Championship Schedule Set for This Weekend at Nike Peach Jam

NORTH AUGUSTA — The race for the Peach Jam championship begins now.

Pool play concluded Friday night in North Augusta, with eight teams advancing to compete for the crown of Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League.

Leading the way is Pool A champion Nightrydas Elite, who went 5-0 in pool play while leading the tournament in scoring (78.6 points per game), rebounding (36.4 per game) and assists (19.4) in their quest for a Peach Jam trifecta – the E15, E16 and EYBL titles in consecutive years. Cameron Boozer, the second-best player in the Class of 2025, is averaging 22 points and 10.2 rebounds per game, next-best Caleb Wilson is averaging 16.6 points, 9.2 rebounds and 2.2 blocks, and next-best Cayden Boozer is averaging 9.4 points and 6.4 assists.

Nightrydas will be in action in the first quarterfinal on Saturday, with a 9 p.m. tip-off against Pool D runner-up Drive Nation. Drive Nation went 4-1 in the pool, led by center Jaden Toombs, the 32nd-ranked player in the Class of 2025. He is averaging 15.8 points per game this week and JaCobe Coleman is adding 10.8 points per game. Drive Nation secured a spot in the quarterfinals with an 80-79 win over the Florida Rebels on Friday night after entering the day in a four-way tie for first place.

Defending champion Team Takeover won Pool B with a 5-0 record, using a stifling defense and all-hands-on-deck approach in their quest for back-to-back titles — something Peach Jam has never done before. Four players are averaging at least 8.4 points per game, led by Derek Dixon (13.6) and 2026 No. 5 Jordan Smith, Jr. (13). Team Takeover is also rebounding by committee, with Christian Gurdak’s 6.4 per game leading the team. The defense is typical TTO — they’re allowing just 48.2 points per game this week.

Their opponent at 10:30 a.m. is Canada’s UPlay, who posted a 4-1 record to finish second in Pool C despite missing EYBL Offensive MVP Will Riley, who averaged 22.1 points per game in previous sessions. Instead, Spencer Ahrens leads the way with 10.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, and four other players are averaging at least 6.2 points per game. Tristan Beckford leads the way with 6 rebounds per game, and UPlay is third on defense with just 54.3 points per game.

The Oakland Soldiers, like Nightrydas Elite and Team Takeover, entered this week as one of the favorites with a 14-1 record in previous sessions. And like those two, the Soldiers went undefeated in pool play. They won Pool C and are the No. 2 scoring team this week with 77.6 points per game. AJ Dybantsa, the highest-ranked player in the Class of 2025, leads the way with 22.2 points per game, and 2026 No. 1 Tyran Stokes is right behind him with 21.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. Christopher Nwuli is their third double-digit scorer, averaging 14.2 points per game.

Their opponent at noon is Pool B runner-up New Heights Lightning, 4-1. Point guard Meleek Thomas, the No. 7 pick in the Class of 2025, is averaging 16.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, while Christian Jeffrey is averaging 16.2 points per game and Mabil Mawut Kon Mabil is the team’s leading rebounder with 6 per game.

JL3 emerged from that four-way tie as the Pool D champions after defeating Expressions Elite on Friday afternoon to secure a head-to-head victory and a better points differential over Drive Nation. Hudson Greer and Sebastian Williams-Adams, the 21st and 43rd-ranked players in 2025 respectively, each score 14.2 points per game to lead the offense, with Shelton Henderson (13.4 for the No. 47 2025) and Christian Jones (12.6) rounding out the four-man attack. Greer leads the way on the boards with 5.6 rebounds per game.

Arizona Unity, JL3’s opponent in the final quarterfinal at 1:30 p.m., also came out of a tiebreaker scenario. Arizona Unity was part of a three-way tie for second place in Pool A at 3-2, but advanced based on point differential against common opponents. Brandon McCoy, Jr., the second-ranked player in the Class of 2026, leads the way with 18.4 points per game, and 2026 No. 14 Kaden House is not far behind with 17 points per game.

The four semi-finalists return to Courts 3/4 for matches at 6pm and 7:30pm, with the winners advancing to the championship match on Sunday at 11:30am.