City of Palms prep basketball: From Agau's Waffle House tweet to Verot buzzer beater

Here is a look at some of the best moments from the 2012 City of Palms Classic at Bishop Verot High School:

Home opener: Bishop Verot guard Max Williams nailed a 3-pointer at the buzzer as the Vikings beat St. Thomas Aquinas in Tuesday's first round. It was the first time host Bishop Verot won an opening-round game since 1979.

"I never felt that before," Williams, a senior, said. "They haven't won a first-round game here in forever. It's a great feeling to hit the game-winning shot."

Waffle House tweet: Omaha (Neb.) Central's Akoy Agau, a 6-foot-10 Lousiville commit, enjoyed his trip to a local Waffle House on Tuesday. Agau ordered an assortment of food after Omaha Central won their first game and tweeted a picture with a hash-tag #lifeisgood.

Rim-breaker: Long Beach Poly's Jordan Bell broke a rim before the scheduled dunk show on Wednesday. Long Beach Poly head coach Sharrief Metoyer said he broke two backboards at his home gym within a span of three months.

"For some reason I always break backboards" Bell said. "I broke two backboards off windmills."

Worth the wait: Lone Peak junior guard T.J. Haws couldn't complete an over-the-head rainbow soccer kick to teammate Eric Mika in the Edison National Bank Slam Dunk Championship.

However, Mika defied adversity after a spectator passed the ball over the basket in the next round and the 6-10 forward tomahawked it down to thrill the crowd and take the crown.

"He (Haws) told me that he was going to be able to do a rainbow – kick it over his head and let it bounce so I could dunk it," Mika said. "I think I put too much faith in him."

Overtime thriller: With seven seconds remaining and a three-point lead, Montverde Academy shot itself in the foot by fouling Whitney Young's junior guard Miles Reynolds behind the 3-point line. Reynolds nailed all three of his free throws and sent the game into overtime.

Montverde recovered, beating Whitney Young, 68-63, and coincidentally secured the lead in the wee hours of Friday morning at the free-throw line.

Future champs?: Tournament organizer Donnie Wilkie said he welcomed Whitney Young back next year and said with a starting roster filled with juniors, the Dolphins could be the team to beat in 2013.

Crowd assist: The feel-good moment of the tournament came when an 8-year-old girl stumbled in the middle of singing the National Anthem before the Signature Series Championship on Saturday.

The over-flowing crowd, without hesitation, joined in singing "the rocket's red glare."

The young girl received a standing ovation after powering through the remainder of the song without missing a beat.

Block party: Long Beach (Calif.) Poly's Jordan Bell nearly set the tournament single-game blocked shot record.

Bell, an Oregon commit, was a human shot swatter with eight blocks (10 is the record) against Omaha Central on Wednesday.

"That's special,"Long Beach Poly coach Metoyer said. "I don't think anyone else has talent like that. I'm not surprised. He's blocked 17 or 18 shots in games. I'm surprised he didn't get a double-figure block game."

Streaks busted: Omaha Central and Chester (Pa.) knew the risk of playing in a tournament with many other highly-ranked teams.

It's not a surprise that both teams saw their winning streaks end. Omaha Central's 41-game win streak was brought to a halt by Long Beach Poly. Omaha Central's streak tied a Nebraska state record. Highland (Utah) Lone Peak ended Chester's impressive 61-game winning streak.

The Clippers lost again on Saturday. They hadn't lost since Dec. 2010 before this week.

Dickie V appearance: ESPN's Dick Vitale caused a buzz on Thursday when he showed up at the Bishop Verot gym.

"Over the years I've got a chance to see some great kids here. Austin Rivers, certainly. I've seen (Michael) Gilchrist. I've seen (Nerlens) Noel - now at Kentucky. I enjoy the chance to see these young future stars," Vitale, a college basketball commentary legend, said.

Vitale, a Sarasota resident, said he came to watch consensus No. 1 player Andrew Wiggins, a 6-foot-8 forward for Huntington (W.Va.) Prep.

Wiggins did not disappoint — he scored 31 points.

Compiled by Ryan Toohey, Scott Butherus, Adam Fisher, Justin Kline and Tom Hanson

2012 CITY OF PALMS CLASSIC

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