By Derek Thompson | The Selma Times-Journal

A big-time play in Sunday’s championship game gave Selma’s Disciples of Game sixth grade basketball team the momentum it needed to close out the Tarheel Basketball Ballers Classic in Stone Mountain, Ga.

Disciples of Game coach Jeremiah Whitt said point guard Jarvis Moss performed a “Tim Hardaway-type crossover” and hit a pull-up jump shot in an opponent’s face in the second half. The move got the crowd on its feet and gave the team the push it needed to defeat the North Alabama Warriors 57-43 for the championship.

“That was the difference,” Whitt said. “That set the tone. When he hit that big shot, that separated us. The crowd exploded, which gave us the extra momentum to push over the top. After that, everybody was hungry offensively and defensively. He hit that move, and we brought it to the house after that.”

The Disciples of Game finished the three-day tournament 3-1 after beating the Georgia Tarheels 36-19 and I Ball 4 Life 45-41 and losing to Team Orange 39-38.

“They balled out over there,” Whitt said. “They did real good. It was a great experience. They played good team ball. They communicated and worked well together. They went out and executed offensively and defensively. That was the difference in the tournament. Their focus and desire to win is what really pushed them over the top.”

Two players averaged double-doubles over the weekend. Moss averaged 16 points and eight rebounds and Datarlos Moore averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The team is in its second year as a licensed member of the Amateur Athletic Union. Whitt started the program last year after he saw the need for an AAU league in Selma, given all the talent in the area.

The Disciples of Game had 14 total players in 2014. This year the league has four teams — 16-and-under boys, 16-and-under girls, 14-and-under boys and 11-under-boys — and 50 total players. Whitt even had to hold tryouts.

The program’s 14-and-under boys will play at Pebblebrook High School in Georgia July 17-19.