It’s the 50th edition of The City of Palms Classic! Kicking it off is a very young team from Arizona in Millennium just outside of Phoenix, taking on perennial DC power Paul VI. The Panthers of Paul VI come in short-handed as 6’10 senior Patrick Ngongba has a soft boot on his left foot and is using a scooter to get around. Still, the Panthers, which started out ranked #5 in the Ball is Life Fab 50, are one of the deepest squads in the country. Millennium returns all five starters from an Arizona state finalist, most notably super sophomore Cameron Holmes.
Millennium got on the board first with a drive from 6’2 junior Quincy Everson. Paul VI responded right back with a mid-range jumper from 6’6 senior and Duke signee Darren Harris. The back-and-forth continued until Ben Hammond of Paul VI put back a miss and then Harris scored on a drive with 4:20 left to give the Panthers a 10-6 advantage. After the media timeout, Paul VI extended its lead to 12-6 on another Harris bucket. Millennium broke its drought with a mid-range shot from Holmes. A three from Anthony Brown of Paul VI put them up 18-11 with 1:40 to play in the period. Millennium finished out the scoring for the quarter with three free throws to make the score 18-14 after one quarter.
Millennium drew within one on a three from J.T. Amundsen to open the second period, but a drive from Harris and an inside bucket from Garrett Sundra gave Paul VI a 22-17 lead with just over five minutes left in the quarter. Millennium went almost 3:30 without scoring but finally connected on a free throw to draw within four. The teams then traded buckets for a while and with 2:31 left in the half, Paul VI was up 29-25. Paul VI got a putback bucket from Hammond but Millennium’s Sabien Cain hit a three to get to within three. A late putback by Jacquan Womack of Paul VI made the score 33-28 in favor of Paul VI at the half.
A three from Hammond of Paul VI and a free throw by Jordan Smith elevated the Paul VI lead to nine at 37-28 less than forty-five seconds into the third quarter. A three from Holmes got Millennium on the board and back to within six. Harris responded with a three for Paul VI and after a drive and score by Millennium’s Cain, Hammond of Paul VI completed a three-point play to give the Panthers a double-digit lead at 43-33. The teams battled back and forth until with 2:39 left in the quarter and Paul VI up 50-40, Millennial’s Cain hit a three and after a bucket inside for Paul VI, Amundsen hit a three for Millennium to bring them back to within six, 52-46, with just under two minutes to play. A Paul IV two pointer and free throw was answered by a Millennium three before the buzzer and with one period left to go. It was anybody’s game, 55-49, heading into the final period.
Paul VI scored six unanswered to start the fourth period and that was the start of the end for Millennium. The Paul VI lead never dropped below double-digits and Paul VI pulled away to win a closer-than-score indicates game, 80-61.
Hammond led Paul VI with 21 points while Harris added 17 points and Smith finished with 15 points.
For Millennium, Holmes led the way with 22 points and Cain finished with 12 points.