For most of Friday night’s Pre-Game Academy Roundball Classic high school basketball boys’ all-star game, Howard senior Dominique Taylor just wanted to have fun.
But in the final eight minutes of the sixth annual event at Tyner, his competitive nature took over.
With the game tied at 69 at the end of the third quarter and at 83 with three minutes remaining, Taylor helped his home team pull away for a 91-89 victory and was named the game’s MVP.
“This was mostly just for fun,” said Taylor, who finished with 18 points. “We went out there to play, and pass the ball to our teammates, and give the crowd what they came to see. But then when it got to the fourth quarter, we wanted to win.”
Tim Benford of Red Bank led the winning team with 20 points, while Arts & Sciences’ Hassan Cobb scored 19 and Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe’s Chris McNelly added 10. Dontay Hampton of CSAS won the 3-point shooting contest and led the visiting team with 17 points, and teammate Dominique McDuffie of Red Bank won the slam-dunk contest and scored 12.
Howard’s Dominique Harper added 15 points for the away team, and A.P. Hardaway of McMinn County followed with 10.
Gordon Lee’s Kori Penland was the girls’ MVP after leading the home team to a 71-64 victory. The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga signee was one of three North Georgia players on the roster, and Penland said she enjoyed the opportunity to play with and against her Tennessee counterparts.
“It was just a lot of fun to get to play with all these great players,” she said. “It’s my last time to wear this uniform. I guess I have to turn it in now.”
Howard teammates Catherine Williams and Melanie Hemphill scored 15 and 13 points for the away team, while Dalton’s Liz Coffey added 13 points and Tyner’s Markia Johnson was the 3-point champion.
Brainerd’s Jessica Jones, Tyner’s Lundyn Howard and Arts & Sciences’ Latrice Wickley all reached double figures in the home team’s win, while Penland led the way with a game-high 17. She said she’ll watch her future Lady Mocs teammates play in the NCAA tournament Sunday, then begin getting herself ready to join them.
“I’m just going to go to the workouts when I can,” Penland said, “and play with the girls as much as possible so I can start getting to know them.”
