Artis leads Oakland Soldiers to EYBL semis

NORTH AUGUSTA, S.C. – One of the week's breakout stars continued to grab attention Thursday night as the Oakland Soldiers knocked off Playaz Basketball Club of New Jersey in quarterfinal play of the EYBL Finals at the Nike Peach Jam.

Dominic Artis, a 6-foot point guard from Vallejo, Calif., scored 26 points, grabbed five boards and handed out three assists to lead the Soldiers past the Playaz, 79-73, and into the semifinals against the Boston Amateur Basketball Club on Friday morning.

A slightly more-heralded version of the Oakland-based club fell in the quarterfinals of the event a year ago with names like Kyle Wiltjer (Kentucky signee), Josiah Turner (Arizona) and Nick Johnson (Arizona).

Artis is averaging 15.8 points and 3.6 assists per game at the Peach Jam, leading the Soldiers to a 6-0 record and taking the pressure off star forwards Brandon Ashley and Aaron Gordon. Louisville and Texas are among the schools to take notice, according to the floor general.

"This week is probably the best I've played," Artis said. "I've been getting in the gym a lot so I can knock down open shots and it is showing on the court."

Artis is coached by uncle Derrick Artis, who echoes his nephew's assessment.

"I've probably only missed a handful of games in his life," said the Soldier coach, who mentioned Baylor, California, Florida State, Nevada-Las Vegas, San Diego State, UCLA and Washington State as the schools recruiting Dominic the hardest. "He's been playing better here than I've ever seen him play. He is so focused. He's been playing great and helping us a lot."

A year ago Artis played sparingly for a Soldiers squad stacked with Division I talent. The decision not to play him with the under-16 team was one that haunted Derrick Artis until recently.

"We questioned it early because his recruitment started slow," he said. "Then it picked up and hopefully a little more after this week."

Winning an EYBL crown Friday would add to what has already been a special week for Dominic, who is transferring from Salesian (Richmond, Calif.) to academy power Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) along with Ashley next fall.

"It would be real big," Dominic said. "The guys from last year's team always call and pick on me, say I'm not doing nothing. It would be really big, something I would definitely take note of in my life."

Repeat not in the works

The Boston Amateur Basketball Club (BABC) ensured there would be no repeat champion at the Peach Jam – and did so in emphatic fashion.

Getting 31 points and nine boards from Iowa State commitment Georges Niang, BABC smashed Team Takeover's hopes of back-to-back titles with a 79-56 victory.

The loss ended a special run by the District of Columbia-based club on a negative note. Takeover won its first 17 games in EYBL play this summer before falling in three of its last four contests in North Augusta.

Georgia Stars send Mac Irvin Fire back to Chicago

Clemson verbal commitment Jaron Blossomgame scored 21 points and Tony Parker notched a double-double of 16 points and 11 boards to lead the Georgia Stars past Mac Irvin Fire in another quarterfinal, 76-61.

No. 1-rated 2013 star Jabari Parker struggled from the field for Mac Irvin, hitting just 4 of 14 field goal attempts en route to 12 points.

Memphis YOMCA clips Texas Titans in OT

Despite 30 points and 10 rebounds from 6-9, 240-pound rising junior Julius Randle, Memphis YOMCA clinched the last semifinal spot with a 69-68 overtime win over Team Texas Titans.

Anthlon Bell led the Memphis club with 19 points while Jarnell Stokes contributed 15 points and 12 rebounds.

Friday's schedule
Semifinal 1 – Georgia Stars vs. Memphis YOMCA, 9 a.m. EDT
Semifinal 2 – Oakland Soldiers vs. BABC, 10:30 a.m. EDT
Championship – 7 p.m. EDT, live on ESPNU