Lightning win title
The Newport Lightning boys eighth-grade basketball club team captured the AAU Swoosh Memorial Day Classic tournament championship May 30.The Ligthning went 5-0 in the two-day tournament through four rounds of play against some of Southern California's top teams.
In pool play on the first day, the Lightning broke open a tight game with a second-half push to defeat Chino Hills, 64-52, and then had no trouble against an overmatched Glendora Prodigy squad, winning, 62-22. Leading scorers Hale Furey (17.5 points per game in pool play) and Jack Williamson (14 ppg in pool play), and playmakers Charlie Coffman, Charlie Griffin and Bo St. Geme led the Lightning offense on the first day, while the defense was anchored by the strong front-court play of Andrew Chase (with a season-high nine rebounds), Blake Flamson (seven rebounds and stellar defense on Chino Hills' star Kelvin Ball), Jeff Johnston (five rebounds and three steals), and shot-blocking specialist Braden Brahs (with 2.5 blocks per game).