City of Basketball Love

By Owen McCue (@Owen_McCue)
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SPRING GARDEN — The 18th annual Danny Rumph Classic tipped-off on Thursday and the action did not disappoint with three of the four games coming down to the wire as action went late at a packed Community College of Philadelphia.

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 was there for the first three games and will continue coverage throughout the weekend as the tournament continues with four games Friday (5:45 p.m.), two games Saturday (1 p.m.), two games Sunday (2 p.m.) and Monday’s championship game (7 p.m.).

Here is a roundup of Thursday’s contests:

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Game 1: Basketball Finders 72, Rumph Center 70

The opening game of the tournament looked like a one-sided affair for a while with Basketball Finders holding a double-digit lead for most of the contest. However, Mike Wilson got hot from deep and turned it into a contest that came down to the wire. Shannon Givens cut the Finders’ lead all the way down to one in the game’s final seconds, but Wilson’s look at a game-winner at the buzzer was no good.

Taylor Funk, who just wrapped up his college career at Utah State following four years at St. Joe’s, led Basketball Finders with 18 points (four threes). Tyrese Martin, an Allentown native who played at Rhode Island and UConn before being drafted by the Hawks in 2022, scored 17 points in a standout effort. Villanova product Darrun Hilliard had all 10 of his points in the second half. Philly-area native Horace Spencer, who played his college hoops at Auburn, added a double-double with 10 points and 10 boards.

Even in the loss, Wilson, a Martin Luther King and West Chester product, had one of the top NIght One performances with 23 points, four assists and nine rebounds, knocking down five threes along the way. Academy New Church and Drexel product Samme Givens added 13 points, five rebounds and a pair of steals.

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Game 2: 8Eye 60, LOE 57

The storyline for Game No. 2 was similar to the night’s opener with an 8Eye squad led by Philadelphia 76er Paul Reed and new Memphis Grizzly Isaiah Todd holding the upper hand throughout most of the contest before LOE tightened things late. LOE had a chance to tie but Tony Carr’s desperation three at the buzzer never really had a chance.

Reed, who just signed a three-year, $24-million contract with the 76ers, had a few highlight dunks during a 20-point, 13-rebound, five-assist performance. Khalif Meares, who led Lincoln to the state title game during his high school career and played two seasons at Harcum College, scored 14 points to round out the effort.

LOE’s roster was an interesting one with Roman Catholic and Penn State products Lamar Stevens, Carr and Nazeer Bostick once again teaming up. Stevens, who was recently traded to the San Antonio Spurs, exploded for 27 points, including 17 in the second half. Carr, who had a hot hand in the first half, finished with 15 points.

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Game 3: CheckRock 65, Rex 6 60

The third game of the night was another good one with some star power as well. Los Angeles Clippers guard Bones Hyland, a Wilmington, Del. native, showed up an dropped in 25 points, six assists and four rebounds to help CheckRock to a comeback win.

A putback slam from Malcolm Delpeche gave CheckRock a 60-59 lead with a little more than a minute left. Rex 6 tied the score back up and eventually got an opportunity to take the lead, but CheckRock forced a turnover and Eric Ayala’s and-one with 11 seconds to go proved to be the game-winner. Ayala, a Maryland product and another Wilmington, Del. native, added 14 points in the win. Delpeche chipped in 10 points and eight boards. 

Tyreek “TyTy” Riddick exploded for nine points during a one-minute stretch in the second half to help spot Rex 6 a double-digit lead with about nine minutes left. The MCS product, who played college hoops at Neumann, finished with 12 points. Former Rumph MVP Wali Hepburn (Neumann-Goretti/Lock Haven) led Rex 6 with 13 and Jamir Hanner scored 12.

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Game 4: Blue Magic 79, For the Culture x LIDS 57

The last game of the night tipped off around 10:30 p.m. and was the only one that didn’t come down to the wire as a veteran Blue Magic squad cruised to a win to close out the night’s action.

D.J. Newbill (Strawberry Mansion/Penn State) scored 17 points and grabbed six boards; Brandon Austin (Imhotep Charter) tallied 16 points and four boards; and Scootie Randall (Communications Tech/Temple) finished with 13 points and five rebounds to lead the way for Blue Magic. Former Temple standout Nate Pierre-Louis was a bright spot for For the Culture, scoring 20 points on 10-of-13 shooting.