SOUTH TAKES 3 OF 4 IN ALL-STAR BASKETBALL
By James Ethridge
FLOWOOD - The South All-Stars took three of four of the games played Friday in the A. R. Smithers MAIS All-Star Basketball Games played at the Fortenberry Gymnasium on the campus of Jackson Prep.
CLASS A GIRLS - South 67, North 54
South MVP Madison Mault (Lamar Christian) scored a team-high 18 points to lead the South to victory.
After spotting the North to an early 1-0 lead, the North went ahead to stay with an 8-0 run. Six of those points came courtesy of Tori Earnhart (Veritas). The South built up a 13-point lead at half time, 30-17.
A foul-marred game in the first half as a total of 24 fouls were whistled against the two teams, resulting in a total of 30 free throws.
The South led as much as 17 on several occasions in the second half.
Garnering MVP honors for the North was Jacquelyn Brooks (Strider), who had a game-high 19 points.
Earnhart contributed 10 points to the South cause.
CLASS A BOYS - North 90, South 73
North MVP Derek Martin (Tri-County) had a game-high 19 points to lead the North to victory. Martin was one of four North All-Stars to score in double-digits.
The South led for most of the first half before Brady Chambley (Winona Christian) scored off a rebound to give the North a 27-26 lead with 5:04 left in the first half. Grant Campbell (West Memphis Christian) converted a steal with 4:42 left to give the North its largest lead in the first half at 29-26.
The score was tied at 33-33 when South MVP Ted Brisco (Porter's Chapel) took matters into his own hands, with a jumper, a 3-pointer, and a dunk in the span of 1:15 to give the South the lead at 40-33 with less than a minute to play. A couple of lay ups from C. J. Miller (Central Holmes Christian) cut the South lead to 40-37 at the half.
After five ties and a lead change in the first eight minutes of the second half, the North west ahead to stay when Martin made a lay up to make the score 56-54 with 11:45 left in the game.
The North lead ballooned to 20, at 90-70, before Kyle Russell (Russell Christian) made a 3-pointer at the buzzer to put the final score of 90-73 on the board.
Miller had 15 points, Campbell had 14 points, and Jalin Lindsey (Clinton Christian) had 13 for the North.
P. J. Lassiter (Porter's Chapel) led the South scoring with 17 points. Tre Collins (Newton County Academy) contributed 11 points as well.
CLASS AA-AAA GIRLS - South 78, North 63
Anna Lea Little (Starkville Academy) scored 12 points to lead the South to victory.
The teams see-sawed throughout the first half as there were six ties and six lead changes. The North held its last lead when Shay Atkins (Oak Hill) converted two free throws to make the score 25-24 with 2:11 left.
The South went ahead for good when Nikki Worthey (Adams County Christian) converted a layup from an assist by Mackayla Dykes (Bowling Green) to make the score 26-25 with 1:54 left in the first half.
The South had as much as a 17-point lead in the second half.
Kim Klunk (Parklane) led all scorers with 15 points, while Maggie Proffitt (Starkville Academy) contributed 14 points and Caroline Haik (Bowling Green) added 10 points to the South cause.
North MVP Anna Katherine Nowell (Leake Academy) scored only six points.
Mollie Blair (Jackson Academy), Tori Hines (Madison-Ridgeland Academy), and Atkins each scored 11 points for the North.
CLASS AA-AAA BOYS - South 90, North 66
South MVP Liam Thomas (Central Private) scored only 10 points, but it was his defensive presence that made the difference, as he blocked several shots and collected several defensive rebounds.
The teams exchanged leads for the first ten minutes of the game. a 3-pointer by Matthew McMullan (Jackson Academy) tied the game at 20-20 with 9:38 left in the first half.
The South went ahead to stay with a 10-0 run over the next two-and-a-half minutes. The first seven of those points were scored by Simpson Anderson (Central Private) as he converted an offensive rebound, converted a slam dunk off an assist by Josh Williams (Jackson Prep), and made a 3-pointer to give the South a 27-20 lead with 8:03 left in the half. Ty Quick (Copiah) scored the other three in that run with a layup off an assist by Gage Posey (Brookhaven Academy) and a free throw. The North could get no closer than five for the remainder of the half.
The North got as close as four in the second half when Jordan Hubbard (Madison-Ridgeland Academy) made a 3-pointer to make the score 48-44 with 15:12 left in the game. The South then went on a 13-0 run to extend the lead to 61-44 with 11:34 left. Lee Ogletree (Hillcrest Christian) scored the first six of those points. The North could get no closer than seven for the rest of the game.
Ogletree led the South charge with 18 points, followed by Williams with 17, and Anderson with 15.
North MVP Peyton Lewis (Marshall Academy) led all scorers with 20 points. Hubbard contributed 10 for the North.
