Hammond hammers Mullins in Chick-fil-A
Chevez Goodwin’s confidence is growing, and the results are showing on the court.
The 6-foot-10 senior poured in 21 points and 13 rebounds as Hammond defeated Mullins 79-49 in front of a jam-packed crowd at Richland Northeast on Friday in the first day of the Chick-fil-A Classic.
The Skyhawks will face Spring Valley on Monday in the semifinals of the American Division bracket at 8:30 p.m.
“He is playing with a ton of confidence and he is driving our team,” Hammond coach Mark McClam said. “Between he and Seventh Woods, they are showing excellent leadership as well.”
Goodwin’s performance comes on the heels of his 33-point, 15-rebound effort against A.C. Flora in last week’s Bojangles’ Bash at Ridge View. The College of Charleston signee, who put on 25 pounds in the offseason, credits his early-season success with his hard work put in his workouts and trying to prove he’s one of the best players, not just in the Midlands.
Goodwin started strong and had 15 points and eight rebounds in the first half as Hammond jumped out to a 10-point lead.
“It’s just confidence,” Goodwin said. “Knowing I’m one of the best players in the country and I know what I can do. Me and my dad are working out daily on my game and my skills. That is where my confidence is coming from.”
The game was billed to be a matchup of future North Carolina Tar Heels in Hammond senior Seventh Woods and Mullins junior Jalek Felton. It was the second meeting between the two top-ranked players in the state for the Class of 2016 and 2017, respectively.
In that first game, Mullins had the big supporting cast around Felton in a 66-32 victory in the 2013 Beach Ball Classic. This time, Woods had plenty of help from Goodwin, Michael Turner and Jonathan Yuchmow, all who scored in double figures. Turner also had 11 rebounds.
Woods finished with 13 points, eight rebounds five assists.
“We talked about that a lot,” Woods said of the 2013 matchup. “They blew us out by 30 and to come back and get the win in my hometown is a great experience. It was kind of a get-back game.”
Felton came off the bench and had a game-high 25 points on 7 of 19 shooting. He scored the final nine points of the first half as Mullins cut the lead to 37-27.
But Hammond (7-0) scored the first six points of the second half and its lead got no lower than 12 points in winning its 24th straight game dating back to last year.
M: Foxworth 2, Smith 6, Carroll 5, Jalek Felton 25, Harley 6, Gore 5. H: Chevez Goodwin 21, Jonathan Yuchmow 13, Michael Turner 14, Prickett 4, Seventh Woods 13, Felder 2, Luksik 2, Folline 5, Brown 5.
Spring Valley 66, Richland Northeast 57
Deangelo Ward scored 21 points and Noah Harper had 19 points as the Vikings used a late second-half run to defeat the Cavaliers.
The Vikings led 27-22 at the half but the Cavaliers tied it at 48 with five minutes left. Spring Valley answered with a 9-0 run to take control of the game and move on to the winner’s bracket of the American Division. The Vikings will play Hammond at 8:30 p.m. on Monday.
“We started following the game plan,” Spring Valley coach Perry Dozier said of his second-half spurt. “When we started to push the ball and get some easy buckets, it makes a big difference.”
Tasha Brockington led RNE with 19 points.
SV: Kendall Wall 10, Bruner 6, Myers 4, Noah Harper 19, Deangelo Ward 21, Guyton 2, Alicia 4. RNE: Paulk 3, Nigel Chaney 11, James fuller-Davis 12, Caldwell 5, Tasha Brockington 19, Garner 6, Goode 5.
Rocky River (NC) 73, Cardinal Newman 63
RR: Albert Horne, Jr. 26, Raquan Brown 20, Keyon Wesley 10, Haywood 6, Salley III 5, Sexton 3, Burn 2, Sidbury 1. CN: Daniel Dunlap 16, Rashaad Williams 15, Christiaan Jones 14, Brandon Martin 10, Carter, Jr. 4, J. Williams 2, Reedy 2.
Heathwood Hall 50, Midland Valley 46
HH: Justice Hill 23, Josh Caldwell 17, Vaughn 9, Joseph 5, Lee 4, Kemper 2. MV: Xavier Leaphart 16, Tayler Wade 13, Hammond 9, M. Brown 4, Baynham 2, Morency 2.
SCHEDULE
x-Held at auxiliary gym
Saturday
Game 5: Oldsmar Christian (Fla.) vs. Roman Catholic (Pa.), 1 p.m.
Game 6: Greenforest Academy (Ga.) vs. Providence Day (NC), 2:30 p.m.
Game 7: Pace Academy (Ga.) vs. Lower Richland, 4 p.m.
Game 8: x-University School (Tenn.) vs. Midland Valley, 5 p.m.
Game 9: Huntington Prep (WV) vs. Greensboro Day (NC), 5:40 p.m.
Game 10: x-Lexington vs. Rocky River (NC), 6:30 p.m.
Game 11: Arlington Day (Fla.) vs. Oak Hill (Va.), 7:30 p.m.
Game 12: x-Heathwood Hall vs. Indian Land, 8 p.m.
Game 13: Blythewood vs. Keenan, 8:40 p.m.
Monday
Game 14: x-Game 7 loser vs. Mullins, 1:50 p.m.
Game 15: Southwest Christian (Ga.) vs. Gray Collegiate, 2:20 p.m.
Game 16: x-Game 6 loser vs. Richland Northeast, 3:20 p.m.
Game 17: Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 3:50 p.m.
Game 18: x-Game 5 loser vs. Game 9 loser, 4:55 p.m.
Game 19: Game 5 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 5:25 p.m.
Game 20: x-Game 11 loser vs. Game 13 loser, 6:25 p.m.
Game 21: Game 13 winner vs. Game 11 winner, 7 p.m.
Game 22: x-Indian Land vs. Cardinal Newman, 8 p.m.
Game 23: Hammond vs. Spring Valley 8:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Game 24: x-American Division, 7th-place game, 12:30 p.m.
Game 25: National Division, 7th-place game, 12:30 p.m.
Game 26: x-American Division consolation championship, 2 p.m.
Game 27: National Division consolation championship, 2 p.m.
Game 28: National Division 3rd-place game, 3:40 p.m.
Game 29: American Division 3rd-place game, 5:10 p.m.
Game 30: National Division championship, 6:45 p.m.
Game 31: American Division championship, 8:30 p.m.
This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 11:00 PM.