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Rumph Classic: F.O.E. ousts Rumph Center in semis, hints at 'surprise' for championship

08/07/2022, 9:00pm EDT
By Ty Daubert

Ty Daubert (@TyDaubert)
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OLNEY — No Morris twins, no problem for Team F.O.E.

Playing in the semifinal of the 17th annual Danny Rumph Classic on Sunday afternoon at La Salle’s Tom Gola Arena, Family Over Everything used a full team effort to win its second straight elimination game without NBA forwards Markieff and Marcus Morris on the floor.

After jumping ahead early, Vinny Simpson hit the 3-pointer to ice the game and fend off a late Rumph Center push, securing a 70-63 victory to send F.O.E. to Monday night’s championship game of the charity pro-am against Blue Magic.

“It feels good, man,” Simpson said. “Playing in this always feels good, especially the championship game. That’s the most exciting day. … Our team hasn’t played in the Rumph since 2019, so to come back and make it to the championship game is perfect.”

The former Cardinal Dougherty and Hampton guard nailed a jumper from well beyond the arc at the left wing to put F.O.E. up nine points with 1:01 remaining and protect a lead the team had built from the beginning.


Vinny Simpson plays for F.O.E. on Saturday. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

F.O.E went up 17-4 to start the game as former SMU standout Markus Kennedy slammed home two of his six first-quarter points to complete the run. The tandem of Kennedy and Thomas Robinson, a first-round pick in the 2012 NBA draft and a college teammate of the Morris twins at Kansas, put pressure on Rumph Center inside early on. Forward Alize Johnson, most recently of the New Orleans Pelicans, picked up three first-half fouls as the F.O.E. bigs helped create a 40-23 advantage at half.

Jay Nixon, who scored 14 points for F.O.E., kept the production up in the second half to take a 19-point lead into the fourth quarter. But that’s when Rumph Center started to chip away, firmly getting back into the game in the last three minutes as Shannon Givens started to feel it from outside.

The former West Chester guard buried two deep 3s in a row to cut the deficit to single digits and give Rumph Center some life. A dunk from Pottstown High graduate Antonio Moore then brought the team within six points with 1:28 to play.

“I mean, that’s what I’m known for,” Givens said of his big shots. “That’s what I usually do. I was bad, I missed earlier on. If I had made some earlier on it, it might have been a different game. But it felt real good.”

F.O.E. quickly responded, however, feeding Simpson on the perimeter. His catch-and-shoot triple hit all net, providing a nine-point lead and the breathing room needed to complete the victory.

“The ball just came my way,” Simpson said. “As a good shooter, I had to shoot it. It happened to fall in, and that was it.”

Moving onto the championship out of the losers’ bracket, F.O.E. will take on the undefeated Blue Magic on Monday at 7 p.m.. There have been some moving parts for Blue Magic so far in the Rumph, but former Temple star Scootie Randall has been the consistent force behind the team’s 3-0 start.

The 6-foot-7 Randall had the game-winning steal and score in overtime on Thursday as Blue Magic upset New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson and 8EYE. He scored 13 in a variety of ways to defeat a CTC team featuring Cleveland Cavaliers forward Lamar Stevens and a number of former Villanova standouts on Friday. On Saturday, Randall dropped 10 to beat Rumph Center and earn a spot in the championship.

Blue Magic has also featured Brandon Austin (Imhotep) and Novar Gadson (Rider) as scorers around Randall.

The solid core of F.O.E, which downed defending champion Rex6 on Saturday night before its win on Sunday, will have the Morris brothers back in the mix for the Rumph Classic final. The presence of Markieff and Marcus is a real difference-maker for the team and should only add to the excitement.

“It makes the game easy,” Simpson said. “It makes the game real easy, giving the ball to them.”

Additionally, Simpson hinted that F.O.E could have some extra reinforcement for the championship. He would not reveal any names, but noted that the Philadelphia crowd might enjoy itself on Monday.

“We got a surprise coming,” he said with a smile. “I can’t tell you who, but it’s a home-team favorite. We got a surprise for y’all.”


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