FORT MYERS, Fla.- The 51st Annual City of Palms Classic resumed on Thursday with eight Top 25 nationally ranked teams and 40 of the Top 100 players in the nation on display.
HSSportsFlorida staff writer Ross Van De Griek is on the grounds of the Suncoast Credit Union Arena in Fort Myers throughout the week.
Dylan Mingo (Long Island Lutheran)—The 6’5 junior point guard led the team in scoring for the second consecutive day, even though the team is without Syracuse signee Kiyan Anthony and Marquette signee Nigel James. Mingo finished with a game-high 30 points, seven rebounds, and 10 assists in the 93-57 win over Gateway Charter.
Kayden Mingo (Long Island Lutheran)- The Penn State signee was efficient on all three scoring levels, finishing with 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field, 3-of-6 from behind the arc, and 3-of-4 from the free-throw line.
O’Neal Delancy (Gibbs)– The 6’4 sophomore shooting guard got his shine of the spotlight making his debut at the City of Palms Classic where he finished with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field and 2-of-4 from behind the arc.
Malcolm Price (St. Joseph)- The 6’0 sophomore guard has some huge signs of maturity in getting his teammates involved as well as having an efficient first half for himself. Price finished with 20 points and seven rebounds while shooting 7-of-10 from the field (4-of-6 from three)
Tounde Yessoufou (St. Joseph)– The 6’6 senior small forward and Baylor signee had another day in the office where he was playing with a high motor and elite athleticism. Yessoufou finished with 24 points, five rebounds, three steals, and a block in the win over Edgewater.
Darius Acuff Jr. (IMG Academy)– The 6’2 senior point guard and Arkansas signee is one of the top clutch performers playing in this year’s event, putting his team on his shoulders. Acuff finished with 38 points, including the go-ahead 3 to lift the Ascenders to a double-overtime win over Oak Cliff Faith Family Academy (Texas). The Ascenders rallied from being down as many as 16 to advance to the Quarterfinal round (81-78).
Davion Adkins (Faith Family Academy)– The 6’8 junior four-star center did a great job when it came to getting easy buckets in the paint through the first three quarters. His confidence rose when his teammates needed him the most when he got a running floater to go with two seconds left in the first overtime to tie the game at 71.
Jaxon Richardson (Columbus)– The 6’6 junior wing put on an absolute showing for the No. 1 ranked Columbus Explorers on Thursday night. With all the attention on Duke signees Cameron and Cayden Boozer, Richardson finished with 16 points on an efficient 8-of-9 shooting from the field and four rebounds in the dominant win over Great Crossing (Kentucky) on Thursday night.
Caleb Gaskins (Columbus)– The 6’7 junior power forward was a menace on the interior for the Explorers on Thursday night finishing with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field. He also added six rebounds in the win.
CJ Ingram (Montverde Academy)– The 6’6 senior guard and University of Florida signee brought a lot of attention on the national stage Thursday night, finishing with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds in the win over Millennium (Arizona).
