CCL Recap: Burton is dunk champ, Thomas wins 3-point contest

WEST DES MOINES –— It shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone that Deonte Burton won the 2015 YMCA Capital City League dunk contest on Friday night. In fact, it wasn’t even close.

Burton talked trash, alerted the other contestants of how much time they had on the clock and strutted up and down the sidelines like a lion surveying his prey. When it was his turn to dunk for the first time, he unleashed a hammering windmill that caused the announcer to tell him not to break the equipment.

It could be called a tainted title since Burton was the only Cyclone to compete, but Pepperdine’s Nate Gehring along with Drake’s Billy Wampler and Ore Arogundade threw down some nice dunks of their own.

Burton defeated Arogundade in the finals.

You can see full highlights of Burton’s dunks, and all the other dunkers, in the video below.

Shootout

Jordan Ashton set a new record in the CCL 3-point contest in the first round, but Matt Thomas bested Ashton in the finals to clinch the 2015 YMCA Capital City League 3-point contest.

Thomas pulled in a first round score of 23, then 21 in the finals to best Ashton and Drake’s Reed Timmer, both with 20. Grand View’s Teyontae Jenkins had 15.

Ashton’s 25 was the new all-time high in the two year old event. The first four shots on each rack were worth one point, with the last ball being worth two.

You can watch full highlights of Ashton and Thomas’ rounds in the video below.

CCL Playoff Recaps

YMCA 125, Renaissance Granite & Quartz 102

*** Jameel McKay scored 44 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead YMCA into Sunday night’s semifinals. He shot 17 of 27 from the field and knocked down three 3-pointers. 

Nick Babb also added 12 points and 10 rebounds in the win, while Abdel Nader scored 25 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for Renaissance.

Hannah Homes 117, Capital Orthopedics 107

*** Deonte Burton scored 36 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to lead Hannah Homes, while Hallice Cooke also added 11 points, including three 3-pointers, four assists and three rebounds.

Matt Thomas scored 21 points, knocking down four threes, and grabbed six rebounds in the loss.

Sunday CCL Schedule

4:30 p.m. – (3) YMCA (McKay & Babb) vs. (2) Phoenix Renewable Resources (Monte Morris)

5:45 p.m. – (4) Hannah Homes (Burton & Cooke) vs. (1) ADIO (Georges Niang & Jordan Ashton)

7:00 p.m. – Finals

Jared Stansbury

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Jared a native of Clarinda, Iowa, started as the Cyclone Fanatic intern in August 2013, primarily working as a videographer until starting on the women’s basketball beat prior to the 2014-15 season. Upon earning his Bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Iowa State in May 2016, Jared was hired as the site’s full-time staff writer, taking over as the primary day-to-day reporter on football and men’s basketball. He was elevated to the position of managing editor in January 2020. He is a regular contributor on 1460 KXNO in Des Moines and makes regular guest appearances on radio stations across the Midwest. Jared resides in Ankeny with his four-year-old puggle, Lolo.

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