In a game that was tied at 9-all through one quarter, Kayden “Bugg” Edwards was going to find his scoring touch.
D u n c a nv i l l e, Texa s ’ 6-foot-3 guard became just the second player in King Cotton Holiday Classic history — and second in as many days — to score 40 or more points in a single game and finished with a career-high 41 Friday in a 90-85 win over in-state foe Silsbee. Edwards made 14 of 30 from the field and 10 of 15 free throws, while totaling 7 rebounds and 5 assists.
“Just getting to my spots; they couldn’t stop me from going to my left,” Edwards said. “I’m left-handed and I can get to any spot I want to. Unless they were cutting it off or something, I was just going to the basket and getting my buckets.” Edwards averaged nearly 30 points per game in the three-day tournament. He had 26 in an 84-79 loss to Pine Bluff High School on Wednesday and 25 in a 69-50 loss to St. Joseph (Santa Maria, Calif.) Thursday — the same game where St. Joseph’s Tounde Yessoufou set a new King Cotton record with 46 points.
“He can really score,” Duncanville Coach David Peavy said of Edwards. “He can score at all levels — and at any level. I think he’s going to be able to do this at the next level. We’ve been working on some things, making him more of a defender, concentrate more and take care of the ball a little better. But he grew and had a good night.” Duncanville, the reigning USA Today national champion, outrebounded Silsbee 57-43 in a physical game that saw 55 total fouls. Edwards said the Panthers typically win games when they outrebound the other team.
“Us losing those first two games really showed us a lot,” Edwards said. “We have a lot to work on. Just that leadership — I’m the only returning guy from the previous two teams — I just have to be a leader on and off the floor and lead these guys to more wins and more dubs.” Both teams shot better than 40% from the floor, but they also struggled from the 3-point arc (Duncanville 6 for 24 and Silsbee 5 for 24).
Cameron Smith had 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Anijae McMillion pulled down 12 rebounds to go with 4 points for the Dallas-area Panthers.
Silsbee, based near Beaumont, led 33-32 at halftime as both teams woke up from a slow offensive start. Duncanville had a 65-64 lead after the third quarter.
University of Memphis commit Jared Harris led Silsbee with 22 points and 7 points. Dre’lon Miller totaled 17 points and 9 rebounds, LaMarcus Bottley Jr. had 14 points and 7 rebounds, and Payton Jones totaled 12 points for the Tigers, last year’s Creed Bracket champion.
ARCHBISHOP WOOD (PA.) 89, BENTON 82, 2OT
Josh Reed scored the first 7 points of the second overtime and finished with 38 points — third-most in King Cotton history — and 13 rebounds in leading greater Philadelphia’s Archbishop Wood to a 7-point win.
Reed was 16 for 22 from the floor, playing 38 of 40 minutes. Jalil Bethea added 25 points in the win.
Terrion Burgess had 33 points and 7 rebounds to lead Benton. He answered a 3-pointer by Brady McAdams with a 3 from the top of the key with 5 seconds left in regulation to tie it at 69-all.
Burgess scored off a steal to give the Panthers a 77-76 lead with 42 seconds left in the first overtime. Wood’s Ihsan Beyah was then fouled on a drive to the basket and made the second of two free throws with 6 seconds left. Burgess was called for an offensive foul on the next play.
Harris Pickett totaled 18 points and 10 rebounds for Benton.
B.T. WASHINGTON (TEXAS) 80, LITTLE ROCK CHRISTIAN 79, OT
Chris McDermott tipped in a go-ahead basket with 32 seconds left in overtime, and Houston’s Booker T. Washington survived a battle with Little Rock Christian Academy.
McDermott totaled 26 points and 20 rebounds, finishing his King Cotton run with 64 boards (21.3 per game). He also had 5 assists Friday.
Sam Johnson added 21 points and 11 rebounds, and Odis Carter Jr. threw in 18 points and 8 assists for the winning Eagles.
J.J. Andrews led Christian with 33 points, 19 rebounds and 6 assists. Corliss Williamson Jr. had 12 points and Jameel Wesley 10 for the Warriors.
Wesley, who made the tying 3-pointer with 20 seconds left in regulation, missed a pull-up shot before the final buzzer in overtime.
Christian outscored Washington 22-15 in the fourth quarter to force the extra 4-minute period.
SANDY CREEK (GA.) 58, PINSON VALLEY (ALA.) 50
Tyrone, Ga.’s Sandy Creek outscored Pinson Valley 19-6 in the fourth quarter and got 22 points from Amari Brown to finish with a 2-1 record at King Cotton.
Brown made 10 of 12 field goals in 30 minutes of action. Amari Latimer added 11 points in the win.
Austin Coner led Pinson Valley with 16 points. Clyde Walters scored 12 and Cam Frost had 11 in the loss.
ST. JOSEPH (CALIF.) 57, LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 36
Fresh off his record-shattering performance, Yessoufou collected 28 points and 10 rebounds to power the Knights to a rout of the Tigers.
Yessoufou averaged 32.3 points during King Cotton. He opened with 23 in a loss to Gonzaga College High of Washington, D.C., which played Westminster Academy of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., for the championship.
Julius Price netted 21 points for St. Joseph. For Central, Luke Moore had 10 points and Annor Boateng neared a double-double with 9 points and 8 rebounds.
THURSDAY: WESTMINSTER (FLA.) 62, LITTLE ROCK CENTRAL 49
Westminster overcame a halftime deficit to take down Little Rock Central 62-49 in Thursday’s nightcap.
Westminster led 19-15 after the first quarter despite three 3-pointers by Central. The Tigers dominated the second quarter, opening with an 11-0 run to take the lead.
Alex Constanza broke the run with a 3-pointer, but Central ultimately outscored the Lions 19-6 in the second quarter behind 11 points from Boateng. Westminster responded after halftime, winning the third quarter 18-8 and the fourth 19-7.
Boateng finished with 34 points, but no other Tigers reached double digits. Con-stanza led Westminster with 19 points, one of four Lions in double figures.
ST. FRANCIS ACADEMY AT PINE BLUFF
The game was getting underway at press time.