By Richard Polen
rpolen@joplinglobe.com
NEOSHO, Mo. — Central Park of Alabama made its 100th consecutive victory a memorable one Wednesday night by winning the championship game of the Neosho Holiday Classic.
Devin McNeil scored on back-to-back 3s with less than four minutes remaining to put the Eagles in front 63-52, then held off South Atlanta (Ga.) for a 63-57 victory.
“Devin hit those two big 3s and we got a lead going,” Central Park head coach Donovan Broadnax said. “That’s when I decided to go to our stall game. We usually play pedal to the metal.”
Fair Grove captured the girls’ championship by hitting a 3 at the buzzer for a 43-40 victory against Bentonville (Ark.)
Central Park led 31-14 with 1 minute, 40 seconds left in the first half, but South Atlanta went on a 12-0 run to pull within 31-26 at halftime.
“We got tired at the end and he hit those two 3s, that was the difference,” South Atlanta head coach Michael Reddick said. “We’re missing two of our 6-5 guys, so it was a great experience for our young players.
“This is a first-class tournament in every way. The hospitality has been great. The townspeople we’ve met have been wonderful.”
Bernard Morena led Central Park with 17 points and McNeil had 15. Teammates Van Green, who had 11 points, and Kevin McDaniels, who had 10,. were named to the all-tournament team. Green was named most valuable player.
Rashaud Bell and Nickalus Jacobs each scored 19 ponts for South Atlanta. Jacobs and teammate James Arnold were named to the all-tournament team.
In the girls game, Fair Grove’s only lead of the night came when Domi Knight hit a 3 at the buzzer. The Lady Eagles had rallied from a 19-10 deficit at halftime to tie the game at 29.
“In the first half, we may have been a little intimidated by our surroundings and the size of school we were playing,” Fair Grove head coach Jim Moore said.
“We were looking to set a high screen for (Kayla) Kepler,” he said of the game’s last play. “When we couldn’t find her, we did a good job of finding the open person.”
Kepler and Erin Gavin of Fair Grove were named to the all-tournament team, along with Jesse March and Montana Lewis of Bentonville.
“The exciting thing for us was reaching our goal of having 16 boys and 16 girls teams,” said John Branham of Branco Enterprises Inc., which sponsored the tournament. “It has been a great time — great basketball, great talent.”
