The 12 players on the Boo Williams Summer League basketball team like to think they are above the selfish attitude that can dominate the AAU landscape.
They try to act like a team.
On Saturday, after they lost their first game at the Nike Peach Jam on a buzzer-beating jump shot, they called a meeting back at their hotel.
"We just basically said 'no more losing,' " explained point guard Kendall Marshall.
Boo Williams didn't lose again, celebrating the 17-and-under championship Tuesday night after holding off the Boston Amateur Basketball Club 62-55. It was the second title for Boo Williams in the event that North Augusta has held annually since 1996.
With almost every coach and talent evaluator gone -- they saw plenty in the previous seven sessions -- Boo Williams led 12-2 early and by 15 points at halftime. BABC didn't get closer than seven points until the final minute.
"Everybody remembers the winner," said Deshawn Painter, a Florida commit who had 13 points and 10 rebounds. "We wanted to be remembered."
Earlier in the day, Boo Williams led the whole way in a semifinal win over Houston Hoops. It did the same thing in the finale, knocking down early jumpers, including a pair of 3-pointers from Marshall (12 points, four assists).
Boo Williams won its only previous title in 2005, a team stacked with talent in the ACC (Maryland's Eric Hayes and Greivis Vasquez), SEC (Arkansas' Stefan Welsh, Florida's Vernon Macklin, ex-Tennessee forward Duke Crews) and Big East (Villanova's Scottie Reynolds).
This year's bunch was certainly comparable. At least eight players are projected to sign with major Division I programs, and the group was so strong that Jontel Evans, who has scholarship offers from ACC schools in football and basketball, didn't leave the bench until more than 11 minutes were gone.
"We know how to play together," said Marshall, a 2010 prospect who has committed to North Carolina.
Boston, which in the afternoon overcame a seven-point halftime deficit to top California Supreme, failed three times to slice the lead under seven points with four minutes to go, squandering a 3-on-1 fastbreak in the process.
Connecticut commitments Jamal Coombs-McDaniel (16 points, eight rebounds) and Alex Oriakhi (14 points, seven rebounds) paced Boston.
Reach Matt Middleton at (706) 823-3425 or matt.middleton@augustachronicle.com.
PEACH JAM FINAL DAY
STAR OF THE DAY: Boo Williams forward Deshawn Painter had 13 points and 10 rebounds to help his team claim the 17-and-under title.
LEADING SCORER: Xavier Henry 's Athletes First team didn't make it out of pool play, but the 6-foot-6 Oklahoma City shooting guard won the event's scoring title by averaging 23.8 points in five games.
16-AND-UNDER FINAL: Team Final, from Philadelphia, won 71-58 over the Albany City Rocks, from upstate New York. Team Final became the first team other than the New York Gauchos to win the Sweet 16 Tournament, which has been held three times.
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