The 2004 AAU State Tournament was held in Cincinnati this past
weekend for U-10 thru U-13 divisions. Although the fields in each of the four
divisions were disappointingly low, the level of competition was
fantastic! The fact that the tournament was held in the Royals' new
multi-court facility in northern Cincinnati made for a much more exciting
atmosphere.
In the U-10 division, the following teams participated:
Cincinnati Friar Hawks, Team Uptempo, Cincinnati Flames, Cincinnati Royals, and
the Hawks. After round robin play, the battle of Cincinnati began with the
Flames and Friar Hawks hooking up in the championship game. In the end,
the Cincinnati Flames claimed the championship.
The U-11 division boasted
the largest field with the following 12 teams in attendance: Friars Warriors,
Cincinnati Royals(Eagan), Kettering Cobras, FCA, All-Ohio Red, Driveway Legends,
Cincy Hoops, Columbus Jaguars, Dayton Metro, Cincinnati Flames, Central Ohio
Focus and Cincinnati Royals (Wulf). In the first semi-final game, the
defending state champions, Friars Warriors defeated Central Ohio Focus. In
the second semi-final game, the Columbus Jaguars easily defeated a scrappy FCA
team. In one of the best championship games of the tournament, the
underdog Jaguars staged and upset against the 13th ranked team in the country on
the strength of great guard play and a hot shooting hand by Ben Jones, who hit
five three pointers in the game to lift the Jaguars over the Friars
Warriors..
In the U-12 division, three of the top teams in the country
faced off for state bragging rights. The Cincinnati Royals Blue, Columbus
Jaguars and All-Ohio Westwood finished 5th, 6th, and 12th, respectively, in the
2003 AAU Nationals. Other teams in this division included: All-Ohio Red,
Cincinnati Royals Black & White, Shinning Stars, Friars Running Rebels and
the Queen City Prophets. In the first semi-final game, the Jaguars
defeated the Royals White. In the second semi-final game, the Royals Blue
team easily defeated All-Ohio Westwood. In the championship game, old foes
squared off for a second time in two 2 weeks. As was the case in the first
meeting this spring, the Jaguars had to overcome a first half deficit to defeat
the back-to-back defending state champions. In the third place game, the
Cincinnati Royals White staged the biggest upset of the tournament with their
victory over All-Ohio Westwood. The fifth place game saw All-Ohio Red
defeat the Friars Running Rebels.
The U-13 division was also very
competitive and attracted the following teams: Cincinnati Royals Rooks, Oaks,
Newton & Gilbert, Buckeye Café, Capital City Cobras, All-Ohio Red,
Cincinnati Tigers and the Columbus Hoopers. In the first semi-final game,
The Cincinnati Tigers got by the Capital City Cobras. In the second
semi-final game, All-Ohio Red upset the defending state champions, Cincinnati
Royals. The championship game drew the largest crowd to watch a highly
competitive game. When the dust settled, the Tigers had staked claim to
the state title. In the third place game, the Cincinnati Royals ended the
tournament on a high note with a hard-fought victory against the Cobras.
Continue to follow OPS for tournament updates.
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