The Governor’s Challenge, a staple in the Eastern Shore basketball community that has grown into a national event in recent years, made its triumphant return this year after having to cancel the previous two attempts in 2020 and 2021.
With 110 boys and girls basketball teams traveling to Salisbury to compete, hoops took over the week on the Shore, while the tournament also celebrated its 40th anniversary.
Whether with local matchups in front of packed civic center crowds, bracket games at UMES and Wi-Hi, or two nationally ranked teams battling each other in close matchups, the Governor’s Challenge’s return in 2022 was one to remember.
Here were the top moments from the 2022 tourney.
5 overtime game in DMV Elite Showcase highlights Day 1
Court 1 at the civic center was the showcase court at the Governor’s Challenge this year, with the biggest matchups between local teams and the top teams from around the country taking place there throughout the week. But on Day 1, almost every game was a blowout on Court 1. There was some anticipation for when a game would provide some thrills, and the final of one of the first day over-delivered, and also made history.
In the longest game in the 40-year history of the Governor’s Challenge, Philadelphia’s Archbishop Ryan and Prince George’s County Bishop McNamara played a five overtime battle that featured incredible clutch shots, wild comebacks late in each overtime and an intensity that you might see in a NCAA tournament or NBA Playoff game. These two evenly matched squads went toe-to-toe for what roughly equaled the length of a regulation NBA game, with McNamara just barely outlasting Ryan for the victory. That Day 1 game will be remembered for a long time.
Eastern Shore hoops history highlighted in Day 2 battle
While the Governor’s Challenge featured a lot of great basketball between the 110 teams playing each other, the tournament’s 40th anniversary also offered the opportunity for everyone to look back and honor the legends that came before them. And on Day 2, a specific matchup at the civic center provided the perfect opportunity.
Before Wi-Hi and Elkins faced off on Day 2, the head coaches of both teams were recognized for their place in Eastern Shore hoops lore. Wi-Hi’s longtime head coach Butch Waller, founder of the Governor’s Challenge and the winningest public school boys basketball coach in Maryland, was of course honored. But alongside him was Amrit Rayfield, the Elkins head coach who is the son of longtime, legendary Crisfield coach Phil Rayfield. It was a special moment for two names, Waller and Rayfield, that have meant a lot to the local basketball scene.
“My father was my mentor. We talked every day, about basketball, about life,” Rayfield said after the game. “So to be able to come back and represent him, an Eastern Shore legend, never thought I would have that opportunity. I miss him, I miss having the opportunity to talk basketball, to talk life, and am just happy to have this opportunity.”
More:Phil Rayfield’s son leads team vs. Wi-Hi in Governor’s Challenge game rich with history
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Local star reaches career milestone at the Governor’s Challenge
With the Governor’s Challenge being the biggest local basketball event on the Eastern Shore each year, there is always the opportunity for a star from the area to show out in front of fans in what will be one of, if not the biggest stage they play on in their high school careers. And one Seaford star reached a career milestone on that stage.
Seaford’s Brent Ricketts Jr., one of the top players in Delaware this year who is leading the squad hoping to capture a state title, scored the 1,000th point of his career on Day 3 of the Governor’s Challenge, in the midst of their dominant win over Parkside. After he made the free throw that sealed the deal in the second half, the game was briefly paused, and he and his accomplishment were honored by the fans, his family and his teammates. And with a Seaford squad as talented as this one, this may not be the last major accomplishment of Ricketts’ senior season.
Day 3 poster dunk from Smyrna energizes the crowd
There were a ton of high-flyers who took the court at the Governor’s Challenge, but from what I saw this week, no poster dunk excited the crowd at the civic center more than the one from Smyrna’s Obi Coleman against Cambridge.
Smyrna would go on to pull out a 55-41 win in a game that was close throughout. Coleman’s dunk not only made the crowd on both Courts 1 and 2 get up out of their chairs in awe, but also provided momentum in the first of Smyrna’s two Governor’s Challenge battles against Bayside North squads.
Game winning three from IMG closes out Day 3
Many people showed up to the final game of Day 3 to get a glimpse of Olivier Rioux, the worlds tallest teenager, who was expected to suit up for his IMG Academy Blue squad against Keystone Athletic Academy. Rioux didn’t end up playing, but fans were still treated to a high-level, wire-to-wire battle that came all the way down to the final seconds.
After Keystone tied the game with a beautiful pass from guard Dellquan Warren to their big man for a dunk, IMG Academy’s Tyler Burton calmly dribbled the ball up the floor, made a couple of moves and pulled up for a deep contested three that would hit nothing but net, drawing celebration from the crowd watching. And Burton would then strip Warren on Keystone’s last second attempt to win the game, resulting in jubilation for the IMG squad.
Local rivalry game comes down to the wire on Day 4
The Wi-Hi versus Dover game on Day 4 was one that the tournament’s matchmakers and local fans had scheduled as one of the biggest battles of the 2022 Governor’s Challenge. And in front of a packed crowd at the civic center, the matchup between the defending Bayside and Henlopen Conference Champions delivered.
In a back and forth battle between arguably the two top local teams in the Shore Showcase division, Wi-Hi prevailed 57-55, withstanding a late push from Dover and its stars Jaheim Harrel and Denim Perkins. It was a balanced effort for Wi-Hi, with their main starting five of Malique Leatherbury, Antwan Wilson, Jaydon Handy, Jaylin Dashiell-Andrews and Kurt Thomas all contributing, plus solid contributions from their bench. Dover had the bragging rights for three years after their win over Wi-Hi in 2019, but now Coach Waller’s squad holds them until they meet again.
