City of Palms: Wednesday Recap

December 21, 2023 by Travis Graf

Some of the nation's best take the floor for the 50th annual City of Palms tournament throughout the course of this week. Here's a breakdown of Wednesday's action.

MCEACHERN (75) vs WESTMINSTER ACADEMY (71)

In one of the better games of the week this far, McEachern pulled out a four-point win over Westminster after trailing heading into the fourth quarter. McEachern made up for a large turnover number with their work on the glass, besting Westminster by 15 in that category. 

Ace Bailey, the number two prospect in the 2024 class, did not disappoint whatsoever. He posted a monster stat line of 26 points and 18 boards to lead the way for McEachern, while also making plays on the defensive end. Nnadozie Onyirimba posted a double-double of his own, finishing with 17 points and 11 boards. 

Alex Lloyd was a constant standout for Westminster, tallying 27 points on 10-of-20 shooting. Alex Constanza added 18 of his own in the loss. 

IMG ACADEMY (89) vs RICHMOND HEIGHTS (48)

IMG carried a nine-point lead into halftime but blew the game open in the second half, out scoring Richmond Heights 56 to 24 during that time. It was a group effort for IMG in the blowout, but they were led by five-star junior Darius Acuff Jr. 

Acuff finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists in the win. 2024 Syracuse signee Donnie Freeman added 17 points and nine rebounds in addition to four steals and three blocks. Amari Allen pitched in with 16 points and seven boards, while Michigan pledge Khani Rooths came close to a double-double of 11 points and nine boards on 3-of-3 from the field. 

LYON COUNTY (74) vs LEXINGTON (50)

Despite an off night shooting the ball for Travis Perry, the state of Kentucky’s all-time leading scorer still found a way to drop 30 points in this matchup. Perry added eight rebounds and three steals to his stat line. However, there were a couple of other Lyon County players who showed up in a big way and proved they should be on college radars. 

Jack Reddick nearly notched a triple-double, finishing with 12 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists while running the show efficiently for Lyon County. Brady Shoulders also scored an efficient 18 points and added eight points and five assists himself. 

Jaxon Prunty went 5-of-11 from the outside on the way to 23 points in the loss for Lexington. 

BUCKHORN (72) vs CHARLOTTE (37)

Buckhorn jumped out to a 15 point lead in the first quarter and never looked back, dominating throughout the entire game. They forced 20 Charlotte turnovers while taking care of the ball themselves. 

2026 five-star Caleb Holt showed why he’s one of the best prospects in the sophomore class, getting downhill and to the rim whenever he wanted and leading all scorers with 21. He also added eight rebounds and played very well defensively. 

Josh Wilkerson knocked down a few threes on the way to 13 points for Buckhorn. 

LONG ISLAND LUTHERAN (58) vs DON BOSCO PREP (55)

This matchup was one of the most anticipated ones of the day, as it featured high school stars on both sides. Five-star Rutgers commit Dylan Harper came back down to earth a little in this one as he struggled from the field. However, he did get to the line often and drew 11 fouls on LuHi with his aggression, which helped lead to 24 points. 

2025 guard Kayden Mingo continues to stack together strong weeks for LuHi, and he led his team with 17 points on 7-of-12 from the floor while also coming up with four steals. His brother, 2026 guard Dylan Mingo, scored in double-figures with 11 as well. 

Five-star VJ Edgecombe was steady throughout, and he finished with 15 points and five rebounds. 

BISHOP VEROT (58) vs FORT MYERS (39)

In the nightcap, Bishop Verot and Fort Myers faced off in the Hugh Thimlar Tribute. The trio of Leroy Roker (22 points and eight rebounds), Gavin Williams (17 points and five steals), and Jerry Ashley (11 points and 13 rebounds) spearheaded the Bishop Verot attack. Defensively, they held Fort Myers to 28% from the field.