There was a championship game played and an NBA player and former No. 2 overall pick in the NBA Draft on the court Wednesday night at Knoxville Catholic.
But Vol senior guard Kevin Punter was the main event.
Punter scored a league-record 76 points in H3’s 138-134 overtime win against the Knoxville News Sentinel team in the consolation game of the Rocky Top League. Miami Heat forward Michael Beasley made a guest appearance for the KNS team, joining former Vols Bobby Maze and JaJuan Smith in addition to current Vol Devon Baulkman.
When he was on, Beasley was borderline unstoppable, including a last-second, length-of-the-floor drive and finish that tied the game with two seconds remaining in regulation. Beasley finished with 43 points, while Baulkman added 41 on 16-of-33 shooting (7-of-19 from 3-point range).
Punter was the true star, however, scoring 76 points on 25-of-42 shooting (6-of-19 from 3-point range) and making 20-of-22 from the charity stripe. Incoming Vol freshman Admiral Schofield, who regularly matched up with Beasley on both ends of the court, finished the game with 23 points, including a nice drive and finish against the 6-foot-9 Beasley, who last played for the Miami Heat in the 2014-15 season and is currently a free agent.
Punter broke the single-game Rocky Top League scoring record (65 points) set by former Vol guard Jordan McRae, who is currently playing in the National Developmental Basketball League for the Philadelphia 76ers organization. Punter was also named the league’s MVP and finished as the Rocky Top League scoring champion with 43.7 ppg. Current Vols Armani Moore (37.2 ppg) and Baulkman (34.5 ppg) finished second and third, respectively, on the scoring list.
Finals: Campus Lights 127, Tillman Companies 112
In what, ironically, became somewhat of an undercard after the Punter-Beasley battle in the consolation game, Campus Lights easily claimed the Rocky Top League title with a convincing win over Tillman Companies and Vol junior guard Robert Hubbs.
Playing without Armani Moore and Jabari McGhee due to injuries, Campus Lights leaned on former Vol point guard Brandon Lopez and an assortment of local small college players to knock off Hubbs, former Vol Rob Murphy, former MSU guard Jalen Steele and the rest of the Tillaman team in what was somewhat of an anti-climatic finish. Campus Lights was in control virtually the whole evening – taking a 65-49 lead into halftime and never looking back.
