Boozer twins lead Columbus basketball to quarterfinal win at Chipotle Nationals
Cameron and Cayden Boozer have made no secret that a national championship is the missing piece to cap their decorated high school basketball careers.
On Thursday night, Columbus' stellar basketball duo helped the Explorers move a step closer to that goal.
The Boozer twins each put up big numbers to help Columbus jump out to an early lead and then hang on for a 76-62 victory over Utah's Wasatch Academy in the quarterfinals of the Chipotle Nationals tournament in Fishers, Indiana.
The Explorers, who are vying to become the first Miami-Dade County team to finish the season ranked No. 1 nationally, are the top seed in the tournament and advanced to face New Hampshire's Brewster Academy in a semifinal on Friday at 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ESPN2.
Texas' Dynamic Prep and California's Prolific Prep will square off in the other semifinal at 2:30 p.m. and the championship game will be played on Saturday at noon and televised on ESPN.
Cameron Boozer finished with 25 points, nine rebounds and seven assists while Cayden totaled 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists.
Caleb Gaskins also had 10 points and nine rebounds.
The Explorers appeared ready to rout Wasatch Academy to open the second half.
After taking a 38-19 advantage into halftime, Columbus scored the first seven points of the third quarter.
But the Tigers responded with a 16-2 surge and took advantage of 21 Columbus turnovers to make it a close game down the stretch.
Columbus' lead shrunk to 66-60 with 4:19 remaining before the Explorers answered with a 9-0 surge of its own thanks to the Boozers.
Cameron, who recently became a two-time Gatorade National Player of the Year, was sharp from the field, shooting 5 for 7 from 3-point range. Cayden was also strong, shooting 9 of 16 from the field including 2 for 4 from 3-point range.
The Duke signees each participated in the McDonald's All-American Game earlier this week before they and the Explorers traveled from Brooklyn to Indiana for the Chipotle Nationals event.
Columbus' next opponent - Brewster Academy - beat Arizona's CIA Bella Vista on Thursday. Brewster is led by five-star senior small forward Dwayne Aristode, an Arizona signee, and four-star junior power forward Sebastian Wilkins.
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