New Year came in with a bang Friday afternoon at the Chance Harman Classic basketball tournament at Floyd County High School.
Saturday night, it went out with a ‘Bam.’
‘Bam’ Adebayo, that is.
Adebayo, the 6-foot-10 Kentucky signee, thrilled the throng who had packed the Floyd County gym Saturday night to see him and his High Point Christian teammates take on Cape Henry Collegiate in the penultimate contest of the 2-day, 14-game event.
Adebayo teased the crowd for one half before putting on a highlight reel run in the third quarter that included a pair of monstrous slam dunks and a step-back 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The High Point point surge broke open what had been a 33-33 tie, sending High Point to a 44-33 lead at the end of the third frame.
Cape Henry, reeling from Adebayo’s dominance, didn’t break the draught until 4:46 remained in the game, with High Point up 47-33. Cape Henry got no closer than 11 the rest of the way before High Point cruised to the 63-47 win.
“I wanted to take over the game,” Adebayo said afterward of his third quarter show. “It’s my style of play.”
“I lit it up tonight,” the affable future Wildcat added with a huge grin. “A couple slams and then the three-pointer. They all felt good.”
“Our team has played a lot of basketball in the last two weeks,” High Point head coach Brandon Clifford said after the win. “We weren’t strong the entire game and there wasn’t a lot of offense to start.”
“But, you saw how ‘Bam’ can take over a game,” Clifford added. “He didn’t have his best performance tonight and he typically doesn’t shoot a lot of 3s, but ‘Bam’ is an exceptional player. If everything goes as planned, he’ll be a professional player down the road.”
The final game of the tournament Saturday night saw Mt. Zion (Md) outlast Elev8 Academy 76-68 in overtime in a game that had a more-than-unusual finish for the two post-grad teams that played 20 minute halves.
Mt. Zion looked to have the game won in regulation, up 2 points with one second left and Elev8 inbounding from under the Mt. Zion basket.
A length-of-the-court pass to the Elev8 free throw line was caught, juggled and followed by a twisting shot that was off the mark.
But, a foul was called on the shot, and after a discussion among the referees, and protest by Mt. Zion that time had expired, Elev8 was awarded a pair of free throws that were made to send the game to the extra period.
“That was a very long second,” Mt. Zion head coach Rodrick Harrison chuckled of the finish in regulation. “This is a great tournament and this was an exciting game. Whenever we play Chad Myers and Elev8 it’s a dogfight. Last year at our place they pulled it out on a tip-in at the buzzer.”
Among ‘Big-11’ entrants in the tournament, David Redding’s Glenvar Highlanders knocked off Grayson County 60-47 on Friday as Logan Williams scored 23 points, Marshall Snider netted 12 and Hank Conner added 10 points in the Glenvar victory.
Saturday afternoon, Ed Green’s North Cross Raiders fell to NW Guilford (NC) 90-46. Jordan Lowery led the North Cross scoring with 15 points.
Also, locally, Faith Christian dropped a 45-34 decision to Bishop McGuiness on Friday despite 17 points from 7-foot-2 Warrior center Brendan Newton.
The Chance Harman Classic began in 2008 as a fundraiser for pediatric cancer in memory of Chance Harman, son of Floyd County boys head coach Brian Harman. Chance died in 2007 at age 4 from a brain tumor.
“The tournament’s success has been a combination of the great players and teams that return every year,” Brian Harman said Saturday night in the packed gym. “We have the big name teams and big recruits here that people like to see, but it’s all the local teams and their fans that draw the crowds.”
“Up to this year we’re pushing $300,000 in money raised for cancer research and scholarships for local athletes. We might not cure the disease, but if we can extend a child’s life even 2 or 3 weeks, we have given something to that child and their family.”
Bill Turner
