Jim Hamann/Special to The Gazette Kenny Hill (left) of the St. John's team looks to drive around Michael Casley of the Maryland squad during Saturday's Basketball Coaches Without Borders Youth Summer League Junior Division championship game at College Estates Park. Hill paced St. John's with 8 points, but Casley scored a game-high 14, leading Maryland to a 35-28 win.

Out of context, it's hooliganism. But on Saturday at College Estates Park in Frederick, it was a celebration, as Portland won the Senior Division of the Basketball Coaches Without Borders Youth Summer League championship, beating the Timberwolves, 67-48.

Cliff Bowens, the head coach of Portland, is in his fifth year coaching for the league, but it was his first cooler shower.

"I wasn't even expecting it, they caught me off-guard," he said. "I might have been all right with it some of the other hot days, when it was 107 degrees, yeah."

Portland came back from a 37-30 halftime deficit for the win, powered by a 13-0 run. Snoots scored nine of his 15 points during the stretch.

"We were so close to losing, we had to bring it back to win it," Snoots said.

Hamilton Woodfolk led the team with 22 points, while Gideon Obamwonyi added 16 points.

All three players also get time in on AAU basketball teams. Snoots noted, though, that wasn't the case when he first started the league.

"Four years ago, when I came in, I wasn't that good," he said. "I didn't make the team for AAU, I didn't make the school team. I played here because the let everyone come out and everyone has a chance to play."

Since then, his skills have improved markedly. Raymond Whiten, the president of BCWB, said that watching a kid improve was one of the great things about the league.

"I've seen kids that started off when they were probably in the fifth grade, and by the time they got through the seventh grade they were stars on their team," Whitten said.

For the Timberwolves, Artez Smallwood scored 13 points, all in the first half, while Josh Nixon and Derrick Nash each added 10 points.

The league is now in its sixth year. While they didn't add teams this season, the Senior Division (8th- to 10th-graders) was close to adding two more teams. And as far as community support, the park was filled up with fans and parents.

"It's grown," Bowens said. "I've seen a lot of good ball players, good coaches. It's getting bigger, and that's good. A lot of people are starting to come out here and supporting their kids."

Whitten noted that some new plans for the organization include buying land for a permanent facility for the league within the next 3-4 years, but it would stay in inner-city Frederick.

"We really want to expand it team-wise and maybe looking into adding another age group," Whitten said.

Currently, there are eight teams in the Senior Division, all named after NBA teams.

In the first round of the Senior Division playoffs, Charlotte beat the Bulls, 40-35, Portland downed Cleveland, 49-31, the Lakers outscored the Knicks, 59-47, and the Timberwolves won over Dallas, 74-56.

Portland won, 68-40, over Charlotte in the semifinals, and the Timberwolves beat the Lakers, 61-53.

The 12-team Junior Division (5th- to 7th-graders) uses NCAA Division-I team names. Maryland beat St. John's, 35-28, for its second straight championship.

Maryland's Michael Casley scored 14 points, including 10 in the second half. Forest Mason added five points, while Anthony Courtmail and Nick Forbes each scored four points.

Casley will be an eighth-grader at Monocacy, and it's his third year in the league.

"Because I love playing ball, I love the people," Casley said.

Kenny Hill and Mykel Allen each scored eight points for St. John's, and Malivey Dean and Sean Brennan each added four points. Hill was named league MVP.

In the first round of the Junior Division, Stanford defeated Syracuse, 22-20, Kentucky forfeited to Wake Forest, Georgetown won over UConn, 37-21, and North Carolina beat St. Joe's, 38-31. In the quarterfinals, Maryland needed overtime to oust Stanford, 39-38, Virginia beat Wake Forest, 38-17, Cincinnati took out Georgetown, 34-24, and St. John's won over North Carolina, 39-28.

Maryland scored a semifinal win over Virginia, 39-31, and St. John's beat Cincinnati, 40-23.

T-wolves celebrate BCWB title