Gaffney sophomore sensation L.J. Peak put on a show in the second game of Tuesday’s opening night, scoring a game-high 40 points on 13-of-24 shooting, including 6 of 9 3-pointers.
But it was the flurry by the 6-foot-4 Peak in the last minute of the first half that had the crowd buzzing at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.
With Ballard (Ky.) leading 46-28, Peak hit three straight 3s, the first two with 56 and 31 seconds left in the half. Then, with time running out, Peak grabbed a rebound, dribbled across midcourt and swished a trey from about 35 feet as the buzzer sounded, cutting the Ballard lead to 46-37 at the half.
“I think he showed them he’s a pretty darn good player, too,” Gaffney coach Mark Huff said. “God put people on earth to do certain things and he put L.J. on earth to play basketball. He did a great job for us and he’s just special.”
The 40 points L.J. Peak posted ties him for 11th all time at the Beach Ball, which seems like an impressive enough feat.
But it’s more impressive when you look deeper into it.
Peak is the first player in a decade to score even 38 points. The last player to post that many points was Bracey Wright of The Colony (Texas), who tallied 44 on Dec. 28, 2001.
Lakota’s big loss
Lakota East entered the Beach Ball Classic shorthanded, having lost senior Mark Minch, a Division I scholarship player for the year in the team’s first scrimmage, and another key player to an injury in the fall.
It got a lot worse for the Thunderhawks early in their opening game against Socastee.
The team’s top player in the tournament, 6-3 junior Stedman Lowry, slipped as he was making a cut and felt a pop in his knee, dropping to the floor in excruciating pain. Doctors fear Lowry has a torn anterior cruciate ligament.
Lowry has an X-ray scheduled Wednesday morning and plans to have an MRI. “They think I might have torn my ACL but they don’t know for sure,” he said. “I felt it like pop weird.
“I felt like I could have a really good tournament. It’s really disappointing. Hopefully it’s not torn and I can get back at it soon.”
Lowry came into the tournament averaging 18 points per game, and said he’s been playing as well as he has in his career.
“It very much is disheartening,” Thunderhawks coach Wally Vickers said. “We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We have to move on and keep working to be the best team we can be.”
A tournament first
Technically, the Beach Ball Classic’s field features two area teams.
On Tuesday two other teams got their first chance to grace the court at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, though.
Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach defeated Green Sea Floyds 49-45 in what was dubbed a pre-tournament game that began at 1:30 p.m. to make sure everything was in place for the main event to begin at 3:30 p.m.
“I approached Mayor [and Beach Ball Classic executive director John] Rhodes to see how we could get into the [tournament],” Christian Academy coach Darren Gore said. “He told me when they started doing their setup and I asked if I could play one of my home games as a prelude to getting started.
“He brought it to the committee when they met and they thought it was a great idea.”
Rhodes said he is open to having Christian Academy play in the pre-tournament opener again.
“We would look at it. I was pleased with the attendance and the way the game was played,” he said. “The Christian school has a young team, so we’re open to maybe doing it again.”
Continuing? Gore said his played rejoiced in getting to play at the Convention Center.
“They loved it,” Gore said. “We went and had practice [Monday] morning to just get used to court and get used to the lighting. [Our players] wanted to play their best and they did.”
Christian Academy made best of the opportunity, beating a public school for the second time in its history. The Saints topped Carvers Bay last season.
“It’s the first time we’ve done it. It got a chance to let people see Myrtle Beach Christian Academy, which has already won a couple state championships in the private schools,” Rhodes said.
Gore said the experience was positive for his squad – and for Beach Ball.
“It gave two local teams a chance to play,” Gore said. “I talked to [Beach Ball officials] today and I think they might invite us to make it an annual thing. They had a bunch of extra fans stay over. Hopefully they garnered [support] from our game.”
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