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WEDNESDAY, December 23 (8 games)

8:20 a.m. (Game 26): Challenge-round: Sagemont 67, De La Salle 47

10:00 a.m. (Game 27): Challenge-round: St. Frances 63, Penn Wood 61

11:40 a.m. (Game 28): Challenge-round: Dudley 65, Butler 52

1:20 p.m. (Game 29): Consolation championship: Henderson Findlay Prep (NV) 87, Fort Myers (FL) 41
Game Recap:
  • The home town boys from Fort Myers matched up in game 29 of the tournament with Findlay Prep out of Nevada. More and more college coaches popping in to catch a glimpse at the slew of high school talent in the tournament, and the crowd growing restless in anticipation of the championship game fast approaching.  Findlay jumped out to the lead going into the second quarter and kept the Green Wave at bay  with a lead of ten points.  Led by Cory Joseph (No.6, Scouthoops) with; 10 pts, 5 reb, 5 ass., a black and a steal. As well as Tristan Thompson (Texas) with; 8 pts, 7 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl, the Pilots from Nevada went into the half with a 21-40 lead. Much of the same in the second half as Fort Myers looked overmatched from the initial whistle. Thompson kicked things off with 5 straight points and setting the tone tough play inside, and dominating dunks. The size of Findlay Prep would continue to be too much as the Green Wave would not score a basket until 2:49 remaining in the third quarter. Forcing turnovers all over the floor and converting those turnovers into baskets on the offensive end Findlay dominated.  Taking the Consolation championship for the first time as a 4-0 team. Final score

3:00 p.m. (Game 30): Fifth-place final: Alpharetta Milton (GA) 57, Los Angeles Westchester (CA) 54

4:40 p.m. (Game 31-Sunshine Series): Jacksonville Providence Christian (Fla.) 63, Miami Dr. Krop (Fla.) 54
Game Recap:
  • The last Sunshine Series game of the tournament featured a team that might just have made some noise in the regular tournament field in Providence Christian from Jacksonville. Providence, in my opinion, has the strongest top 6 in the state, featuring U of Kentucky signee Stacey Poole, U of Florida signee Patric Young, Eckerd College signee Alex Bodney, top national freshman Soloman Poole, and two other top ranked juniors in the state in Wayne Martin and Will Cummings.  Their opponent was no slouch either, as Miami Dr. Krop, who features a top ranked Florida junior of their own in Angel Rodriguez, is one of the potential contenders for Florida's Class 6A State Championship.  The first quarter was the Rodriguez show, as the Krop junior guard scored 9 of his team's 17 points in the quarter in multiple ways.  Krop led 17-14 after the first 8 minutes.  In the second quarter though, Providence would open up with a 13-0 run to take control of the game, but Krop would even it out towards the end of the half to keep it reasonable at 35-27 at the break.  The second half was also controlled by Providence, however Krop and Rodriguez kept it close throughout, with the biggest lead reaching just 10 points. In the end, Providence would get out with the 63-54 win.  Rodriguez led all scorers with 25 for the game, while Patric Young led 4 Providence players in double figures with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Stacey Poole chipped in with 13 points and 10 rebounds of his own for the winning squad. 

7:30 p.m. (Game 32): THIRD PLACE FINAL!! Saint Benedict's (NJ) 64, Montverde Academy (FL) 45
Game Recap:
  • The third place game pitted two teams that were undoubtebly upset after their losses the night before.  Montverde lost because of technical foul call, due to the celebration of one of their bench players following a free throw that should have sent them to the final. Saint Benedict's ran into the train that is Austin Rivers in the semis and he almost single handedly ran them out of the gym.  Well, the difference on this night was the bounce back factor, which St Ben's looked to have mastered just a little bit better to this point. Montverde came out fine grabbing a 12-2 lead over the first 3 minutes. However, the Gray Bees turned it throughout the rest of the first half, outscoring Montverde 26-6 over the next 13 minutes.  In the second half, St Benedict's and junior guard Myck Kabongo, a Texas commit, continued to dominate as Montverde just looked to not have an answer to slow them down or getting anything going for themselves, as the final score was indicative of that, 64-45.  Jamail Jones was the lone bright spot for the losing squad, scoring 21 points on 7 of 16 shooting.  Kabongo led the Gray Bee's with 19 points, while senior Mike Poole had 13 points and 10 rebounds, and J.P. Kambola added 10 points and 8 rebounds of his own.

9:30 p.m.: CITY OF PALMS CHAMPIONSHIP!! Paterson Catholic (NJ) 62, Winter Park (FL) 54
Game Recap:
  • For those of you who were not able to catch this game on ESPNU or in person, you missed out on a great game filled with big runs, back and forth player battles, and an all-around hard fought final game that could not leave anyone disappointed.  It was pitted as a matchup of two cinderella teams who had both taken their turns knocking off top national competition throughout the tournament.  The Austin Rivers led Winter Park Wildcats against the balanced, senior-laden, attack of the Paterson Catholic Cougars. Out of the gate, it looked as though Winter Park's cinderella run would be the one to end, and abruptly, as Paterson jumped out to a 13-0 advantage in the first quarter.  However, Rivers and his teammates would not just lay down or go away.  Instead, they answered with a run of their own.  After that first three minute, 13-0 run, Winter Park went on a 25-4 run spanning the rest of the first half, helping them take a 31-26 advantage into the second half behind 11 points from Rivers.  In the third, the teams would trade big basket after big basket but the Wildcats would ultimately have the lead entering the final quarter.  It was more of the same in the fourth, although the main difference was that Rivers was forced to do it by himself, whereas Paterson Catholic finished with their balanced attacked.  Rivers had 9 of his team's 10 points in the final quarter, while Paterson senior Fuquan Edwin, a Seton Hall commit, scored 8 in the fourth for the Cougars, but his teammates chipped in with 14 combined, giving them 22 in the final period.  It would be Edwin's converted three point play on a layup inside with 3:06 left that would ultimately give Paterson the lead in the fourth, and they would not give it back.  Edwin's three point play was part of a 12-3 run in the last 3 1/2 minutes for the Cougars, that sealed the victory for a team that came into the tourney not even ranked in anyone's top 50 much less 25.  Edwin finished with a team-high 17 points to go along with 7 rebounds, and if it was not for Rivers' 45 point outburst in his semifinal game, probably would have garnered tourney MVP honors.  Instead Rivers took the MVP trophy home for the second year in a row, but we will give the "Player of the Game" honors to Edwin for playing such a huge role in leading his squad to the ship. Edwin averaged 20 points over the four games in the tournament, while Rivers led the tourney in scoring at 28.8 per game.

*Local teams hightlighted in blue
2009 City of Palms Day 1 Game Recaps
The 37th Annual City of Palms Classic
Schedule/Scores
Tournament Info
Day-by-Day Scores & Recaps
*Game-by-game schedule
*Home team (white uniforms) is team on left
*All games at Bishop Verot HS
*Local teams hightlighted in blue
*Special events hightlighted in green

FRIDAY, December 18 (5 games)
  • 3:00 p.m. (Game 1): Baltimore St. Frances (Md.) 48, Chicago De La Salle (Ill.) 45
  • 4:45 p.m. (Game 2-Sunshine Series): Pembroke Pines Flanagan (Fla.) 61, Fort Myers Bishop Verot (Fla.) 46
  • 6:30 p.m. (Game 3): Lansdowne Penn Wood (Pa.) 65, Huntsville Butler (Ala.) 54
  • 8:15 p.m. (Game 4): Paterson Catholic (N.J.) 75, Fort Myers (Fla.) 47
  • 10:00 p.m. (Game 5): Newark Saint Benedict’s (N.J.) 80, Weston Sagemont (Fla.) 66

SATURDAY, December 19 (7 games)
  • 11:15 a.m. (Game 6): Consolation: Fort Myers 63, Huntsville Butler (Ala.) 60
  • 1:00 p.m. (Game 7): Montverde Academy (Fla.) 82, Greensboro Dudley (N.C.) 65
  • 2:45 p.m. (Game 8): Alpharetta Milton (Ga.) 79, Fort Myers Dunbar (Fla.) 53
  • 4:30 p.m. (Game 9-Sunshine Series): Orlando Dr. Phillips (Fla.) 80, W. Palm Bch. Summit Christian (Fla.) 63
  • 6:15 p.m. (Game 10): Los Angeles Westchester (Calif.) 61, Bartow (Fla.) 47
  • 8:15 p.m. (Game 11-National Showcase): Henderson Findlay Prep (Nev.) 86, Winter Park (Fla.) 75
  • 10:00 p.m. (Game 12): Quarterfinal: Paterson Catholic 61, Penn Wood 60

MONDAY, December 21 (6 games)
  • 12 noon (Game 13): Consolation: Chicago De La Salle (Ill.) 57, Bartow (Fla.) 40
  • 1:45 p.m. (Game 14): Consolation: Weston Sagemont (Fla.) 56, Greensboro Dudley (N.C.) 44
  • 3:30 p.m. (Game 15): Consolation: Henderson Findlay Prep (Nev.) 87, Fort Myers Dunbar (Fla.) 50
  • 5:15 p.m. (Game 16): Quarterfinal: Newark Saint Benedict’s (NJ) 71, Baltimore St. Frances (Md.) 52
  • 6:25 p.m.: Hans Loeser 3 Point Shoot Out (Winner: Trevor Lacey, Huntsville Butler; Runner-Up: Matt Yance, Fort Myers)
  • 7:30 p.m. (Game 17): Quarterfinal: Winter Park (Fla.) 73, Alpharetta Milton (Ga.) 64
  • 9:15 p.m. (Game 18): Quarterfinal: Montverde Academy (Fla.) 62, Los Angeles Westchester (Calif.) 47

TUESDAY, December 22 (7 games)
  • 10:15 a.m. (Game 19): Challenge-round game: Bartow (Fla.) 54, Dunbar (Fla.) 37
  • 12 noon (Game 20): Consolation semifinal: Fort Myers (Fla.) 54, Sagemont (Fla.) 51
  • 1:45 p.m. (Game 21): Consolation semifinal: Findlay Prep (NV) 78, De La Salle (Ill.) 47
  • 3:30 p.m. (Game 22): Fifth-place semifinal: Milton (Ga.) 71, St Frances (Md.) 68
  • 5:15 p.m. (Game 23): Fifth-place semifinal: Westchester (Calif.) 64, Penn Wood (PA) 62
  • 7:00 p.m. (Game 24): Semifinal: Winter Park (Fla.) 75, Saint Benedict's (N.J.) 60
  • 8:25 p.m.: Edison National Bank Slam Dunk Championship (Winner: Josue Celestin, Fort Myers High School)
  • 9:30 p.m. (Game 25): Semifinal: Paterson Catholic (N.J.) 63, Montverde Academy (Fla.) 51 (OT)

WEDNESDAY, December 23 (8 games)
  • 8:20 a.m. (Game 26): Challenge-round: Sagemont 67, De La Salle 47
  • 10:00 a.m. (Game 27): Challenge-round: St. Frances 63, Penn Wood 61
  • 11:40 a.m. (Game 28): Challenge-round: Dudley 65, Butler 52
  • 1:20 p.m. (Game 29): Consolation championship: Henderson Findlay Prep (NV) 87, Fort Myers (FL) 41
  • 3:00 p.m. (Game 30): Fifth-place final: Alpharetta Milton (GA) 57, Los Angeles Westchester (CA) 54
  • 4:40 p.m. (Game 31-Sunshine Series): Jacksonville Providence Christian (Fla.) 63, Miami Dr. Krop (Fla.) 54
  • 7:30 p.m. (Game 32): THIRD PLACE FINAL!! Saint Benedict's (NJ) 64, Montverde Academy (FL) 45
  • 9:30 p.m.: CITY OF PALMS CHAMPIONSHIP!! Paterson Catholic (NJ) 62, Winter Park (FL) 54

For more info visit CityofPalmsClassic.com