CCL: Burton dominates on finals Sunday

WEST DES MOINES — Deonte Burton raised his head towards the rafters and yelled with a smile, "I am the real MVP."

He had just helped Hannah Homes clinch the 2015 YMCA Capital City League championship with a 112-92 win over Phoenix Renewable Resources, but Kourtlin Jackson was the one getting his picture taken with the MVP trophy.

Jackson may have been deserving of the award after winning the league scoring title, but Sunday night it was Burton that played like the MVP. He scored 49 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the 122-120 win over ADIO in the semifinals. The Marquette transfer topped that with 52 points and 12 boards in the finals.

"I felt like it was the playoffs and it was really time to step up," Burton said. "My teammates stepped up more than I can put into words. It was all my team."

After Burton finished giving all the credit to his team, Hallice Cooke, Burton’s roommate and Hannah Homes teammate, stepped in with his own thoughts.

"Man, he killed it." Cooke said.

It left Burton, possibly the league’s most prolific trash talker, speechless for the first time of the night.

Cooke wasn’t completely wrong. Burton went 22-of-36 from behind the arc between the two games. He scored a combined 101 points. At one point, he scored 25 consecutive points in the championship. If that isn’t killing it, I don’t know what is.

"I like the team that I got," Burton said. "That’s all I can say."

CCL Recaps

First semifinal: Phoenix Renewable Resources 102, YMCA 96

***Monte Morris scored 56 points. He knocked down 11 3-pointers and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Phoenix Renewable Resources into the finals. League MVP Kourtlin Jackson also added 18 points.

Jameel McKay scored 41 points with five 3-pointers, while grabbing 18 boards in the loss. Nick Babb added 14 points and five rebounds.

Second semifinal: Hannah Homes 122, ADIO Chiropractic 120

*** Hallice Cooke scored 23 points, including the game-winning layup as time expired, while dishing out nine assists in helping Hannah Homes reach the CCL finals. Deonte Burton led the team with 49 points and 12 rebounds.

Georges Niang scored 51 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the loss. Jordan Ashton also added 15 points.

Finals: Hannah Homes 112, Phoenix Renewable Resources 92

*** Deonte Burton scored 52 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Hannah Homes to the title. Hallice Cooke also added 18 points, grabbed seven boards and dished five assists.

Monte Morris scored 25 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the loss.

CCL Award winners

MVP – Kourtlin Jackson, Southern Mississippi

Small College POY – Terrence Bush Jr., North Central Missouri JC

High School POY – Jordan Johnson, Roosevelt

Defensive POY – Dominik Olejniczak, Drake

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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