Four days of action-packed basketball all led to Monday night’s championship game at the 18th annual Danny Rumph Classic.
From Bones Hyland and Jelly Walker putting on electric scoring performances, to Allen Iverson and P.J. Tucker taking in the sights, the weekend was one to remember.
Monday night’s normal Boys Showcase and championship festivities were highly anticipated, but Rumph Monday had a new twist this year as it debuted its Girls Showcase.
Boys Showcase Game
The boy’s showcase game saw the red team defeating the black team by the score of 47-43. Despite leading for most of the game, Black saw their lead slip away in the final few minutes when Red was able to use multiple threes to take the lead and held on to the lead down the stretch.
Girls Showcase Game
Black was able to escape with a gutsy 40-37 win over Red. The game was branded as a showcase of some of the best girls basketball players in not just the city, but the entire nation. Less than three minutes into the game, it was obvious this wasn’t a case of false advertisement. From between-the-legs layups, to crafty handles, to threes from way behind the NBA line, the young ladies put on the show of the evening.
Finals
When L.O.E narrowly lost to 8Eye on Thursday, the argument could be made they simply ran out of time. In Monday night’s championship game, that theory was proven true as L.O.E rode another Stevens masterclass to win the 2023 Danny Rumph Classic in their first year, defeating 8Eye 97-82.
Stevens has put on a show all tournament, and Monday was just another day at the office for him as he scored 33 points to put an exclamation point on his MVP performance.
Carr, despite not having his best performance, was able to finish the night with 13 points. Carr and Stevens won co-MVP of the tournament.
Ahmad Gilbert refused to miss out on the fun as he scored 20 for LOE, and was the focal point in the first half with 14.
Josh Sharkey gave LOE a much-needed jolt of energy also as he chipped in with 15 points and nine assists. More importantly, his overall energy and intensity off the bench sent LOE on a run midway through the first half, and the team in pink never trailed again afterward.
In what was a first close half, LOE came out of halftime firing and built a 19-point lead. Simpson refused to go down without a fight, bringing 8Eye to within eight before Stevens and company shut the door on any comeback before the final buzzer.
Simpson finished the game with 20 points, just behind Khalif Meares ‘s 21 for 8EYE.
