Hargrove wins Hoops Fest dunk title

The athletes whose schools share Spriggs Road put on quite a show Friday night.

When Hylton senior Kendall Hargrove captured the dunk the contest, it capped an evening in which Bulldogs freshman Sydney White took home the girls’ three-point title and Forest Park’s Daniel Brent and Emma Kruse won two-ball.

Christ Chapel Academy freshman Stephen Brown wowed the crowd with 18 points in the first round and 15 in the final to win the boys’ three-point contest.

It was all part of Hoops Fest 16 at Hylton High School.

“I’m really excited,” White said. “I’m proud of myself.”

White had a right to be happy as she and Hargrove, began and ended the night by showcasing their respective talents.

White scored nine points in her competition to set up a final with Woodbridge’s Philandra Jordan, whose 11 points were tops in the first round.

White scored six in the final, two more than Jordan to take home a trophy.

“It means the world,” White said. “I’m so excited. I was really nervous. Praying is what helped me. Lose or win, it’s for a good cause.”

Winning certainly was not what White planned after completing a season in which she did not attempt many shots as a varsity player.

“I was taking only one or two three’s a game,” White said. “I was really surprised. I usually attack the basket in most of the games. I did what I had to do, but I never thought I’d win the competition.”

Brown put his technique to good use during the first round of the boys’ three-point shootout.

With high arcing shots, he earned the most points among his 13 competitors to ensure a spot in the final.

His opponent was Potomac’s Brian Allison who was the final shooter of the first round and first of the final.

During the final, Allison managed nine points. Brown scored 15 as he at one point hit five straight shots.

“It means a lot,” Brown said. “I thank The Lord for giving me the opportunity and some kids at school for helping me practice. It’s an honor.”

Brown also didn’t mind the lengthy time he enjoyed between his first round and final round of shooting. He was the fourth shooter in the first round. So Brown calmly waited for 10 other players to shoot in the first round and Allison to take his turn in the final before he shot again.

Allison did all he could given his situation.

“I had a rhythm going, but my legs got to me,” Allison said.

Brent and Kruse did not battle fatigue. They scored 75 points in round one of the two-ball competition and 36 in the final. They beat Stonewall Jackson’s Marquis Yates and Ryan Jordan, who combined to score 25 in the final.

“It was fun,” Brent said. “We didn’t think about a plan until we got up there.”

It looked as if Brent and Kruse had a plan all along. They sank shots from every mark on the floor. Each made sure he or she was in proper position to receive the ball for his or her next shot.

“Sometimes the best plan is to have no plan,” Kruse said.

Not needing to score nearly as many as they did in the opening round, Brent and Kruse stood under the basket and sank the easy shots to quickly pile up two points at a time.

“We just decided to hit layups to get the win,” said Brent, whose father and Forest Park principal Eric Brent witnessed his performance.

Then there was Hargrove. Sometimes he tried to be fancy and the ball bounced off the rim. Other times, he went for a simple dunk and the ball went through the basket.

He had two crowd-pleasing dunks in the opening round in which he did not try to do too much. His second dunk earned him a score of 59. The judges gave him all 10’s for his third dunk in which he converted a reverse.

His score of 167 put him in the final against Forest Park’s Troy Tyler and Gar-Field’s Lawrence Johnson.

After Tyler and Johnson earned combined scores of 104 and 58 for their final dunks, respectively, Hargrove knew his time to seize the competition had come.

The fans held up 10’s as Hargrove got set to begin his final round.

He pulled a shocker for his first dunk. He brought Hylton principal Carolyn Custard on to the floor and had her stand under the basket. Hargrove jumped over her and threw the ball down. But it did not go in the basket. A second attempt with Custard, who says she stands five-foot-six, standing with his back to him, also ended with the ball not going in the basket.

So Hargrove finally simplified his approach. His third dunk was a reverse where the ball went in and netted all 10’s from the judges.

Hargrove’s final attempt, with the fans chanting “Kendall, Kendall” was one in which Hargrove put the ball between his legs and missed the attempt. It gave him a score of 48. That attempt combined to give Hargrove a final round total of 148 and a trophy for being the dunk champion.

“[The fans] told me in advance they were coming out to Hoops Fest,” Hargrove said. “They were coming out to see if I was going to put on a show. So I was like, ‘Come out and I’ll put on a show.’”

It was a show in which his principal did not mind being involved.

“She played [along],” Hargrove said.

Staff writer Robert Daski can be reached at 703-530-3913.