Inside Day 1 of the 37th Beach Ball Classic

▪ Scoring machine: Cox Mill 6-6 forward Wendell Moore Jr., the top-ranked junior in North Carolina, scored 29 points in a 76-50 win over Fairland (Ohio). He hit 10 of 21 shots, including 3 of 8 from three-point range, and made all six of his free throws while also grabbing eight rebounds.

▪ Highlight reel: While teammate Jaxson Hayes wowed with a few alley-oop dunks, Wright State commitment Jeremiah Davenport of Moeller (Ohio) had perhaps the best dunk of the night, driving the baseline and slamming it down one-handed over a Scott County (Ken.) defender who attempted to challenge.

▪ Number crunching: Cox Mill raced away from Fairland with turnovers out of its zone defense and fast-break points while forcing the Dragons to play a half-court offense. The Chargers outscored Fairland 24-5 in points off turnovers and 20-2 in fast break points.

▪ Game of the day: On an opening night when the smallest margin of victory was 19 points, Fairland and Cox Mill (N.C.) at least played a competitive half as Cox Mill held just a three-point lead after 16 minutes before winning the second half by 23 points in a 76-50 win.

▪ On the horizon: Early arrivals may catch the best games Wednesday, as defending Beach Ball champion Imhotep (Pa.) takes on perennial Las Vegas power Bishop Gorman at 3:30, and 2017 Utah state finalist Lone Peak faces a DeMatha Catholic (Md.) team ranked 16th in the USA Today Super 25.

This story was originally published December 26, 2017 at 10:44 PM with the headline "Inside Day 1 of the 37th Beach Ball Classic."