‘Relaxed’ Boozer twins lead Columbus to wins at Army National Guard Hoophall Classic

Five rows of scouts representing Division-I college basketball programs from around the country, and a few from the NBA, take up one Blake Arena baseline during games at the annual Army National Guard Hoophall Classic. After each game, a litany of media members swarm the nation’s top basketball prospects and rarely asked about the game they just played.

The previous two years, Miami Columbus High School star seniors Cameron and Cayden Boozer got the full-court press about their respective recruitments. Now committed to Duke, the seniors’ experience at this tournament feels, and looks, different.

“I feel more composed since I already got that stuff out of the way,” Cayden Boozer told the Miami Herald. “Since I’ve already committed, I can just focus on hooping and helping my team win. I feel more relaxed because the recruiting process is a very difficult thing where you’re thinking about your next steps instead of just basketball.”

The Explorers (16-3), ranked No. 2 in the SCNext Top 25, emphatically swept their two Hoophall Classic games, running past Notre Dame High School of Sherman Oaks, Calif. Saturday and blitzing No. 21 Perry High School of Gilbert, Ariz. Monday on the campus of Springfield College.

“Certainly there’s a little less stress, with the decision behind them they’re continuing to improve and focus on the goals for the season,” Columbus coach Andrew Moran said. “They’re a little more relaxed and just playing their game.”

With just eight players, Columbus sported perhaps the smallest roster of any team at the tournament. Just six played meaningful minutes. They’re all high-level Division I bound.

Columbus topped consensus top-ranked junior Tyran Stokes and Notre Dame 76-53 behind 25 points, 15 rebounds, six assists, three steals and two blocks from Cameron Boozer, the consensus No. 2 prospect in the Class of 2025 and Duke commit. Junior Caleb Gaskins, ranked No. 12 in his class per 247Sports Composite, added 24 points and 11 rebounds while Cayden Boozer, Cameron’s twin, fellow Duke commit, and the nation’s No. 22 ranked senior, added 19 points and seven assists. The Explorers built a nine-point first quarter lead and played from ahead for the rest of the game and limited Stokes to just nine points on 4-of-10 shooting.

The Monday matchup vs. Perry, a 74-65 win, offered a highly-anticipated individual matchup; Cameron Boozer against No. 6 senior Koa Peat, a 6-foot-8, 235-pound force. Safe to say Boozer (31 points, 12 rebounds, three assists) won, dominating early and forcing Peat (18 points on 6-of-17 shooting) into foul trouble. Boozer scored the Explorers first seven points on a smooth triple from the top of a key and a thunderous putback dunk after corralling a shot blocked by Peat. Boozer lured Peat into a costly third foul near the end of the first quarter, baiting a challenge on a left wing 3-point attempt and hit all three free-throws, extending a 19-11 first quarter advantage. Boozer picked up where he left off in the second quarter, curling around a screen and nailing a midrange jumper with Peat in his grill and another rim-rattling dunk through the lane.

Perry got within nine three during the fourth quarter and eight with 14.4 seconds, but the Explorers held on. Cayden Boozer, Jaxson Richardson and Gaskins all scored in double-figures for Columbus.

“I thought we were pretty good, but there were certain spurts in the game where we didn’t,” Moran said. “I feel good right now, especially when we’re defending… When we sit down and defend as a team, it looks really good.”

After losing back-to-back games in late December, the Explorers have won four straight. The three-time reigning 7A state champions play a mostly national schedule, but will compete against local teams in the upcoming postseason in hopes of a state “four-peat” in March. Columbus never captured a state title until the Boozers.

“Our goal is always to be the best we can possibly be for south Florida hoops and we really want to win the state championship,” Cayden Boozer said. “It’s really important to us, and a national championship would be even better, doing it all in our last season.”