Temple star grinds his way to acclaim at PIT

PORTSMOUTH

Mark Tyndale said he was thrilled to accept the Allen Iverson Inspirational Award for his performance in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament.

He just had one question.

“What do they give this for?” the Temple forward asked.

Told it was to recognize the event’s most determined, intense player, Tyndale smiled.

“That’s just part of my nature,” Tyndale said after he helped Tidewater Sealants to a 103-80 victory against Portsmouth Sports Club in Saturday’s title game. “I’ll try to do the little things. I’ll bite an ankle if that’s what it takes. Not trying to hurt anyone or anything like that. But that’s my style. Mean, but clean.”

In an event where much of the attention, at least from the public, goes to the players who score the most points, Tyndale chipped in a team-low seven in Saturday’s title game. But the 6-foot-5 forward also had eight rebounds, eight assists, four steals and two blocks.

Then again, in the opinion of the scouts, Tyndale’s best contributions weren’t on the stat sheet.

“He left the most skin out on the floor,” NBA draft expert Chris Eckstrand said. “At the end of the games, he was exhausted because he used up all his energy on the court. And when you have a player like that, everyone else plays harder, too. It’s no surprise his team won.”

Ohio State’s Jamar Butler scored 18 points for Tidewater Sealants and was named the tournament’s most valuable player. Shaun Pruitt of Illinois also had 18 and hauled down 12 rebounds.

VMI’s Reggie Williams concluded his strong tournament with a game-high 22 points for Portsmouth Sports Club. He also left with the tournament’s sportsmanship award.

Portsmouth Sports Club’s Kyle Hines continued his remarkable accuracy with 16 points on 8-of-9 shooting. In his three tournament games, the UNC Greensboro star made 22 of 28 shots from the field.

K&D Round’s Landscaping took the third-place game 82-81 against Norfolk Naval Shipyard with Butler’s Mike Green scoring 16 points to lead a balanced attack.

In Saturday’s first consolation game, Niagara’s Charron Fisher scored 27 points (on 12-of-20 shooting) to lead Cherry, Bekaert & Holland past Holiday Inn Portsmouth 94-80. It was the second scoring explosion from Fisher in less than 24 hours. On Friday afternoon, he dropped in a tournament-high 28 on Norfolk Sports Club in an 89-88 loss.

Fisher, the nation’s No. 2 scorer out of Niagara, had 12 points in his first PIT game on Thursday.

In Saturday’s second consolation game, New Mexico State’s Justin Hawkins scored 20 points and Iowa State’s Jiri Hubalek added 17 as Sales System outlasted Norfolk Sports Club 97-93. Tennessee’s Chris Lofton led all scorers with 25 points for Norfolk Sports Club.