A 48-23 run over the middle three quarters propelled the East squad to a big 72-55 victory over the West at the 16th annual North Central Arkansas Boys’ Basketball All-Star Game at North Arkansas College’s Pioneer Pavilion.
Before the game started, Mountain Home’s Levi Uchtman captured the boys’ 3-point shootout then defeated girls’w inner Makaela Blair of Marshall 6-5 in the overall contest.
Bergman’s Kaden Ponder opened the game with a 3-pointer to put the West on top out of the gate. Valley Springs’ Levi Carey countered with a 3-pointer of his own on the other end to tie the score. The East went on to take a 7-5 lead on a bucket by Mountain Home’s Braiden Dewey, Then Bergman’s Bryson Bauer nailed a 3-pointer for an 8-7 West lead then added another a minute later to put the West up 11-10 at the first break.
The score was tied twice early in the second quarter, at 16-16 then again at 18-18. Yellville-Summit’s Hunter Hickerson broke the last tie of the contest and gave the East the lead for good, and was followed by a 3-pointer from Marshall’s Jesse Ragland and a bucket by Ozark Mountain’s Marcus Fields for a 25-18 advantage. The West climbed back to within 25-22 on buckets by Michael Lester of Eureka Springs and Brayden Compton of Green Forest, but the East finished the quarter with a 4-0 run of its own, going up 29-22 on a layup by Marshall’s Payton DePriest.
Kingston’s Chism Floyd opened the scoring for the West in the third stanza, but Jasper’s Espn Daniels answered with a 3-pointer for a 32-24 East lead. That advantage new to 37-26 on a 3-pointer by Ragland and Marshall’s Payton DePriest capped a 9-0 East run with a slam dunk at the 2:05 mark for a 41-26 lead. After Briar Whitehurst scored for the West, the East finished up the first half with a 6-0 run for a 47-28 lead at intermission.
During the halftime festivities, Valley Springs’ Nate Helams won the slam dunk contest, edging Ponder and Floyd in the finals.
The East picked up where the left off to start the second half. Dewey began the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer , then a 3-pointer by Ragland followed by a layup by Fields at the 2:32 mark put the East up 55-30, the biggest lead of the contest. The West cut the gap to 55-34 before the East took a 58-34 lead into the final stanza.
The West cut the gap to 62-43 on a 3-pointer by Alpena’s Brendon Adams but the East regain its 20-point plus advantage when a layup by DePriest made it 66-43. The West got as close as 69-53 in the final minute.
Hickerson led the East with 17 points while Ragland scored 13, DePriest finished with 12, Dewey had 10, Daniels had seven, Fields had four, Marshall’s Bryce Griffin had four, Carey had three and Helams finished with two.
Compton led the West with 10 points while Floyd scored nine, Bauer had six, Whitehurst had six, Lester had five, Ponder had five, Huntsville Kobe Ogden had five, Huntsville’s Kayden McCubbin had four, Adams had three and Omaha’s Dylan Greenwood added two.
