Ohio boys, Kentucky girls win All-Stars
By Jason R. Crisler
PDT Sports Editor
Saturday, April 15, 2006 11:49 PM EDT
CRESTVIEW HILLS, Ky. - Cam Thoroughman's knee looks just fine and the rest of southern Ohio wasn't too shabby either.
Thoroughman came off the bench to score 12 points in acrobatic fashion and the Ohio Boys All-Stars used a dominant 29-8 run to blow out the Kentucky All-Stars 101-77 on Saturday at Thomas More College. The Kentucky Girls All-Stars won their game 93-84.
Javonte Clanton was the Ohio MVP with 12 points and six assists. Joshua Mack was the Kentucky MVP with 10 points and five rebounds.
With the game all but decided with 15 minutes to play, there was very little drama. Yet, the southern Ohio representatives made sure they weren't overshadowed by their big-city brethren. Along with Thoroughman, South Webster's Nick Aldridge and Brigham Waginger both played well. Aldridge scored six points in just 15 minutes of work and six shots. He also grabbed four rebounds.
“We want everybody to know where we came from,” Aldridge said. “Everyone was sharing basketball and the Ohio team came away with the victory. They were a lot bigger than us. I think we came out and wanted it more.”
Waginger didn't score, but made life miserable on Kentucky's guards. He finsihed with a typical four steals to go with two assists.
“I knew I wasn't going to shoot the ball,” Waginger said. “I wanted to prove I guard anybody and get everybody involved. That's when they start liking you as a teammate.”
Dennis Gagai, the Ironton sharpshooter, made three 3-pointers, including a 35-footer with the shot clock winding down in the first half.
“I just heard a bunch of people saying that the clock was winding down and I let it go,” Gagai said.
Gagai said he is talking with West Virginia and is leaning toward joining Thoroughman as a Mountaineer.
Speaking of Thoroughman, he may have had the most to prove on Saturday. After losing much of his senior season to a knee injury, the future Mountaineer said he had something to prove.
“I wanted to show athleticism,” he said.
And he did. Thoroughman scored six of his points on dunks, including a followup slam off a missed shot, and looked comfortable, even with a padded brace on his knee.
“I didn't shoot the ball well,” Thoroughman said. “This was a blast. With Nick and all of them that I played AAU with, it was nice to reunite one last time.”
In the girls game, West Carter's Brandi Rayburn made sure Ohio's last big run of the second half wouldn't be enough to secure the victory. The Morehead State-bound forward scored all eight of her points in the second half to nullify an Ohio run as Kentucky held on for the nine-point victory.
For her efforts, Rayburn was named the Kentucky MVP. Ohio cut the score to 70-62 and looked on the verge of making a run when Rayburn matched the Ohio All-Stars shot for shot. She finished with 11 rebounds and five assists to go with her eight points.
Oak Hill's Keisa Davis made a 3-pointer and scored seven points for Ohio. Clay's Katie Duduit, who will join fellow Ohio All-Star Jennifer Grandy at Shawnee State next season, finished with two rebounds and a steal. Ironton's Sarah Hacker finished with three points and four rebounds.
“It was an awesome experience,” Duduit said. “It boosts your confidence that you can play with the big schools.”
Duduit said the biggest surprise for her was the level of intensity on both sides of the ball.
“You can't think twice about a pass,” she said. “You have to get it there.”
Behind Rutgers recruit Myia McCurdy and future Cincinnati Bearcat Stephanie Stephen, the Ohio Girls All-Stars would get as close as six points after trailing by 19 points early in the second half.
One fatal stretch in the first half doomed the Ohio Girls All-Stars. After playing the Kentucky All-Stars to a 14-all tie, Ohio went scoreless for more than two minutes. That drought jump-started a 20-6 Kentucky run that gave Kentucky a 34-22 lead with 4:36 remaining in the first half.
McCurdy led Ohio with 14 points.
“We were down 20 when you had to play everybody,” Ironton coach Amy Hughes, who was the coach of the Ohio team, said. “You get to put (the best players) together (late in the game) and it's no wonder they're going to the big-time colleges. We were nervous at the beginning of the game. I think everybody was very well-deserving of the honor.”
JASON R. CRISLER can be reached at (740) 353-3101, ext. 242 or at crislerj@gmail.com.
Ohio Boys 39 62 - 101
Kentucky Boys 37 40 - 77
Ohio Boys - Pogue 2-6 0-2 5, Aldridge 3-6 0-0 6, Bardo 0-3 2-4 2, Langhurst 3-8 0-0 9, Davis 3-7 0-1 7, Rase 5-8 2-2 14, Gagai 4-9 0-0 11, Garth 4-6 0-0 9, Clanton 2-5 8-8 12, Waginger 0-1 0-0 0, Guiller 2-2 0-1 4, Thoroughman 4-10 4-6 12, McNight 4-7 2-2 10. Totals 36-78 18-26 101.
Kentucky Boys - Ard 4-10 3-4 11, Allen 3-4 0-0 7, Uchendu 1-4 0-0 2, Mack 3-9 3-4 10, Slaughter 3-9 4-8 10, Miller 0-6 0-0 0, Owens 3-6 0-0 6, Williams 1-5 1-3 3, Smallwood 1-5 0-0 2, Romes 0-0 0-0 0, Crutcher 3-5 0-0 7, Brown 1-5 1-2 3, Wilkerson 1-5 1-4 3, Staed 4-7 1-2 9, Penick 1-3 2-2 4. Totals 29-83 15 26 77.
www.portsmouth-dailytimes.com/articles/2006/04/16/news/sports/2sports_allstars.txt
