Usually All-Star games are not very exciting.
Monday night at North Arkansas College, that was not the case.
In the annual North Central Arkansas All-Star Game hosted by the Daily Times and North Arkansas College, there were four lead changes before the West closed out and claimed a 70-62 win.
Mason Guinnip of Deer knocked down a 3-pointer to tie the game at 51-51 with just over five minutes left in the contest.
Bergman’s Sawyer Schubert scored inside to put the West back up by two points.
Guinnip drained his second trey to put the East ahead by a point.
Kaden Baker of Lead Hill pulled down an offensive rebound and scored to lift the East to a three point lead.
The West gave the ball to Caden Smith of Huntsville. The Eagle hit a shot and with 3:13 left in the game, Hayden Martin of Harrison hit a shot to give the West a one-point lead.
Spencer Traywick of Jasper scored a bucket with 2:45 left to give the East their last lead of the game.
Scoring a 13-4 run over the last 2:30 of the game, the West put the game away.
Martin started the big run and then Bergman’s Dylan Friend hit a shot after taking a pass from former teammate Zion Fultz.
Friend then hit a trey before Yellville-Summit’s Noah Layton tipped a missed shot into the goal for the East.
Martin drained a trey before Friend scored again to give the West a 69-60 lead.
Ozark Mountain’s Mason Gilmore scored on a tip for the East, but the West closed out the scoring with a Schubert free throw.
The West pulled out a 37-33 lead after the first three periods of play. The game features five periods of action with intermission coming between the third and fourth frames.
Friend led the first half West attach with nine points and Harrison’s Jackson Criner hit eight.
In the first half for the East, Karter Holland of Clinton knocked down eight points while Rilyn Robins of Flippin had seven and Keyton Carnahan of Valley Springs had six.
Leading the West in scoring was Friend with 18 points. Martin and Schubert added 12 each, Criner eight, Taten Scates (Huntsville) six, Smith and Noah Morrison (Omaha) four apiece and Lucas Paul (Harrison) and Fultz two each. Jonathan McKinney (Omaha), Zakary Watson (Green Forest) and Maddox Bell (Harrison) rounded out the team.
The East was led by Holland with 13 points. Robins added nine, Traywick seven, Carnahan, Layton and Guinnip six each, Gilmore four, Kooper Baker (Ozark Mountain) three and Tate Kelley (Marshall), Logan Avery (Valley Springs), Nolan Turner (Lead Hill) and Kaden Baker two each. Sawyer Willis (Jasper) and D.J. Evans (Lead Hill) were East team members.
The West team was coached by David Stahler, Heath Nicolas and Logan Bryant all of Harrison.
Derek Rogers of Lead Hill coached the East team.
