In a thrilling contest at the birthplace of basketball, junior
David Conerly converted an and-one basket with 6.3 seconds remaining for the game-winning score.
Although Arkansas signee
Abdou Toure had an opportunity to win it with a contested mid-range shot on the other end, his impressive night ended in defeat.
Five-star Missouri signee Jason Crowe pumped in a Hoophall Classic record 48 points to lead Inglewood to a dramatic win. (PHOTO: Lonnie Webb)
Despite picking up a second foul in the first quarter and battling foul
trouble throughout the majority of the contest, Toure piled up 31 points, eight rebounds, six blocks, three steals and three assists in the setback.
In his record-breaking performance, Crowe scored 17 points in the first quarter, stretched his total to 31 at
the half and tacked on eight more points in the third quarter after
being held scoreless for the first five-plus minutes of the second half.
Crowe shot 17 of 37 from the field, 4 of 11 from 3-point range and 10 of 14 from the free throw line while adding seven rebounds and six steals.
The previous Hoophall record was 40 points set by Jayson Tatum of
Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) in 2016 and then equaled by Jalil Bethea of
Archbishop Wood (Warminster, Pa.) in 2024.
The back-and-forth game saw Notre Dame overcome a 16-point first-half deficit to take a six-point advantage in the fourth quarter. However, Inglewood was able to erase the deficit before escaping with the victory over the top team out of Connecticut.
The game of the day Saturday at the Hoophall Classic saw 14 lead changes and six ties. Inglewood jumped out to a 22-13 lead after the first quarter before Notre Dame cut the deficit to 39-38 at the half. The game was tied at 58 heading into the fourth quarter.
Crowe came into the game as the nation's leading scorer, averaging 43.9 points per contest on the season. He is also the all-time leading scorer in California state history with 4,389 career points.
Inglewood (20-5) returns to the court on Wednesday against Culver City (Calif.).
Notre Dame (9-3) looks to bounce back against Branford (Conn.) on the same night.
