South Carolina's all-star basketball teams knocked off the top players from North Carolina over the weekend during the 14th annual Carolinas All-Star Basketball Classic at Socastee High School.
The boys won 87-84 and the girls won 64-52 in games that pitted the top senior players against each other.
The South Carolina boys team was led by J.L. Mann's
Damien Leonard, who earned Outstanding Player of the Game honors after breaking the game's scoring record. Leonard hit eight 3-pointers (which broke the record of four in a game) and finished with 35 points. The old record of 24 points was shared by four players. Leonard's final points came when he hit a 3-pointer with five seconds left to break the 84-84 tie.
"They said they could guard me, so I had to move around and get them tired in the first half, and in the second half I killed them," Leonard told the Myrtle Beach Suns News.
North Carolina's girls had won the past two all-star games by a combined 71 points, but the South Carolina girls jumped out to a five-point halftime lead and extended it in the second half.
Goose Creek's
Aleighsa Welch, who, like Leonard, will play next season for the South Carolina Gamecocks, earned Outstanding Player of the Game honors after she collected 10 points, seven rebounds and one block.
"We wanted to win," Myrtle Beach player
Shatia Cole, who scored nine points, told the paper. "I know the North Carolina team won last year so we just wanted to get out there and win. It was very fun. I like playing against competition, and definitely the North squad was good competition."
NORTH SWEEPS GAMES BETWEEN IN-STATE ALL-STARSYork guard
Jerry Holmes scored 15 points to earn MVP honors as the North boys knocked off the South all-stars 96-78 in the 63rd annual North-South All-Star Basketball Game, which was played at North Myrtle Beach High School.
The South had three players in double digits, but it wasn't enough to overcome the large lead that the North mounted in the second half. The North all-stars led 42-40 at halftime.
The North hit 11 3-pointers as Mauldin guard
Shai Carpenter (14 points), Chapman's
Jalen Nesbitt (11), T.L. Hanna's
Ronell Crockett (10) and Greer's
Joseph Neely (10) each scored in double digits.
In the girls game, Hunter-Kinard-Tyler forward
Melinda Brimfield scored 18 points as the North girls won 77-69. She earned MVP honors for her scoring output. Three other girls - Southside's
McKenzie Weston, Ridge View's
Elizabeth Styles and Hillcrest's
Alexis Patterson - scored in double digits.
EDISTO'S JOHNSON EARNS GATORADE HONORAfter averaging 23 points and 12 rebounds this season, Edisto junior
Brice Johnson was named the Gatorade South Carolina Boys Basketball Player of the Year for the state. Johnson, a 6-foot-8 junior post, led his team to the first round of the playoffs.
"I really don't know how it feels," Johnson told the Orangeburg Times and Democrat. "This is the first time I've ever won Player of the Year for something. I really couldn't tell you. It's a shock to me."
Spring Valley's
Xylina McDaniel earned the girls honor from Gatorade.
TWO GIRLS HOOPS COACHES STEP DOWN FROM TOP PROGRAMS Dorman (Roebuck) and
Hillcrest (Simpsonville) are now looking for new girls basketball coaches.
Kristy Ray, who guided Dorman's girls basketball team to an 80-28 record in four seasons, including a 15-10 record this year, stepped down last week, according to the Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Sarah Cybulski, who turned around Hillcrest in five seasons, is moving to Ohio in June, according to the Greenville News.
Ray, who took over after Hall of Fame coach Joy Couch left the school to be the athletic director at Converse College, guided the Cavaliers to three region titles and an upper state championship.
"Sometimes circumstances happen that we don't fully understand, but I thoroughly believe that God has the ultimate plan, not only for my life, but also for my coaching career," she told the paper. "I would like to thank Dorman for giving me an opportunity to coach and influence some wonderful young ladies."
Cybulski led the Rams to a share of the Region II-4A title this season as they posted a 22-3 record. The Rams had back-to-back losing seasons before recording three straight winning seasons.
"I just got engaged, and my fiancé lives there," she told the newpaper. "It's my choice to go up there, but if I was staying down here, I'd love to stay in this job. It's a wonderful job. I feel very lucky that I was given the opportunity to be at such a good school and coach the kids that I coached."
