Duke outlasts Clemson for seventh grade blue division championship

Duke defeated Clemson, 44-39, to win the Amherst Youth Basketball seventh grade boys division. Pictured front row, left, are Mike Cerza and RJ McDonald; back row - Eric Sims, Peter Cahlstadt, Sam Dusenberry, Trent Miller and coach Brian Dusenberry; missing from photo - Robert Bojanek and Rudy Cecere.

Duke outlasted Clemson, 44-39, on Thursday in the finals of Amherst Youth Basketball's seventh grade boys' blue division tournament.

Both teams played hard, intense and physical with the referees assessing 35 fouls to both teams, resulting in 44 free throws during the course of the game.

Duke star Trenton Miller scored a season-high 27 points and willed his team to victory in an impressive performance that earned him the MVP of the blue division tournament. Miller also dished out assists and grabbed several rebounds while guarding Clemson's top scorers on defense.

Duke center Sam Dusenberry helped stake the Blue Devils to an early lead with a strong first half scoring 10 points, controlling the boards at both ends of the floor and playing tough inside defense against a tall Clemson team. But Dusenberry was shackled with four fouls early in the third quarter and had to play reserved the rest of the way, allowing Clemson to gain ground and the momentum, taking a 28-26 lead at the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Miller took control, scoring 15 of the team's 18 points and carried his team on his back the rest of the way to win the championship in dramatic fashion.

Clemson played strong and was deserving of playing in the championship game with an extremely balanced team, representative of a well-coached team. Clemson had seven of eight players contribute offensively led by Colin Downing with 12 points. Pete O'Connor added 10 points followed by Tim Coultier and Luke Service with six points each. Zach Stone and Zach Jones scored two points each while Scott Baum chipped in a point and Scott Gergalis played a strong floor game.

In the end however, it took more than Miller's scoring and Dusenberry's physical presence to solidify the win for Duke. Guards RJ McDonald and Mike Cerza contributed five and two points respectively while defensively neutralizing their taller counter parts and forcing turnovers and disrupting Clemson's offensive flow.

Peter Cahlstadt and Eric Sims played hard, with desperation, hustle and grit and contributed their valuable efforts in helping Duke go undefeated throughout the playoffs and clinched the championship.