Beach Ball Classic roundup: How Dorman became South Carolina’s second tournament champion

Eau Claire High School finally has some company.

A 1986 Shamrocks team led by legendary coach George Glymph and tournament MVP and slam dunk champion Barry Manning had been the only team from South Carolina to win a Beach Ball Classic title.

They have been joined by three-time reigning Class 5A state champion Dorman, which defeated St John’s of Washington, D.C., 69-60 in Tuesday night’s 39th Beach Ball championship game at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

“We worked hard for this,” Dorman senior forward Justin Amadi said. “It was a great tournament. It was great competition in this tournament. Our coach told us there were going to be national teams and there were great national teams with great players on those teams.”

The Cavaliers (11-1) won with 6-10 Clemson signee P.J. Hall scoring inside and out, 6-foot Butler signee Myles Tate running the offense and scoring on drives and outside shots, and Amadi shaking the rim and backboard with alley-oop finishes.

Hall recorded 20 points and five rebounds, Tate contributed 23 points on 10-of-13 shooting along with six assists and five rebounds, and Amadi added 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and five rebounds. Dorman, which is ranked 15th in the nation in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25, shot nearly 60 percent from the field.

“We had a quiet confidence that we were as good as anybody here but we knew we were playing great basketball teams, so if you don’t bring it every night you can get beat on any of these four nights, so I’m proud of our guys,” Dorman coach Thomas Ryan said. “It started with Myles and P.J. They were both outstanding, and there’s that belief in them about winning basketball games, how to win basketball games, and it permeates throughout our whole program, and I thought you especially saw that tonight.”

Senior forward John Square Jr. paced No. 19 St. John’s (11-1) with 17 points, while freshman forward Amani Hansberry and senior Rhode Island commitment Ishmael Leggett added 14 points apiece.

Dorman’s six-point halftime lead was the largest in the first half for either team, and the Cavaliers led by as many as 12 while leading the entire second half.

▪ Long Island Lutheran 80, St. Francis 55: Ohio State signee Zed Key, a 6-foot-8 power forward, led the team ranked 15th entering the tournament by MaxPreps to a third-place finish with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Senior point guard Andre Curbelo, an Illinois signee, contributed 18 points, eight assists, eight steals and six rebounds.

St. Francis, a reigning state champion in Georgia, received 20 points and six rebounds from junior Jusaun Holt, whose offers include Georgia, Georgia Tech, Washington and Xavier.

▪ Baltimore Poly 93, Coronado 60: Brandon Murray had 25 points and eight rebounds and Marquette signee Justin Lewis had 20 points to lead Baltimore Poly.

Jaden Hardy had 23 points to lead Coronado.

▪ Harvard Westlake 77, Izard County 51: Princeton recruit Mason Hooks had 17 points and 17 rebounds to lead Harvard Westlake to a win in the consolation championship.

Caleb Faulkner led Izard County with 17 points.

▪ Whitney Young 57, Millennium 56: Duke recruit D.J. Steward had 27 points to lead Whitney Young past Millennium.

DaRon Holmes led Millennium with 22 points.

▪ University 84, Buchtel 55: K.J. McClurg had 19 points and Bowling Green signee Kaden Metheny had 13 points and 13 assists to lead University.

Justice Lane had 20 points to lead Buchtel.

▪ St. Thomas 90, Myrtle Beach 78: Jonathan Massie had 26 points and 11 rebounds, Dillon Lowe added 22 points and Maddox Kopp scored 21 to lead St. Thomas.

Charleston Southern recruit Emorie Knox had 32 points for Myrtle Beach.

▪ Morgan Park 121, Socastee 43: At the Myrtle Beach Sports Center, Morgan Park ended the tournament with a rout of Socastee.

Scores, schedule

Thursday

Game 1 – Dorman (SC) 72, Buchtel (OH) 45

Game 2 – Whitney Young (IL) 71, St. Thomas (TX) 60

Game 3 – St. Francis (GA) 73, Izard County (AR) 64

Game 4 – Coronado (NV) 73, Socastee (SC) 35

Friday

Game 5 – St. Thomas 53, Buchtel 29

Game 6 – Izard County 77, Socastee 41

Game 7 – Baltimore Poly (MD) 56, Harvard Westlake (CA) 46

Game 8 – St . Johns (DC) 65, Morgan Park (IL) 60

Game 9 – Millennium (AZ) 65, University (WV) 63

Game 10 – Long Island Lutheran (NY) 77, Myrtle Beach (SC) 44

Saturday

Game 11 – Harvard Westlake 59, Morgan Park 53

Game 12 – Myrtle Beach 79, University 73

Game 13 – Dorman 59, Whitney Young 56

Game 14 – St. Francis 81, Coronado 77

Game 15 – St . John’s 62, Baltimore Poly 56

Game 16 – Long Island Lutheran 66, Millennium 41

Sunday

Dunk and 3-point contests

Monday

Game 17 – Buchtel 47, Socastee 46

Game 18 – University 85, Morgan Park 80, 2OT

Game 19 – Izard County 70, St. Thomas 52

Game 20 – Harvard Westlake 72, Myrtle Beach 40

Game 21 – Coronado 71, Whitney Young 70

Game 22 – Baltimore Poly 71, Millennium 51

Game 23 (Semifinals) – Dorman 83, St. Francis 66

Game 24 (Semifinals) – St. John’s 53, Long Island Lutheran 51

Tuesday

Game 25 – Morgan Park 121, Socastee 43

Game 26 – Whitney Young 57, Millennium 56

Game 27 – University 84, Buchtel 55

Game 28 – St. Thomas 90, Myrtle Beach 78

Consolation Championship: Harvard Westlake 77, Izard County 51

Baltimore Poly 93, Coronado 60

Third Place: Long Island Lutheran 80, St. Francis 55

Championship: Dorman 69, St. John’s 60

This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 9:10 PM.