Closing out the Chick-Fil-A Classic against an archrival provided a couple of benefits for the Lexington boys’ basketball team.

Not only was it an opportunity for the Wildcats to measure themselves against a Region 4-5A foe, but also snap a four-game losing streak before the arrival of a new year.

The 65-50 win over the Gators in the seventh place American Bracket game helped accomplish those goals. Cam Scott scored 22 points to lead all scorers.

“The energy was better, but it’s always better when you’ve got a kid wearing a River Bluff jersey across from you and we’ve got on Lexington,” Wildcats’ head coach Elliott Pope said. “That’s just the nature of the beast here.”

River Bluff jumped out to a 14-7 first quarter lead led by Luke Chapman, who finished with 11 points. Lexington responded by outscoring the Gators 21-6 over the remaining the first half.

White Knoll transfer Kaleb Evans scored 11 of his 15 points in the second quarter.

“Coming off a rough two losses the past two days, I thought it was important to show people that I can come out here and score and just be effective on defense as well as be effective on offense,” Evans said.

The Wildcats also scored 26 points off turnovers and Jose Figueroa accounted for 11 of the team’s bench points.

Building off a 30-12 points advantage in the paint, the Wildcats extended their lead to 18 points with 5:24 left in the third quarter. River Bluff point guard Omari Maxwell looked to spark a combat as he scored 10 straight points.

It came off back-to-back three-pointers and four free throws the result of a foul by Evans which was followed by a technical called on Pope who argued the call. Maxwell finished with a team-high 20 points.

A three-pointer by Scott stopped the rally and Lexington closed out the game on the foul line.

Lexington opens the new year with two non-region home games starting Jan. 3 against Summerville. River Bluff (5-8) plays host to South Aiken the same night looking to snap a five-game losing streak.

American Bracket

Fifth place game

Greensboro Day 46, A.C. Flora 36

Jaydon Young scored 20 points and had a team-best six rebounds to lead the Bengals.

They led by as many as 16 points and never saw the lead dip below seven points after leading 23-13 at the half.

Greensboro Day shot 43.2% and held the Falcons to just 34.1% from the field.

The Bengals finished second in the American bracket in 2019 but this is the third time in four trips to the Classic that they came away with two wins. AC Flora was playing in the Classic for the fourth time but it’s the first time since 2016 when they went winless.

Christopher Parker led the Falcons with 14 points and eight rebounds.

Third place game

Columbus (Fla.) 70, W.J. Keenan 38

For the second time in the tournament, the Explorers dominated a Palmetto State team.

Cameron Boozer scored 18 points and had three blocked shots, Malik Abdullah scored 14 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, Cayden Boozer had 13 points and Garyn Bess finished with 12 pounds as Columbus led as many as 38 points.

Chrisean Oree led the Raiders with 14 points.

Final

John Marshall (Va.) 68, Wheeler (Ga.) 55

Dennis Parker Jr. scored 23 points, Damo Thompson Jr. had 17 points, Latrell Allmond added 16 points and nine rebounds and Jason Rivera finished with 12 points and 18 rebounds in the victory.

Thompson was named American Bracket MVP and Carlos Boozer of Columbus High School in Florida was named its Most Outstanding Player.

Arrinten Page led Wheeler with 18 points, followed by Isaiah Collier with 13 points, five assists and four steals and Jelani Hamilton with 11 points.

National Bracket

Seventh place game

Oak Hill Academy (Va.) 52, Providence Day School (N.C.)

Drayton Jones scored 16 points and Dontae Russo-Nance added 15 points as Oak Hill (VA) led from start to finish.

They jumped to a 17-11 lead after the first quarter and led by as many as 16 points in the third quarter. The closest the Chargers got in the second half was 38-31.

Oak Hill turned 17 Providence Day turnovers into a 16-7 advantage on points off turnovers.

Oak Hill came into the tournament with a perfect 12-0 record, but lost the first two days under first-year coach Yerrick Stoneman. Stoneman is the former coach at Ridge View and had played in the tournament three previous times.

Riley Allenspach, a Western Kentucky signee, finished off a strong tournament for Providence Day with 16 points. Kaden Magwood chipped in with 10 points for Oak Hill.   

Fifth place game

Southern California University 48, Hillcrest Prep 33

The Rams outscored the short-handed Bruins 16-3 in the fourth quarter to earn its second win of the tournament.

Providence commit Garway Dual led the way with 20 points, five rebounds and five steals for Southern California.

Junior Aiden Sherrell scored 14 points to lead the Bruins, who were short-handed all week because some of their players couldn’t fly in because of Southwest Airlines problems.

Hillcrest dressed only six players for every game and was without head coach Marcus Gantt.

Third place game

The Rock School 61, Calvary Christian Academy 54

Sammie Yeanay scored 18 points and grabbed 11 rebounds and Kameron Wright added 13 points in the victory.

Slam dunk champion Carl Cherenfant scored 13 points and Jaylen Curry added 11 for Calvary Christian Academy.

Final

Huntington Prep (WVa.) 67, IMG Academy 46 

Ronald Jessamy scored 18 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and had four blocked shots and Larry Johnson added 16 as the Irish led for most of the game to take the National Bracket title.

Johnson was named the Most Outstanding Player in the bracket and Maki Johnson, who finished with 11 points, the Most Valuable Player.

Blue Cain finished with 12 points for IMG Academy.