Top Performers: City of Palms Classic (Day 4 – Part 2)

Mountain Brook, out of Alabama, and Imhotep Charter, out of Philly, advanced to the semifinals of the 46th annual City of Palms Classic on Thursday at Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers.

Mountain Brook will play McEachern, out of Georgia, at 9 p.m. Friday, while Oak Hill Academy (Va.) does battle with Imhotep at 7:15 p.m. The championship game is scheduled for Saturday.

Thursday’s final scores were:

St. Louis (Mo.) Vashon 85, Kissimmee Osceola 76

Miami Christian 96, Gray Collegiate (S.C.) 80

La Crosse (Wis.) Central 70, Brunswick (Ga.) 57

Miami Palmetto 60, Lakeland 52

Petal (Ms.) 78, Glens Falls (N.Y.) 56

Imhotep Charter (Pa.) 57, University School 54

Mountain Brook (Ala.) 72, IMG Academy 67

Here is Part 2 of Thursday’s top performers:

Donta Scott (Imhotep Charter)

The 6-foot-7 senior (pictured), ranked among the top 150 seniors in the country by PrepHoops.com, led the Panthers past national-top 5 Davie University School. Offensively, the Maryland recruit dropped in 23 points (including three 3-pointers) and pulled down 7 rebounds. He connected on 8 of 14 shots from the field. 

Scott was particularly key Thursday as Xavier 4-star signee Dahmir Bishop was knocked out of the game with a bad ankle injury with 3:17 remaining in the first quarter.

Scott and Co. held previously unbeaten University School to 2-for-20 shooting (10 percent) in the first half. "It's about defend, defend, defend," Scott said. "Like if we're not defending, we're not Imhotep."

Trendon Watford (Mountain Brook)

The unsigned 5-star senior dropped a 38-spot on IMG Academy as the Ascenders were the second national-top 5 team to fall Thursday night.

Watford, whose four finalists are Alabama, Memphis, Indiana and LSU, connected on 9 of 19 from the field and went to the free-throw line 23 times for his 38 points. He also had 12 rebounds.

The 6-9 phenom broke a 59-59 tie with a layup with 2:15 remaining and scored 9 of the Spartans' final 13 points to keep IMG at bay.

Johnny & Jordan Davis (La Crosse Central)

Johnny Davis (2020) was on fire, knocking down 14 of 18 from the field in a 13-point victory over Brunswick, Ga. The 6-foot-5 junior, who has been offered by Wisconsin, finished with 33 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

"He is ultra-competitive," said coach Todd Fergot. "He's a very good defender. He has good vision. Offensively, he is relentless." 

Twin, Jordan (2020), contributed 13 points, 4 rebounds and 4 steals. "I'm more of a shooter and he's more of a penetrator," Jordan said of Johnny. Coach Fergot adds: "When they were incoming freshmen, Jordan was the better of the two players. Then he had a ankle injury [as a sophomore]."

Programs in the mix for the brothers include: Wisconsin, Northern Iowa, UNLV, Minnesota, Virginia, Nebraska, Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Wisconsin-Green Bay.

Joyful Hawkins (Brunswick)

Meet a bouncy, athletic, 6-8 ninth-grader. Hawkins, who grew 3 inches since last year, does not play like a freshman. His grandfather, Alonzo, stands 7-feet-2 and his dad is 6-9.

Hawkins canned 8 of 10 shots from the field on the way to a 18-point, 5-rebound, 2-steal performance in the loss to La Crosse Central. 

Asked what he could take away from the tournament, Hawkins said: "Playing against good competition as a freshman. I'm happy to be here at City of Palms." He plays for Atlanta Big 5 on the travel circuit.

Nickolas Silva & Gonzalo Gonzalvo (Miami Christian)

Silva, a 6-7 junior out of Brazil. scored 23 points in 21 minutes as Miami Christian put up 96 points on Gray Collegiate. Silva connected on 8-of-9 field goal attempts and contributed 4 rebounds and 2 steals. "We moved the ball today like way better than we did last game [in the loss to McEachern] and that was the key," Silva said. 

Gonzalvo can be lights out when he gets rolling. Thursday, the 6-3 senior was 6 for 13 from 3-point land to finish with 18 points. He took only one shot that was not a 3-pointer.

Luke Anderson (Lakeland)

Anderson had an off-day for his standards in the loss to Miami Palmetto, but finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds. You can see why the 6-8 small forward drew numerous offers before ending up at Iowa State over Georgia. Palmetto defenders continually chirped to either go away from Anderson or not let him get the ball. 

Anderson said his visit to Ames, Iowa, was a game-changer. "I was going to either between Georgia or Iowa State. When I went to Iowa State, I was like 'This is it.' The fans up there are crazy." The Cyclones like the fact that Anderson can play multiple positions. "Position-less basketball."

If you have high school basketball news, you can reach Pat Lammer via e-mail at PatALammer@Gmail.com or via text at 954-661-9671.