Holiday Hoopfeast Ben Trapp Bracket Day One Recap + Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>High School Basketball Feast Week continued on Wednesday with a stop in Columbia, South Carolina, at Keenan High School for the Columbia Basketball Group Holiday Hoopfeast. This event showcased twelve teams divided into three brackets. Next up in my coverage of the Holiday Hoopfeast is the Ben Trapp Bracket which featured Atlantic Collegiate Academy, Spring Valley, Dreher, and Sumter.&nbsp;<strong>Check out some notable performances, game recaps, and the five standout prospects from Wednesday's action:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Final Scores: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Atlantic Collegiate Academy 49, Spring Valley 45</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sumter 55, Dreher 47</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performers: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1172891' first='Jaylen' last='Bellamy'] (Atlantic Collegiate) - 14 Points + 4 Steals</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nicholas Gonzalez</strong> (Spring Valley) - 17 Points</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1486213' first='BJ' last='Brown'] (Sumter) - 30 Points, 12 Rebounds + 4 Blocks</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2443450' first='Jamere' last='Singleton']</strong> (Dreher) - 16 Points + 6 Rebounds</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Short-Handed Atlantic Collegiate Top Spring Valley</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Armada was down a key face on Thursday in [player_tooltip player_id='1158878' first='Jamie' last='Brooks'], who did not travel to Columbia with the team. They also went with a few new faces in the starting lineup, so Spring Valley opened up the game on an 8-0 run including a couple of early buckets from <strong>Nicholas Gonzalez</strong>, who had 8 of the team's 11 first-quarter points. However, Atlantic Collegiate answered with an 18-3 run to end the quarter as [player_tooltip player_id='1172891' first='Jaylen' last='Bellamy'], [player_tooltip player_id='2532832' first='Justin' last='Bellamy'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1485126' first='CJ' last='Hemingway'] checked into the game. The Vikings were better in the second quarter and started the third very well. The athleticism of <strong>Khayree Wilson</strong> was on display and helped his team gain some momentum. Despite strong play in the second half from Freshman Point Guard [player_tooltip player_id='2456044' first='Anton' last='Daniels'], Spring Valley hung on tight until [player_tooltip player_id='1172891' first='Jaylen' last='Bellamy'], who had to battle through foul trouble, had 4 points in the final 2:00 to help push the Armada to a win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Brown Boosts Sumter to an Overtime Win Over Dreher</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The second game of the Ben Trapp Bracket was a tight, back-and-forth affair that needed four extra minutes to be decided. The Blue Devils opened up the game with intensity, getting wings [player_tooltip player_id='2420213' first='Austin' last='Glasscho'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2253482' first='Jordan' last='Brown'] established early. They took a four-point lead into the halftime locker room thanks to a [player_tooltip player_id='2426188' first='Marcus' last='Johnson'] layup at the buzzer. The combination of Johnson and [player_tooltip player_id='1851158' first='Emmanuel' last='McCullough'] gives Dreher two extremely gritty guards who can split or share minutes. Sumter had a great start to the second half with [player_tooltip player_id='1486213' first='BJ' last='Brown'] putting up 10 Points in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the third quarter. He got it done by scoring at the rim, behind the arc, and even helping out on defense. McCollough had a tough layup to tie the game and send it to overtime, but in the extra period, the Gamecocks pulled away and got the victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Biggest Standouts:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2673884,"width":"426px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-28-24-at-10.43-AM-1.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-28-24-at-10.43-AM-1.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2673884" style="width:426px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1172891' first='Jaylen' last='Bellamy'] (Atlantic Collegiate) - Leading off the standouts from Day One at the Holiday Hoopfeast Ben Trapp Bracket is [player_tooltip player_id='1172891' first='Jaylen' last='Bellamy']. Jaylen started the game on the bench but helped turn the game in the Aramda's favor once checking in. He plays extremely hard on both ends of the floor, rarely taking plays off. It worked to his advantage in the first half racking up 10 Points and 4 Steals, but led to some foul trouble in the second half. Bellamy is a terrific athlete, fast with the ball in his hands, aggressive in attacking the basket, and an efficient spot-up shooter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2673885,"width":"425px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-28-24-at-10.43-AM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-28-24-at-10.43-AM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2673885" style="width:425px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2456044' first='Anton' last='Daniels'] (Atlantic Collegiate) - Daniels is the second member of the Armada who makes this list. He is a crafty young guard with the potential to be one of the best in the state once he fully matures. Anton ran the show for Atlantic Collegiate on Wednesday, balancing early facilitating and spot-up shooting with late playmaking and finishing at the rim. He did a good job of keeping his dribble alive in tight spaces and finding openings in the Vikings' defense. He is a good shooter around the perimeter and is also capable of pulling up in the mid-range as defenders retreat. On his defensive end, Daniels applies on-ball pressure well and works hard to fight over screens. He put up 13 Points and 3 Assists in the win.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Nicholas Gonzalez</strong> (Spring Valley) - Nicholas was a bright spot for Spring Valley in their loss to Atlantic Collegiate at the Holiday Hoopfeast. He is a 6'1" Senior who played mostly off the ball for the Vikings. Gonzalez started off the game strong with 6 quick points and 8 of the teams' 11 in the quarter. He did a great job of getting downhill with the ball in his hands and is unafraid of contact close to the basket. He earned several trips to the free-throw line and had a couple of nice finishes through fouls. In the loss, Nicholas finished with 17 Points, 11 of which came from the charity stripe.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2673883,"width":"423px","height":"auto","sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-28-24-at-10.42-AM.jpeg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/Image-11-28-24-at-10.42-AM.jpeg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2673883" style="width:423px;height:auto" /></a></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1486213' first='BJ' last='Brown'] (Sumter) - Brown is one of the premier scorers in the state and had a big second half, showing flashes of brilliance in the third quarter of Sumter's win over Dreher. He put up 10 Points in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the period and finished with 30 total on the night. BJ is a knockdown shooter and also a capable ball handler and self-creator. Teams are forced to adjust their defense to his spot-up shooting, so he can get them off balance by driving closeouts. His size and athleticism are also factors on the glass and blocking jump shots.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1851158' first='Emmanuel' last='McCullough'] (Dreher) - Emmanuel was a standout playing for his new team, Dreher, at a tournament hosted in his old gym. McCullough made the move from the Raiders this offseason and steps into the starting Point Guard role for the Blue Devils. He is a small but tough guard who relies on his intensity and toughness to affect the game. Emmanuel has good touch on his floaters and push shots around the paint, a weapon he can use to negate taller rim protectors. He also is a great passer and will scrap for rebounds and lose balls. McCullough finished with 6 Points and 4 Assists in the first-round matchup.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Friday Matchups: </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>1:00 - Spring Valley vs Dreher</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>7:00 - Atlantic Collegiate vs Sumter</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->