Basketball all-star games

One more catch up item.  With only one set of all-star games left, let’s take a look at what has transpired already on the all-star circuit.

Missouri Challenge

The inaugural Missouri Challenge was a huge hit and a resounding success for the Southwest squads.  The fourth seeded boys team swept to the championship behind great 3-point shooting defeating Kansas City 84-80.  Branson’s Tate Unruh hit 8 3s and scored 31 points in the championship game to clinch tournament MVP honors.  Alex Hall of Kickapoo chipped in with 26 points and 7 3s of his own.  The SW squad defeated the Northeast in the first round 107-100 with Unruh again leading the way with 29 points.  Then demolished top seed St. Louis 101-80 in the semis to reach the final.  The South Central squad which included players from Camdenton, Laquey, & Waynesville were defeated in the first round by the Southeast team with Austin Brewer of Eminence 88-86.  Their run would end in the semis though at the hands of Kansas City.

The Southwest girls squad fared only slightly worse.  The tournament’s top seed held of the upset minded Northwest squad in the first round 62-56.  Then would face the other team composed of primarily Ozarks players, South Central.  They defeated Maci Wisdom’s Central squad 79-72 in the first round, but proved little challenge for the Southwest as the top seed laid a 30 point beatdown on them to end their tournament.  That set up the final with second seeded Kansas City and it was a tremendous struggle.  The girls from the south built a 6 point halftime lead, but in the second, Drew Roberts of Blue Springs rallied her team and hit a go ahead 3 late in the game as Kansas City took the title 67-62.

Lions Club All-Star Basketball Twin Classic

The South rose again at the Leggett & Platt Center in Joplin as both the boys & girls won.  The southern ladies were lead by Exeter’s Whitney Edie who 14 of her 19 points in the second half to key a 57-46 win over the North.  McDonald County’s Jaimee Shields scored 12 points for the South, while the North was lead by Neosho’s Lorelei Snow with 15, and Candice Talbot of Jasper with 11.

Scoring was way up in the boys game as the North, lead by the 16 points of Aurora’s Ryan Carmichael ran out to a 48-43 halftime lead.  But the South exploded for 58 second half points with Dietrick Sooter of Pierce City leading the way with 22, and the South rolled to a 111-83 win.  Alex Scott of Seneca added 16 points for the South.  Golden City’s Cody Triplett had 14 and Alanzo Gingerich of El Dorado Springs Christian had 13 for the North.

Lions All-Star Basketball Classic

One game held true to it’s trend, while the other continued to have no trend at the Lions All-Star Basketball Classic this year at Baptist Bible College in Springfield.  The area teams hold an edge in both the boys and girls series.  But whereas the area boys entered this years contest with a 17-14 lead, the area girls hold a commanding 20-9 series edge.  And make it 21-9 after this year area team rode their height advantage to an 88-67 win.  Aly Stock of Nixa had 19 points and 9 rebounds with Bri Anton tossing in 15 to back her up.  Glendale’s Kaley Lyons had a great game for the city team scoring 16 points, grabbing 14 rebounds, and blocking 3 shots.  Jessica Pickett of Kickapoo had 12 point on 4 3s also for the city.

The city boys on the other hand, closed the gap in their series as they broke the game open in the third period and ran off to a 96-68 win over the area team despite Tate Unruh’s 25 points.  Five players for the city scored in double figures with Central’s Johnny Gray leading with 18.  The Kickapoo duo of Alex Hall and Brennan Wingert each had 15 for the city as the area now holds a 17-15 series edge.