41 with 1:10 left in the game.
After a miss by St. Onge, Mesa would bring the ball up with :25 seconds left in the game. With the shot clock winding down, Cummard took a deep three with :07 seconds left and missed, but McKy Peters got the offensive board, and missed the put-back, until Seumanu snagged the miss and dribbled out to half-court. Seumanu was fouled with two seconds left and put at the free throw line. He would convert those two big free throws to lead his team to the Fear the Hop Tournament Championship.