The day started with Quality Education Academy (NC) playing Our Savior New American (NY). It was a sloppy contest overall, with both teams turning the ball over multiple times and had many missed free throws. In the end Our Savior New American won 53-50.
Junior guard Nick Lewis of Our Savior New American led the Pioneers with 17 points in the victory. It earned Lewis MVP for Our Savior New American. The Pioneers also got solid performances from Jevon Thomas and Jonathan Alexander.
Guard Anthony Fields of Quality Education led the Pharaohs with 10 points. Fields won MVP for the Pharaohs. Charles McKinney also had a solid game for Quality Education.
The big play of the game came towards the end when Quality Education called a timeout in which they did not have in the remaining seconds. The referees gave the Pharaohs a technical foul and possession back to the Pioneers who held on for the victory.
In game two, Huntington Prep took on one of the top schools in the country in St. Benedicts (NJ). It was a well played game between the two schools. St. Benedicts led throughout most of the game, but the Express rallied to take the lead in the 4th quarter, although ultimately St. Benedicts took the lead back and won 62-53.
The athleticism of junior guard Jamel Artis who finished with 17 points and nine of 11 from the free throw line, earned MVP for the Bees. Junior power forward Stefan Jankovic of Huntington Prep earned MVP with 16 points and eight rebounds for the Express.
In the third game, South Atlanta (GA) took on Christ the King (NY). The game came down to a buzzer beating shot by South Atlanta senior forward Rashuad Bell to give the Hornets a 68-67 victory.
Bell finished the game with seven points. MVP honors on the Hornets went to senior center Nickalus Jacobs who finished with 29 points. A 22 point performance earned junior guard Omar Calhoun MVP honors for the Roayls.
The Hornets had control of the game and lead 50-40 after three quarters. The Royals stormed back to take the lead in the 4th quarter. Towards the end of the game South Atlanta rushed up the court and Bell hit the game winning three as time expired.
“Yes, definitely if we came out with a little more intensity and boxed out, limiting them to one shot, we could have won the game,” said Calhoun.
Even with the heartbreaking loss for the Royals, Calhoun enjoyed the tournament and playing against some of the best teams in the country.
“It is about growing and getting better as an individual player and as a team,” explained Calhoun. “When you get to college and the next level, we will be able to fit right in.”
Despite a 27 point 15 rebound game from Dajuan Coleman, Jamesville-DeWitt was unable to defeat Wheeling Park. The Patriot’s backcourt of Bubby Goodwin and Boo Lathon was too much as Wheeling Park won 65-57. Coleman had a big second half scoring 16 of his game high 27 in the second half.
Thomas Jefferson jumped out to an early lead against Columbia High School, but Columbia came back to win 71-57. Thomas Jefferson led at halftime 33-25. Unfortunately, they were unable to hold onto the lead and were outscored in the second half by 27. Columbia’s Algie Key III led the team in scoring with 15 points while Thaddeus Hall had a game high 19 points for Thomas Jefferson.
The stands were packed to see the state’s top ranked team take on one of the most recognizable teams in the country. Unfortunately for Preston County fans, this was a difficult game to watch as Oak Hill dominated the Knights 96-59.
Oak Hill got off to a quick 8-0 start and it took Preston nearly half of the first quarter to score their first basket. In the second half Preston was able to cut the lead to 6, 23-17 but that only led to Oak Hill going on a 16-3 run to go up 39-20. They would push the lead to 19 at halftime.
The second half was no different than the first as Oak Hill continued to flex their muscles against the overmatched Knights pushing their lead to 26 after three quarters and won by 37 points.
Oak Hill came into the contest with 7 recruits ranked in the top 100. Quinn Cook, who is a 4 star recruit, has committed to Duke and led Oak Hill in scoring with 17 points. As for Preston County, Colton Goff finished with a game high 23 points to lead them.
The final game of the tournament pitted two of the most talented teams in the tournament with Montrose Christian (MD) vs. Arlington Country Day (FL). The matchup was as good as the hype and Montrose Christian won in overtime 61-59 on two free throws by Tyrone Johnson with less than one second in the game.
ACD has 4 players ranked in the top 100 led by Michael Jarvis and Jordan Goodman, while Montrose Christian has 3 players in the top 100.
In the second half, Montrose Christian was able to slow down the pace of the game and held the ball for the final two minuets to send it into overtime tied at 57.
Tied with just seconds remaining, Montrose Christian’s Tyrone Johnson was fouled by Jordan Goodwin with .5 seconds left. Johnson knocked down both free throws to give Montrose Christian 61-59. Goodwin led ACD with 18 points,