This past Saturday, two champions were crowned during the ninth annual King of the County Alumni Tournament held at Lakewood High School.
The first game saw Hobbton and Midway match up. The Raiders scored first with a 3-pointer before Hobbton answered with one of its own. Midway quickly responded behind Xavier Rankins, AJ Smith and Morices Williams, using an early scoring run to build a 22-9 advantage.
The Wildcats began to find their rhythm late in the first half. Eric Murphy knocked down a 3-pointer before adding a jumper to cut the lead to single digits. DJ Davis followed with a midrange basket, and Murphy connected on his second 3-pointer of the half to trim the deficit to 27-21. Midway answered by closing the half strong to take a 36-23 lead into the break.
Hobbton carried that momentum into the second half. The Wildcats opened with a 3-pointer before Dai’vian Murrell converted an and-one opportunity. Murphy buried his third 3-pointer of the game, and Nick Senaggi added another from beyond the arc to pull Hobbton within four.
That was as close as the Wildcats would get, however, as the Raiders answered with another run and pulled away for a 73-58 victory to advance to the next round.
Union High School and host Lakewood took the floor next.
The Spartans struck first behind Dae Dae McKoy, but the Leopards answered with baskets from Eiron Smallwood, Khalil Gause and Marcus Graham to build an early lead. Union kept pace behind Booma George, while McKoy brought the crowd to its feet with a two-handed dunk after driving through the lane.
By halftime, Lakewood held a narrow 24-21 advantage.
The second half turned into one of the tournament’s most competitive games, with the lead changing hands several times over the final 20 minutes.
As time wound down, Union took a 47-46 lead after a basket from Ray Boykin. Larry Ellis split a pair of free throws to extend the Spartans’ lead to two before Lakewood called a timeout to draw up one final play.
The Leopards’ initial shot missed, but Josh Graham grabbed the offensive rebound and scored on the putback as the buzzer sounded, tying the game at 48-48 and forcing overtime.
The extra period proved just as dramatic.
Lakewood trimmed Union’s lead behind Smallwood before Marcus Graham scored on back-to-back possessions to give the Leopards a 54-53 lead with four seconds remaining.
Union still had one final opportunity.David Hickman raced the ball up the floor and banked in the game-winning layup as time expired, lifting the Spartans to a 55-54 victory and a trip to the next round.
“They had just scored, so we got the ball up real quick,” Hickman recalled after the game. “My teammate got the ball near half-court, I read the defense, got the ball and laid it in.”
The following scheduled game between Wallace High School and Clinton High School’s second team was canceled after Wallace did not have enough players to compete, resulting in a forfeit. Clinton advanced to the next round by default.
Taking the floor next were the Lakewood Lady Leopards and Midway Lady Raiders, marking the return of the women’s alumni game after several years.
Midway struck first behind Alexis Rhodes and Daija Rucker before Lakewood answered with baskets from Precious King and Ciara Bryant to take an 8-7 lead.
Neither team was able to build much separation during the opening half, as Lakewood carried a slim 15-14 advantage into halftime.
The Lady Leopards began to create some breathing room in the second half. Vonnie McNeil opened the scoring before Bryant found Brittany Boykin for an easy basket. King added another score in the paint, and Boykin later knocked down two free throws to push Lakewood’s lead to 23-15.
Midway refused to go away, cutting the deficit to three late in the game, but Lakewood held on for a 26-23 victory to capture the women’s championship.
Afterward, the Lady Leopards gathered for a championship photo with the tournament plaque.
“We’ve enjoyed this,” McNeil said following the game. “We’ve been looking forward to coming back to play for our school; it’s been many years. All the girls said they were going to get together, and we just enjoyed not just the W, but we enjoyed playing together again. It’s been 20-plus years since we played with each other, so overall, different alumni coming in to come together, I enjoyed all of it.”
Not only did the team get the opportunity to play together once again, but the alumni tournament also helps put funds back into the schools that participate.
“I’m a firm believer that it takes a village to build something great,” Lakewood’s Keshaun Evans explained. “Putting together a tournament like this is only going to help all the kids in Sampson County and Clinton City Schools as well. It helps fund the local schools and their athletic programs. It can help provide uniforms, equipment, help for traveling costs, and it can also sometimes help pay for referees here and there.”
Following a 56-50 win over Lakewood High’s second team, Clinton High School’s two alumni teams met in the first semifinal. Clinton One wore gray, while Clinton Two wore white.
Both teams exchanged 3-pointers to open the game before CHS2 began to create some separation behind Zi McNeil and Xzavier Howard, building a 17-9 advantage.
That lead didn’t last long.
Marcus Boykin caught fire for CHS1, knocking down four consecutive 3-pointers to score 12 points in a matter of minutes and erase most of the deficit. Despite Boykin’s scoring barrage, CHS2 carried a 35-31 lead into halftime.
CHS2 pushed its advantage back to nine early in the second half behind Jalen Owens, but CHS1 continued to battle. Dieon Venable scored on back-to-back possessions before Jeremiah Pope and Chris Register each connected from beyond the arc to cut the lead to 48-46. CJ Melvin answered with a basket for CHS2, but Boykin converted an and-one opportunity to trim the deficit to a single point.
As the semifinal reached its conclusion, it came down to the final possessions.
Josiah Pope knocked down a 3-pointer to give CHS2 a 52-49 lead, but CHS1 answered immediately. Boykin later gave his team the lead with a tough basket in transition, and after knocking down free throws in the closing seconds, Clinton One secured a 58-52 victory and a spot in the championship game.
Union and Midway met in the second semifinal.
The Spartans jumped out to an early 10-3 lead before the Raiders answered with three consecutive 3-pointers from Morices Williams and Vonee Marshall to even the score at 12-12. The two teams continued to trade baskets, with Midway taking a narrow 29-27 lead into halftime.
Union’s Dae Dae McKoy took over after the break.
He scored on five of the Spartans’ first six possessions, highlighted by an emphatic dunk in transition that gave Union a 37-31 advantage. Midway answered behind Williams and Marshall, cutting the deficit to 41-38.
That would be as close as the Raiders would get, however, as Union responded with another scoring run to pull away for a 65-57 victory and advance to the championship.
The title game featured Union and Clinton One battling for the right to be crowned King of the County.
Clinton’s Chris Register opened the scoring with a 3-pointer before Union answered with a layup from Booma George.
The championship quickly turned into a slugfest.
Neither team could gain much separation during the opening half as the lead changed hands repeatedly. Dieon Venable gave Clinton a brief lead with a 3-pointer before George answered with one of his own. Vic Register later knocked down a 3-pointer for the Dark Horses, while Chris Register converted a four-point play to keep Clinton in front.
Despite Clinton’s efforts, Union carried a 36-34 lead into halftime.
The second half was every bit as competitive.
Both teams continued to trade baskets as neither side backed down. With Union leading 62-61 late in the game, McKoy converted two free throws before turning a steal into another basket to push the Spartans’ lead to five.
With their backs against the wall, the Dark Horses answered.
Jeremiah cut the deficit before Marcus Boykin completed a three-point play with 10 seconds remaining to give Clinton a 67-66 lead.
Union wasn’t finished.
The Spartans responded to reclaim a 68-67 advantage with 8.4 seconds left, setting up one final possession for Clinton.
Boykin drove to the basket and was fouled with 5.9 seconds remaining, drawing a reaction from Union players. During the ensuing discussion, a technical foul was assessed to Larry Ellis, giving Boykin four free throws. He calmly knocked down all four to give Clinton a 71-68 lead.
After a Union miss, Boykin added two more free throws to seal a 73-68 victory, earning the Dark Horses the King of the County championship.
“It was pretty fun each and every year just to see everybody that we played against in high school come out,” Clinton’s JJ Robinson said. “Everyone from all the surrounding cities coming out to enjoy some basketball. It doesn’t matter about first place; it’s really just about the community getting together and taking this time to enjoy it.”
Helping organize the event was Lakewood’s Marcus Graham, who also competed in the tournament.
“It means a lot,” Graham said. “We do it to help benefit the basketball team, so it’s a fundraiser. We normally do pretty well, and we’re trying to get other county schools involved. It’s not just Lakewood hosting it; Clinton held it this past Christmas, so we’re trying to go around to different schools as well and give them a chance to benefit from it too.”
For Graham, seeing the women’s teams return to the tournament for the first time in years was especially meaningful.
“They’re just as important as the boys’ team,” he said. “So if they’re able to come out and participate, we’ll extend a reaching hand out so that they can benefit from it as well. It wasn’t hard to get them together because most of them talk with each other daily; they’re tight-knit. All it took was a phone call or a text to say, ‘Hey, we’re trying to plan an alumni tournament,’ and it worked out like that.”
As this year’s tournament came to a close, Graham said his biggest hope is to see even more schools participate as the event continues to grow.