Rakeem Hollis shoots over the defense of Jason Mitchell in the John Tyler alumni Basketball game Saturday afternoon. Herb Nygren Jr / Staff

Close to 25 former Lion hoopsters took part in the first John Tyler Basketball Alumni Classic, an event on Saturday at the Lions Den that honored former-JT coach Carl Love.

Some 400-plus John Tyler supporters and area coaches came out in support of Love on “Carl Love Appreciation Day.” He is the winningest coach in JT basketball history.

“This was a very special day to me, you know at first I thought it was a little embarrassing,” Love said. “But when they told me what they were trying to do and the exciting thing for me was getting to see all these ex-players and everything, and it’s been a really, really special day.

“You know from the very beginning, I told all these players to go to college, be successful, and even when I was coaching the emphasis was not on winning but it was on developing young men into becoming good young men and in the process we were just fortunate enough to have the kids to win along the way.”

Twenty three players came from all over the country to be a part of the inaugural event.

“We of course would have loved to play to a packed gym for coach Love, but we will do a better job next year of getting the word out,” said event coordinator and former Texas Southern University standout Rakeem Hollis. “But this many on such short notice, and just the reunion with old teammates, and then players that met for the first time was a great time for the players.”

The game itself appeared to be a push for the Blue squad with a hefty 12-point led at the half, 37-25. A balanced attack from the Blue was paced by eight first-half points from Shaun Adams. Justin Johnson was, however, scoring 10 of his 22-points and grabbing eight of his game-high 13 rebounds to keep his Gray squad ready for a late run.

Midway through the final period, Corey Cain took over the boards and the paint to bring the Gray back within three points with under a minute left in the game.

Hollis sparked the Gray rally with eight points and eight rebounds, but the Blue’s Delbert Simpson (Tyler Junior College, Baylor) rained two 30-foot 3-pointers to put his team up 59-51 with four minutes remaining.

The Gray cut into the lead behind Rashad Lee’s steal and basket and some flair was added when Johnson made a steal. He set up Hollis for a power dunk.

Trae Porter was also key for the Gray’s comeback attempt, making four of his six-points, along with stealing three passes, making two assists and a block in the frantic final two-minutes.

A Tyler Lee graduate but one-year Lion, Armien Kirkland (University of Cincinnati and European player) then stepped up with the final nails, knocking down two 3-pointers from NBA range for a 67-60 Blue lead.

Porter then sank three free throws to pull the Gray within 67-63 with 4.8 seconds for the final tally.

Simpson led the Blue team with 20 points, along with eight rebounds. Kirkland chipped in with 18 points. Johnson paced the Gray team with 16 points, 11 rebounds and five steals. Cain was huge inside for the Gray with 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Love also had Skype talks with players out of state. Players on hand — Aaron Washington, Jason Mitchell, Hollis and Simpson made brief post game speeches of appreciation to Love. Included in the roster announcements were memorable “Love Quotations” about his former players. Players and coaches remained afterward for fellowship and several signing autographs from some of the future Lions.

TEAM ROSTERS:

GRAY TEAM: Corey Warren, Rashad Espie, Rakeem Hollis, Corey Cain, Morris Anderson, Darryl Criss, Justin Johnson, Trae Porter, Chris Johnson, Jermaine Thomas

BLUE TEAM: Delbert Simpson, Albert Logan, Steve Dorsey, Rashad Lee, Jason Mitchell, DeMarcus Bailey, Robert Sampson, Shaun Adams, Jerome Mosely, Broderick Miller, Ro Williams