Justin O’Neal smothers Neuqua star freshman Cole Kelly, DeKalb wins Dayton Classic

DeKALB – Cole Kelly had scored at least 20 points in the first three games in the 97th annual Chuck Dayton Classic.

He finished with 12 on Saturday in a 62-40 loss to DeKalb in the championship game of the tournament, with six of those coming on late 3s after the Barbs led by more than 20.

DeKalb pose for a photo after winning the 97th Chuck Dayton Classic Basketball championship game held at DeKalb High School. — DeKalb poses for a photo after winning the 97th Chuck Dayton Classic Basketball championship game held at DeKalb High School. (David Toney for Shaw Local News /David Toney)

Justin O’Neal was tasked with guarding the 6-foot-6 freshman forward who is already drawing looks from major conference schools.

“[I had to] get out and dominate defensively and try my best offensively, too,” O’Neal said. “We pretty much stopped him from getting the ball and getting open.”

It was the fourth consecutive smothering defensive effort by the Barbs to claim the tournament for the second straight year.

Neuqua Valley's David Taiwo (5) tries to tip in a rebound shot on Saturday Dec. 28, 2024, during the 97th Chuck Dayton Classic championship game held at DeKalb High School while being defended by DeKalb's Davon Grant (23) and teammate Justin O'Neal (22). (David Toney for Shaw Local News /David Toney)

O’Neal was tasked with guarding Lincoln-Way West’s Wyatt Carlson in the semifinals, holding him to 11 points in a 76-49 win Friday on 5-of-13 shooting.

Kelly shot 4 for 12 from the floor Saturday and was 1 for 5 on 2-point shots.

“Coming into the tournament we wanted to change our mindset defensively,” DeKalb coach Mike Reynolds said. “We wanted our standard to be our standard. And I don’t think we played up to that until we got to this tournament.”

DeKalb never trailed in the game and led 9-8 after the first quarter. But the Wildcats (6-6) scored just four points in the second quarter. The Barbs scored the first 10 in the second quarter, took a 27-12 lead into halftime, and the score was never within single digits again.

DeKalb's Sean Reynolds (2) looks for an open teammate during the game on Saturday dec. 28, 2024, during the 97th Chuck Dayton Classic championship game held at DeKalb High School. (David Toney for Shaw Local News /David Toney)

Reynolds said he was impressed with his team’s defense throughout the tournament and with O’Neal specifically.

“[Kelly is] really good, has a good pace about him, is under control,” Reynolds said. “You just have to make life difficult for good players, and I think we were able to do that. ... I just commend Justin. Jackson Kees went over to him and told him, ‘You’re guarding a guy you’re going to watch on TV.'

“It was an unbelievable defensive effort.”

Sean Reynolds scored 21 for the Barbs and was named tournament MVP. Davon Grant and Marquiese Bolden also earned all-tournament team honors for the Barbs, while Kelly and Whitman Charboneau were the Wildcats' all-tournament representatives.

David Taiwo led the Wildcats on Saturday with 14 points. Charboneau did not play.

“Their physicality prevented us from scoring,” Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton said. “They were just much more physical than us, and we couldn’t run our offense.”

Bolden finished with 10 points. O’Neal had five points and eight rebounds. Grant finished with eight points and six rebounds.

The Barbs won the tournament for the 10th time overall.

O’Neal said with seniors like Sean Reynolds, Jackson Kees, Bolden and himself, the repeat means a lot.

“A lot of us are graduating, so we really wanted this win,” O’Neal said.