Nightrydas Elite, Oakland Soldiers punch tickets to Peach Jam title game

NORTH AUGUSTA -- They've been on a collision course all week in North Augusta, and on Championship Sunday the Peach Jam matchup so many have been hoping for will come true.

Nightrydas Elite and Oakland Soldiers will meet at 11:30 a.m. at the Riverview Park Activities Center after each won quarterfinal and semifinal matchups Saturday, and the winner will have truly earned the right to call themselves the kings of the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League.

The star-studded teams carry identical records - 7-0 this week, 21-1 for the circuit as a whole - into the finale, and both posted double-digit wins in the semifinals to reach this stage.

Nightrydas Elite booked its spot in the championship game by producing the kind of performance against Team Takeover, which came into the semis with the same overall record as Nightrydas and Oakland, that teams simply don't deliver to the defending EYBL champions.

Nightrydas scorched the nets to the run of 58.1% as a team, rolling to an 83-65 win over a Team Takeover group that had held its previous six opponents this week to an EYBL-low 48 points per game.

Forward Caleb Wilson, the fifth-ranked player in the Class of 2025, tormented Team Takeover with a 14-for-18 shooting performance for a game-high 29 points. Fellow forward Cameron Boozer, the 2025 No. 2, notched another double-double with 23 points and 11 rebounds, twin brother Cayden, the 2025 No. 17, had seven points and 11 assists, and Dante Allen splashed three 3-pointers on his way to 14 points.

It wasn't that Team Takeover wasn't in position defensively - it just didn't matter where the five players in white were on the floor. That's how good of a night Nightrydas, the EYBL's highest-scoring offense, had against a program known for routinely overwhelming its opponents defensively.

Team Takeover showed it was game at times to go shot-for-shot with Nightrydas, but trying to do so for the entire game was too tall of a task. Derek Dixon led the way with 18 points, Nykolas Lewis had 11 and Jordan Smith, Jr. scored 10, and Team Takeover shot a respectable 44.4% that was nowhere near good enough to keep pace.

That ended Team Takeover's hopes of a repeat title, but Nightrydas' three-peat aspirations are still in play - this current group won the E15 title two years ago, then followed it up with the E16 championship last year.

For Oakland, Sunday is an opportunity for a third EYBL title. The Soldiers made quick work of JL3 in the other semifinal, surging to a 12-point first-quarter lead and cruising to an 86-66 victory.

The Soldiers accomplished that despite a rare off night from the field for 2026 No. 1 Tyran Stokes, who shot 4-for-12 but also pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds to go with his 13 points.

Oakland is too loaded for that to hurt too much. A.J. Dybantsa, the No. 1 player in the Class of 2025, scored 23 points, 75th-ranked Semetri Carr scored 17 on 6-for-10 shooting, and 40th-ranked Chris Nwuli had 12.

The Soldiers shot 47.8% as a team, and they finished the game plus-16 on the boards. They also held JL3 to a 1-for-16 night from beyond the arc.

Sebastian Williams-Adams, 2025 No. 43, led all scorers with 24 points, and he was responsible for JL3's one made 3. Hudson Greer scored 13, and Shelton Henderson added 11.

The E16s will start the championship festivities, with Bradley Beal Elite facing CP3 at 10 a.m. The EYBL title is next, followed by the PIT title game between The Family and Team Griffin at 1 p.m. The E15s will close it out, with WhyNot taking on Arizona Unity at 2:30 p.m.