Ember Henry slaps hands with players as she is introduced as one of the beneficiaries of the 18th-annual Rock Chalk Roundball Classic on Thursday, June 4, 2026 at Free State High School. Photo by Nick Krug

Travis Releford concluded the 18th annual Rock Chalk Roundball Classic with some on-court heroics.

The former Kansas guard, now working in medical device sales and as an assistant coach at Centennial High School in Ankeny, Iowa, capped off Thursday night’s all-star charity basketball game with a bang as he hit a game-winning off-balance 3-pointer to lift the blue Team Agbaji over the crimson Team Braun by a score of 110-108 on Thursday night at Free State High School.

“I don’t know what to think,” Releford said of his shot. “I know we had to go get a shot up, couldn’t remember how much we were down, but I ended up putting it up in time and it went in.”

Team Agbaji had been down two, but the winning shot was actually worth four points as a result of a newly implemented “money ball” for the final two minutes of each half, in partnership with the bank Capitol Federal, and so it also yielded a donation of $400 toward the Roundball Classic’s primary cause: benefiting children battling pediatric cancer.

“I look forward every year,” Releford said. “I’ve been doing it for, I don’t know, 10-plus years now. I’m going to continue to keep coming out and doing what I can to help.”

As usual, Thursday night’s event concentrated its philanthropic efforts on a select set of primary beneficiaries. This year, the “starting five” featured Peyton Dugan, 3, of Colwich; Ember Henry, 10, of Topeka; Romeo Padilla, 17, of Wichita; Zara Smith, 17, of Lansing; and Jude Vander Kelen, 16, of Winfield.

“Brian (Hanni) does a great job, (it’s) a great cause,” Russell Robinson said, “but it’s our way for us to get back together for community, to show what true Jayhawks look like, what it feels like to be a Jayhawk.”

Ten additional “future stars” received smaller gifts of their own, and also honored on Thursday night were this year’s three participants in the Yvonne Adams Legacy Fund.

Implemented in 2025 after its conception by Kent and Missy McCarthy, that fund is named for the late mother of former KU basketball player KJ Adams, and concentrates on parents who are fighting cancer. The 2026 trio of recipients comprised Jennifer Fletcher of Topeka, Kris Lopez of Topeka and Melissa Patry of Colwich, and both KJ Adams and his father Kevin were on hand to celebrate the winners, on whose selections they consulted.

Much of that action took place during breaks in what was a particularly exciting iteration of the celebrity basketball game, one in which nine of the first 10 buckets came from beyond the arc and Team Agbaji had to rally after trailing by as many as 15 points during the second half. A 3-pointer by Mario Chalmers in the early stages of the half had made it 73-58 in favor of their crimson-clad opponents.

Zeke Mayo of Team Agbaji and Brandon Rush of Team Braun tied for the game high with 25 points. Rush hit seven of his eight 3s during the first half and said he was “this close” to blocking Releford’s game-winning shot. Mayo at one point scored 10 points in a row, including a 4-point shot during money-ball time, to help his team rally in the final minutes.

Mitch Lightfoot and Svi Mykhailiuk scored 19 each for Team Agbaji, while Silvio De Sousa added 18 and Chalmers 16 for Team Braun.

On the strength of Rush’s hot shooting early, Team Braun jumped ahead, and went up by double digits for the first time at 32-22 on a step-back 3 by former KU football player Jared Casey.

Mayo kept it tight and Team Agbaji drew as close as 40-37 on a dunk by Tyrel Reed before Rush and Jalen Wilson used the money ball to establish a nine-point margin at halftime, when the score was 59-50.

As the second half progressed, three quick dunks by De Sousa helped keep Team Braun in front, but Team Agbaji pressed at times in the backcourt on defense and was able to take advantage of mistakes. The blue-clad squad got within a point at 79-78 on a 3-pointer by Mykhailiuk and then took the lead with Reed.

A pair of putbacks by Sasha Kaun had Team Braun ahead 100-91 late, but a dunk by Lightfoot — worth three points and $300 under the money-ball rules — and some missed free throws in the final moments resulted in Releford’s breakaway shot for the win.

The Roundball Classic’s annual celebrity dinner will take place at the KU Conference Center on Friday night at 7 p.m.