Beach Ball Notebook: Felton comes up shy of tournament’s total points record

Jalek Felton didn’t set the four-game aggregate Beach Ball Championship scoring record Thursday.

He didn’t try to.

Following a tournament-record 55-point performance Wednesday night in a win over Poca (W.Va.), Felton scored just 11 points in an 80-67 loss to Mustang (Okla.) in the consolation championship.

The Mullins junior needed 35 points to set the four-game mark but attempted only 10 shots after hoisting 35 on Wednesday.

Instead, Nizohn Powell, who scored 15 of his 17 points during a three-minute span in the opening half, and Javarius Smith (16 points) doing the bulk of the scoring for the Auctioneers. Felton had eight rebounds and four assists to go with his 10 points.

“My teammates kind of got it going early so I just kind of let them score and they continued to score,” Felton said. “I had my day yesterday so you all go ahead and score as much as you can score.”

Luke Kennard of Franklin (Ohio), now at Duke, whose single-game record of 52 points Felton broke Wednesday, set the tournament total points record of 147 last year. Felton is now second on the four-game aggregate points list with 123 points. He passed three players Thursday, including third-place Nick Emery of Lone Peak at 119.

Felton also shot just one 3-pointer Thursday after tying tournament record with nine Wednesday.

Though Felton said he intends to transfer from Mullins to a prep school next year, he expects to return to the Beach Ball Classic with a new team and a new record in his sights.

“I fell a little short but I’ll come back next year, I’m pretty sure,” Felton said. “I’m pretty sure I’ll have all that.”

Mullins went 2-2 in the Beach Ball this year after going 0-3 and 1-2 in the past two years during Felton’s freshman and sophomore years, respectively. The Aucs (4-7) will now focus on the Region VIII-AA schedule starting in two weeks. The region also includes Waccamaw, Aynor, Loris, Marion and Dillon.

“We came together,” Felton said of the past week. “That will definitely help us once we get back and play in our region and just compete. I don’t want to go back to that level. I want us to keep playing like we played here.”

12 cheers to Moeller

Archbishop Moeller (Ohio), which won the fifth-place game Thursday over Mater Dei (Calif.), benefited from added support most of the other teams in the tournament didn’t have.

Other than the local teams, Moeller (Ohio) was the only team that brought cheerleaders to the Myrtle Beach Convention Center this past week.

“They’re a big part of our program and they always travel with us,” Moeller senior Sam McCracken said. “We stay together. We’re just one big family.”

What’s surprising is the girls don’t even attend the school. Moeller is an all-boys school in Cincinnati, and the cheerleaders are from three all-girl schools in the city. The schools represented on the 12-girl squad are from Mount Notre Dame, Ursuline Academy and Saint Ursula Academy.

Cheerleading coach Debi Cass has been taking her squads on the road with Moeller basketball teams, which also support the Crusaders football team, for 16 years.

“It’s the [basketball team’s] vacation and it’s our vacation too, so you have to kind of look at it that way. They look forward to it,” said Cass, who noted her squad is often the only one at basketball tournaments.

The school has a fundraising casino night for adults that benefits several sports including the cheerleading squad, and the girls and their families also pitch in some money for the trip. During the week, the squad went to Charleston with the basketball team and lounged at the beach and a pool.

“It’s been really fun. As a team we get closer. It builds more of a sense of community,” said senior cheerleader Alexa Couch. “It’s a good experience and a good way to bond with the basketball team. Since we don’t go to school with them we don’t necessarily know on a personal level all of them, so it’s a good way to get to know the team better and get to know their parents.”

All-tournament team

(All individual award winners named to team):

▪ RJ Barrett, Montverde

▪ Elijah Cuffee, Poca (W.Va)

▪ TJ Gibbs, Seton Hall

▪ Curtis Haywood, Mustang

▪ Drue Drinnon, East Jackson (Ga.)

▪ Tony Bradley, Bartow (Fla.)

▪ Trey McBride, Moeller

▪ Jalek Felton, Mullins

▪ JJ Rhymes, Shadow Mountain

▪ Jakolby Long, Mustang

Most Valuable Player: Micah Potter, Montverde

Most Outstanding Player: Anthony Cowan Jr., St. John’s

Individual hustle: Thomas Schmock, St. Edward (Ohio)

Individual sportsmanship: Spencer Freedman, Mater Dei

Individual defense: Jeffrey Dowtin, St. John’s

This story was originally published December 31, 2015 at 10:42 PM with the headline "Beach Ball Notebook: Felton comes up shy of tournament’s total points record."