It was a great day for basketball on Friday as the 34th Annual Light of Chance Dust Bowl Basketball Tournament kicked off with its first two games.
A wide variety of players from high school, college and even professional levels came from all over to take to the blacktops of Dr. Festus Claybon Park.
In classic Dust Bowl style, the games had much more fun and casual feel to them than organized competition, with a DJ providing live music throughout the contests and a commentator giving his own colorful interjections such as “he got a little too fancy on that one” or “he’s 0 for the century.”
The tournament also featured several local food trucks, including one from Brother’s BBQ and some that were selling fish sandwiches.
“We’ve been really pleased about it,” said Eric Logan, founder of Light of Chance, Inc., the non-profit organization that hosts the tournament. “We have a good crowd out (the first night).
“People have a good time. It’s about family, it’s about friends, it’s essentially like a family reunion for people, but it’s also an opportunity for people that haven’t been to Madisonville to come, so we’re proud of what we’ve established here.”
The first day featured two games played simultaneously on the park’s two adjacent courts, allowing fans to take in all the action.
On the first court, team GH4 defeated the KY Kings by a final score of 74-42. Both teams got off to a slow start, with neither scoring a basket within the first few minutes of the game, but GH4 finally found its rhythm late in the first half and kept it going into the second half for the win.
Madisonville-North Hopkins alum Jaiveon Eaves and Hopkins County Central alum Chris Campbell lit up the court for GH4, each putting up 26 points to account for more than half the team’s final score.
Eaves — who recently transferred from the University of Evansville to John A. Logan College — was lights-out from downtown, hitting six 3-pointers for the game, including five in the second half. Campbell — who once played for Lindsey Wilson College but now plays for West Kentucky Tech — took the bulk of his shots from the inside, including a pair of dunks that rocked the park as he and Eaves fed off of each other to keep their team’s offense going.
“Me and Jaiveon play well together,” Campbell said. “He told me ‘let’s go,’ and whenever he says let’s go, we’re going to go.”
On the second court, Money Team defeated Gametime by a final score of 51-31. Money Team went into halftime with a safe double-digit lead, and despite a temporary threat from Gametime, managed to hang on and ultimately extend the lead for the victory.
Tanner Moeves, who used to play for Thomas More College, led Money Team with 12 points, while Webster County alum and Bethel University rising sophomore Cayden Edmonson added 11.
“I was trying to get to the cup, trying to meet my man one-on-one,” Moeves said. “Credit to my teammates, when they were penetrating, they looked out for me on the kick and I was able to knock down some threes.”
For Moeves, this is his second straight year making the four-hour drive from his hometown of Highland Heights for the Dust Bowl. He originally came as a friend of Thomas More teammate and North alum Albert McFarland, but has since fallen in love with the Madisonville summer tradition.
“I love the environment, the whole atmosphere down here, it’s just a fun time,” Moeves said. “Hope to come down here every year.”
“That’s humbling,” Logan said. “People travel from miles around, from states around, and it’s just kind of a testament to the hard work that we put in year-round for this event to happen. It’s just really humbling to know that someone’s going to come that long of a way just to be a part of an event that we have here in little old Madisonville.”
The Dust Bowl made a new addition to its festivities this year with a live concert featuring R&B group Playa, Vito Banga (formerly of Nappy Roots) and Bobby V, something everyone was excited for.
“It’s pretty good,” Campbell said. “They tried to do it for a couple years and some people didn’t want it to happen, so it’s good they’re finally letting one come. Probably brought more people to the Dust Bowl.”
“We always try to make every year bigger and better,” Logan said. “I think this is another step in that direction.”
Saturday will feature even more basketball, as games are scheduled to go from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., while Sunday’s games will go from 3-9 p.m. and include the championship round. Sunday will also feature free back-to-school haircuts and a free school supplies drive for local school-aged kids.
“It’s something that you just don’t want to miss,” Logan said. “It’s great for the community, it’s great for Madisonville in general, but you’ll be entertained. There’s good food, there’s good basketball, we’re giving back to the community through our haircuts and school supplies. It’s just something we want the community to continue to embrace and enjoy from year to year.”
Jenny Lee Menser
MESSENGER STAFF WRITER
jmenser@the-messenger.com