Beach Ball Classic notebook: New York’s Christ the King to make return after 13 years
New York City powerhouse Christ the King hasn’t been to the Beach Ball Classic in 13 years, but its returns will be a lot more frequent beginning next year.
The school has made a verbal agreement for the boys and girls teams to come to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center in alternating years for the CresCom Bank Holiday Invitational and Beach Ball, according to tournament director John Rhodes.
“We know we’re going to have the best program in New York City coming to the Beach Ball every other year,” Rhodes said. “The boys team will be in next year’s Beach Ball.”
Christ the King was a participant in the first Beach Ball game ever played against Myrtle Beach on Nov. 30, 1981 at Coastal Carolina University, and won the inaugural eight-team tournament with a victory over W.T. Woodson.
The Royals have played in four Beach Balls, but haven’t participated in 13 years.
They went 1-2 in both 1982 and 1996 and reached the semifinals in 2002 before losing to Bishop O’Connell and going 2-2.
“That’s going to be a good recruiting tool, too, because other schools on the West Coast might not have a shot at Christ the King, and they’d like to have a chance to play against a school that has a great reputation that they don’t see,” Rhodes said.
Off the mark
A day after breaking a Beach Ball Classic team record for 3-pointers in a game with 19, St. Edward (Ohio) couldn’t replicate the sharpshooting effort Wednesday.
The Eagles didn’t even come close. Then again, they attempted just half the amount of treys they took Tuesday.
St. Edward was just 5 for 24 from behind the arc and fell to Mustang (Okla.) 73-64 in a consolation game.
“We obviously want to stretch the floor and shoot 3s,” said St. Edward coach Eric Flannery, whose team attempted 48 3-pointers Tuesday. “We didn’t shoot as many because of their size, length and athleticism. … This is why we come here, though.”
In the first half, the Eagles were 1 for 12 from behind the arc and entered the locker room with a 15-point deficit. They shot substantially better in the second half as they cut into the Broncos’ lead, but Mustang proved to be too much and ran away with the victory.
“I thought we came out and played a little timid and intimidated just because of their length and their size,” Flannery said. “Even the open looks we had early, we kind of rushed. Once we kind of settled in and made one or two, we started feeling a little more comfortable. But I was really disappointed with the first half. I felt like we did a really good job of fighting in the second, though.”
The Eagles finished the tournament with a 1-2 record, and had 31 total 3-pointers during their time in Myrtle Beach.
Naming rights
For the first time in Beach Ball Classic history, we have a team name for the tournament’s All-Name Team – the Poca Dots.
In the starting lineup for the Poca Dots are: Mater Dei’s righteous and litigious Justice Sueing, Montverde’s Simisola Shittu, Poca’s Elijah “decaffeinated” Cuffee, St. Edwards’ Paul Gassman and St. Edwards’ Thomas “You’re a” Schmock.
On the All-Name Second Team are Mater Dei’s Michael “Chicken” Wang, Mustang’s York “Peppermint Patty” Benjamin. Myrtle Beach’s Ben “Thin” Mintz, and St. Francis’ duo of “Slim” Chance Anderson and Sean “Two tickets to” Paradise.
The Third Team consists of St. James’ Jordan “On a” Furlough, Seton Hall’s Onyemaechi Eguh, Moeller’s Ben Reutelshofer and Kenneth Wead, Mater Dei’s A.J. Firey.
Honorable mentions go to Bartow’s Kamel Smith and Akari Jones, East Jackson’s Ivan Souffrant, Mullins’ Nizohn Powell, Myrtle Beach’s Ja’Kwasi Adams, Seton Hall’s Ryan Toohers, Shadow Mountain’s Darion Spottsville and St. John’s Qwanzi Samuels.
The team is coached by Bartow’s Terrence “The Crime Dog” McGriff, and his capable staff of assistants includes Mater Dei’s Shu Isgawa, Poca’s Gig Cullifer, Seton Hall’s Galen Criqui and Moeller’s Mike Sussli.
Alan Blondin: 843-626-0284, @alanblondin; Max McKinnon: 843-626-0302, @mmckinnonTSN; Ian Guerin: @iguerin
Inside Day 5
Scoring machine: Mullins junior Jalek Felton, a UNC commitment, broke a Beach Ball Classic record for points in a single game with 55 and tied another tournament record for most 3-pointers in a game with 9 in a win over Poca (W.Va).
Highlight reel: Poca 6-4 junior Luke Frampton gave a glimpse of his overall scoring talents with a 3-pointer from 4 feet behind the 3-point arc while being fouled, followed on the Dots’ next possession by a soaring alley-oop dunk off the baseline.
Number crunching: Mustang (Okla.) 6-4 senior Curtis Haywood had 25 points on 10-of-13 shooting from the field, while the rest of the Broncos starters were just 11-for-30 for 35 points in a consolation bracket win over St. Edward (Ohio).
Game of the Day: With a berth in the championship game on the line, Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) played reigning three-time national champion Montverde (Fla.) to a 25-25 stalemate in the first half before the Eagles pulled away in the second half for a 66-59 win.
On the Horizon: The championship game between Montverde and the Shadow Mountain (Ariz.)–St. John’s College Prep (D.C.) winner is scheduled for 7:30 p.m., and the first of five games on the final day begin at noon.
Compiled by Max McKinnon and Alan Blondin
This story was originally published December 30, 2015 at 10:10 PM with the headline "Beach Ball Classic notebook: New York’s Christ the King to make return after 13 years."