Rain starts, reign ends for Heartland Insurance

~ Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce won the rain-interrupted championship game.

A little rain could not dampen the spirits of the 15th annual Slamfest five-on-five basketball tournament this weekend at Indian Park, but it did help alter the Ted Coalter Heartland Insurance team's chances of a three-peat.

With the Heartland Insurance team matched up with Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce in the finals Sunday, rain forced the championship game to be moved indoors to the Osage Community Centre. This was only the second time in 15 years the tournament ended indoors.

Once inside, the Chamber of Commerce squad, led by former New Madrid County Central star Dereke Tipler, cruised to the title 49-28 over Heartland Insurance. Tipler earned MVP honors.

"When it comes to the gym, that's all we play at," Chamber of Commerce player/coach Joe Nunley said. "We're all college players, that's all we play is indoors. If we would have stayed outside, they probably would have beat us."

Among the players on the championship squad were former Southeast Missouri State players Norman Prather (a prep star at Caruthersville High School) and Damarcus Hence, as well as former Central standout Travis Cox. Other Chamber of Commerce players included Jonathan Tyus, Mike Cox, J.T. Williams, Darrell Minner, Kevin Williams and Ed Boaz.

"We got tired of those guys winning," Nunley said of Heartland Insurance. "I won one year with them. I had a real good point guard [Tipler] this year. He orchestrated the team. My team fell in behind him."

Slam-dunk contest

Kevin Williams won the slam-dunk contest, one of the many activities over the weekend. Williams' final dunk involved leaping over two kids. The event also featured game booths and food and drinks, as well as Christian music.

"It's function is to cater not only to the sports fans, but the inner-city youths in our area," Slamfest coordinator LaTanya Thomas-Martin said of the event.

While Thomas-Martin did not have an estimate on how much this year's Slamfest raised, she said the event was once again a success and should continue to help the House of Prayer.

"Everything we raise goes to the House of Prayer Youth Domestic Center," Thomas-Martin said. "It has a variety of programs that Slamfest helps to fund."