Day 2 of Slam Dunk brings out big crowds and electric games

What they got was the very definition of Slam Dunk to the Beach, a three-ring circus of alley-oops and tomahawk jams that P.T. Barnum would’ve gladly booked. Simply put, it was the most entertaining game in tournament history. 

Mohamed Bamba caught a pass from Cameron Reddish and laid it in at the buzzer to give Westtown (Pa.) a 70-68 victory over Gray Collegiate (S.C.) in an up-and-down affair that featured 20 dunks - yes, you read that right - and at times resembled an NBA all-star game. The 6-foot-11 Bamba lived up to his billing as the nation’s top senior center, scoring 27 points and pulling down 13 rebounds to help Westtown survive a 39-point night from Gray Collegiate point guard Jalek Felton.

With the score knotted at 68, Felton and Gray Collegiate had a chance to win it in their final possession, but Felton was stripped by Brandon Randolph as the clock wound down. The ball took a few caroms and ended up in the hands of Reddish, who fired it to a streaking Bamba for the game-winner.

Felton, a North Carolina commit and the nephew of L.A. Clippers guard Raymond Felton, looked the part of a blue chip. He carried Gray on his back for most of the game, hitting seven of his nine three-point shots, rattling the rim on breakaway jams, and bringing the crowd to its feet time and time again. At one point in the first half, Felton drove to the basket through two defenders, faked a behind-the-back pass that nearly fooled a Westtown big man off his feet, and in the same motion hammered home a one-handed dunk. It was an And-One Mixtape moment that left mouths agape and saw a few kids run onto the floor in disbelief.

But Bamba and Co. overcame Felton’s heroics by scoring the game’s final five points and holding Gray scoreless over the final 2:36. After Felton hit a 15-footer to put his War Eagles up 68-65, Seyon Kpann answered with a put-back for Westtown and Bamba tied it with a free throw one possession later, setting up the final sequence.

Felton finished 15-for-27 from the floor and left no column in the box score unchecked, adding six rebounds, five steals and four assists. Bamba went a perfect 12-for-12 from the floor and blocked four shots for Westtown (13-2), which also got 17 points on 8-for-11 shooting from junior wing Jake Forrester. Randolph, an uber-athlete who will play at Arizona next season, chipped in with 13 points, seven assists and at least four show-stopping dunks.

Forrester scored the game’s first nine points and got the crowd on its feet with a nasty one-handed put-back early in the first quarter.

Sophomore forward Juwan Gary scored 16 points and collected eight rebounds for Gray Collegiate, which plays a daunting national schedule and fell to 3-5 on the season.

Westtown shot an eye-popping 32-for-48 (67 percent) from the floor and hit 30 of its 34 tries from two-point range (88 percent).

Other Day 2 results:

Eleanor Roosevelt (Md.) 65, St. Michael’s (Canada) 45 - Jaden Faulkner scored 12 points and pulled down nine rebounds for Roosevelt, which blew the game open early in the second half and never looked back. Augustine Okafor added 12 points of his own, while Barly Kanu put in 10 points and hit a pair of three-pointers. Harvard commit Danilo Djuricic led St. Michael’s with 17 points and 12 boards.

Bishop McNamara (Md.) 57, Our Savior New American (N.Y.) 52 - The Mustangs completed a 2-0 Slam tourney on the strength of 15 points and three three-pointers from gritty guard Johnathan McGriff. McNamara also got 13 points from guard Garrett Kirkland and an 11-point, six-rebound night from 6-foot-9 sophomore big man Makhel Mitchell. St. John’s signee Boubacar Diakite posted a double-double of 20 points and 13 rebounds for previously unbeaten Our Savior. Down one point after three periods, McNamara opened the fourth quarter with a 12-4 run that all but decided things. McGriff canned a three and Mitchell converted two lay-ups during the spurt.

Bishop Loughlin (N.Y.) 82, Paul VI (Va.) 79 - Senior shooting guard Keith Williams scored 12 of his 32 points in the fourth quarter and added 11 rebounds to carry Bishop Loughlin across the finish line in a frenetic, back-and-forth contest. The Cincinnati signee hit two dagger three-pointers in the final five minutes to help the Lions improve to 8-1 on  the year. Freshman guard Jeremy Roach impressed for Paul VI, as he poured in 26 points on 11-for-15 shooting and dished out five assists. Guard Anthony Harris and blue-chip forward Brandon Slater scored 20 points each for Paul VI, while Bishop Loughlin guard Markquis Nowell tallied 14 points - all in the second half - and 10 assists.

Archbishop Wood (Pa.) 72, Sanford (Del.) 47 - This one was never in doubt, as Delaware’s most decorated program could never get it going against the hot-shooting Vikings from the Philly Catholic League. Point guard Collin Gillespie had 18 points, nine rebounds and six assists for Archbishop Wood, which hit 10 three-pointers on the night and never trailed. The Vikings also got 20 points from guard Matt Cerruti, who went 3-for-4 from long range. Freshman phenom Jyare Davis scored 18 points and grabbed six rebounds for Sanford. 

St. Benedict’s (N.J.) 70, Sagemont (Fla.) 53 - The Gray Bees improved to 9-1 on the season by throttling one of Florida’s top teams. Senior guard Najja Hunter did a little bit of everything for St. Benedict’s, amassing 17 points, six rebounds, six assists and six steals, while Matthue Cotton added 16 points. Syracuse commit Bourama Sidibe controlled the paint on both ends of the floor, finishing with 13 points, eight boards, and five blocks. UConn pledge Tyler Polley scored 13 points to lead Sagemont, which stayed within striking distance until St. Benedict’s pulled away late in the third.