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Danny Rumph Classic Day 1 Roundup (Aug. 4)

08/05/2022, 10:00am EDT
By CoBL Staff

CoBL Staff (@hooplove215)
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OLNEY — The 17th annual Danny Rumph Classic tipped-off on Thursday and the action did not disappoint with four tight games going until about midnight at Tom Gola Arena.

The event is held annually as part of the Daniel E. Rumph II Foundation's effort to bring awareness to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and to provide screening for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the leading cause for SCA. 

CoBL had staff in attendance four all four games and will continue coverage throughout the weekend as the tournament continues with four games Friday, four games Saturday, one game Sunday and Monday’s championship game.

Here is a roundup of Thursday’s contests:

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Game 4: Rumph Center 71, Arete Sports 69

Though the majority of the crowd cleared out after the third game of the night, tournament host Rumph Center saved a special comeback for Thursday night’s finale.


Rumph Center's Maurice Watson Jr., right, goes up for a shot. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

Maurice Watson Jr.’s clutch play down the stretch helped Rumph erase a double-digit fourth-quarter deficit and open the tournament with a win.

“It’s always good to defend home court, and I feel like we always have home court,” Watson said. “But at the end of the day, we’re playing for the name on the front. Danny was a fighter and whenever we get down like that, we remember Danny and how much he fought and then want to fight in his name.”

Rumph Center trailed Arete Sports, 48-33, at halftime after Arete’s Wayne Stewart went off for 13 of his team-high 16 points before the break. 

Watson scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, Antonio Moore scored 10 of his 13 and Chris Lyons scored nine of his 13 points after the break to lead the comeback charge.

“As the leader, as the point guard, I didn’t think I brought the intensity in the first half, so in the second half I wanted to take over a little bit and get more guys involved and also score when I needed to,” Watson said.

Watson won titles in 2018 and 2019 in his debut for Rumph Center at the Rumph Classic. There was no tournament in 2020 and last year after having a child he wasn’t a full-time player throughout the tournament.

The goal is to finish with another championship on Monday. — Owen McCue

Game 3: Rex6 74, FOE 73

Rex 6’s Quade Green headlined the best show of the night in Game 3, igniting the crowd in a comeback effort over an FOE squad featuring Marcus and Markieff Morris


Quade Green, left, drives on Tahjere McCall. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

The former Kentucky and Washington guard and current NBA G Leaguer scored 25 points and dished out six assists as he led the defending Rumph Classic champs to a 74-73 victory. Jamir Hanner also had a monster performance in the comeback win going 10-for-11 from the field for 21 points. Reigning tournament MVP Wali Hepburn added 11.

Down two points in Team Rex 6’s final possession, Green was fouled as he attempted a 3-pointer with one second left. 

Despite FOE players wiping his shoes and the ball, chirping in his ear and doing their best to throw the former Neumann-Goretti Saint off, Green calmly buried all three free throws to give Team Rex 6 the lead, capping a comeback from a 60-50 deficit at the start of the fourth quarter.

Marcus Morris, who finished with 17 points, and Vinny Simpson, who had 14, led FOE. Morris got off a good look in the right corner for a potential game-winner after advancing the ball to halfcourt with a timeout, but the shot rimmed out. — Ty Daubert

Game 2: Blue Magic 63, 8EYE 57

Despite recent New York Knick signee and former Villanova star Jalen Brunson stirring the gym into a frenzy throughout the game, Blue Magic pulled off an overtime upset in the second game of the day Thursday.


Blue Magic's AJ English scores a bucket on Jalen Brunson. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

Brandon Austin had 17 points and AJ English and Vern Goodrich both had nine in Blue Magic’s win.

Brunson had 16 of his game-high 28 points in the first half to get 8EYE out to a 31-25 at the break, but Blue Magic locked down defensively to build a 37-36 advantage by the end of the third quarter.

Blue Magic appeared headed toward a regulation victory late in the game, but Khalif Wyatt hit a big three late and Brunson tied the game 50-50 with 23.8 seconds left.

Another former Temple star, Scootie Randall, who finished with six points and did a lot of the dirty work for Blue Magic, had the game-clinching play in the overtime period. Randall stripped his former Owls teammate Wyatt then sprinted down court for a fastbreak layup to put the game away late in OT.

Former Wildcat Darrun Hilliard joined Brunson in double figures with 10 for 8EYE. Mike Cuffee, a former Rumph Classic MVP, chipped in eight for Blue Magic. — Owen McCue

Game 1: CTC 66, PF Workout 62

CTC’s offense ran through Imhotep Charter alumni Fatts Russell. Russell scored 11 points and dished out five assists as his vision and dynamism helped his squad out to a 42-26 halftime lead. 


CTC's Jermaine Samuels goes up for a shot in traffic. (Photo: Owen McCue/CoBL)

Quite a few of his dimes were to former Villanova standout Dhamir Cosby-Roundtree, his former Team Final teammate.

“That was fun, man,” Russell said. “It brought up a lot of memories. We played on the same AAU team, so doing that was definitely fun.”

Former University of Miami teammates Ja’Quan Newton and Davon Reed led PF Workout’s second-half rally. The two scored 16 and 15 points, respectively. 

The running game-clock and CTC’s rebounding and offensive efficiency dispelled any hope that Reed and PF Workout had for a comeback. 

Despite the loss, Reed, who recently signed a multi-year contract with the Denver Nuggets enjoyed the run. 

“It was cool,”said Reed, who will leave PF Workout early to continue preparing for the upcoming NBA season. “We just took a little bit long to get going.”  

Former Villanova Wildcat James Bell closed the game out for CTC by attacking the rim. Bell finished with 13 points and shot 6-for-8 from the field. 

Another former Wildcat, Jermaine Samuels did a little bit of everything for CTC. He dominated the glass and drove aggressively, tallying 14 points and securing nine boards to earn player of the game recognition. — Jared Leveson

Other highlights from Day One …


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