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GREENSBORO - P.J. Hairston could feel the heat.

The free-throw-shooting contest during the finals of last weekend's Pizza Hut Invitational had come down to him and Dudley's other most valuable basketball player, Helen Terry. No matter how many times Hairston made a shot, he just couldn't shake this girl a foot shorter than him. As the crowd of several thousand got louder with every shot, Hairston had only one direction for himself: No eye contact.

"I was afraid I'd start laughing," he said.

There were plenty of interesting storylines during the tournament, but none captivated the crowd in a single moment more than this.

Throughout the week, anyone in attendance could pay a dollar to enter an elimination-style shootout at halftime of every game. Almost 2,000 took part, and the winners came back Saturday until it was whittled down to just Hairston and Terry, the reigning Triad 3-A players of the year. They ribbed each other all week that it might come down to this.

One of Terry's early shots bounced off the rim, and Hairston thought for a moment he'd won it. But gravity must be a Title IX fan, because the ball somehow crept back toward the cylinder and fell in.

Buoyed by her luck, Terry chirped a few words in Hairston's ear. Nothing doing. He swished another.

Finally, in the tenth round, Terry hit her shot and Hairston's went wide. He looked up to the rafters in disbelief, then hugged a smiling Terry. They earned $500 and $300 gift cards to Friendly Center, prizes that have already cleared NCHSAA eligibility rules and were expected to receive NCAA approval Monday.

It was the biggest splash Dudley could make at the tournament, having opted to play instead in the Gatorade International Championship in Puerto Rico. The Panthers girls went undefeated at the tournament, and the boys were 2-1.

But even without the defending boys finalists, the tournament appears to have set an attendance record, honorary chairperson Camille Townsend said Monday.

"We're really pleased," she said. "Dudley's a big draw and we had Northern and Ragsdale in the field for the first time, but both those schools brought a good fan base."

Other anecdotes from the weekend:

l We're always getting accused of having a bias for Grimsley (or Page or Dudley or fill in the blank). I assure you I'm not: a) connected enough, or b) smart enough to pull that off.

Anyone at the Bryan YMCA on Friday afternoon could have made an interesting case, as a pick-up basketball game landed me on the same team as Whirlies assistant boys coach Evan Fancourt, who is back at his alma mater after playing at Lynchburg (Va.) College.

I'd argue, however, that me playing alongside him was actually proof of an anti-Grimsley bias, considering most scouting reports on me include the phrase "sprained knee waiting to happen."

l Plenty of small-college scouts were in attendance at the Pizza Hut Invitational, including one I spotted in a hallway between games scratching away at a lottery ticket. I guess that's recruiting in a nutshell.

l The most vocal cheering section of the tournament might have belonged to Grimsley girls freshman forward Alex Hill, a sparingly-used reserve who had about 10 friends sitting behind the bench with posters like "Good luck in the 3 seconds you play!" and "You're the reason our team stays hydrated!"

Hill, who played a solid four minutes at the end of Friday's semifinal, said she could do without the attention but appreciates the support.

l Next most noticeable fan was the Greensboro Day student in a full-body green spandex suit that even covered his face. Not sure I'd want my identity known in that, either.

l Not thinking, I wore a shirt the exact shade of Ragsdale's blue uniforms to Saturday's games, something Northwest Guilford athletics director John Hughes jokingly pointed out during the girls title game between Ragsdale and his school. Victorious Tigers head coach Jerry Fuqua said afterward he once made the same mistake, wearing a shirt to a Southern Guilford game that so matched the Storm's maroon-and-gold motif that Southern's AD asked where he bought it.

l Sportswriters have diverging views on personal health. Being around the world's most well-conditioned athletes all the time could reasonably lead to two different outlooks: 1) What an inspiration! I should shoot for that, or 2) Never gonna happen, pass me that bacon-wrapped Twinkie.

I won't tell you which path I've seen most of my colleagues take, but there's a reason Sports Illustrated doesn't have a swimsuit calendar of its writers.

I try to fight the effects of an hours-in-a-chair job as best I can, but this tournament's temptingly delicious title sponsor tested my willpower. An endless supply of pizza beckoned from the hospitality room, and I took down about 10 slices by the time the weekend was over. Hope there's still room on the YMCA courts.

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com