CONWAY -- Ending a seven-game losing streak was a high priority for the West All-Stars. Czar Perry and Exavion Christon made sure it happened.
Perry, a 6-1 guard from El Dorado, scored 12 of his 18 points in the final 7:38 to lead the West to a 110-98 victory over the East in Arkansas High School Coaches Association All-Star boys basketball game Thursday night at the University of Central Arkansas' Farris Center.
EAST (98)
Xavier Reed 3 2-2 9, Cam Johnson 3 0-0 7, Taylor Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Tevin Brewer3 4-5 10 , Matt Miller 1 0-0 2, Matthew May 0 0-0 0, BJ Murray 4 0-1 10, Kamron Brasfield 2 1-2 5, , Jahcoree Ealy 5-3-4 13, Shawn Doss 3 4-5 11, Marquis Eaton 5 0-0 11, Ben Harvey 5 2-3 13, Kris Bankston 0 1-2 1, Josh Richardson 2 2-2 6. Totals 36 19-26 98
WEST (110)
Trevor Marvin 1 0-0 3, Tremont Robinson 3 2-5 8, Austin Williams 3 0-0 6, Weston Riddick 4 0-0 11, Ethan Bowman 3 0-0 8, Matthew Wilson 4 0-0 10, Brandon Fenner 4 0-0 12, Czar Perry 8 2-4 18, Joey Hal 0 0-0 0l, Jack Eaton 0 1-2 1, Phillip Hampton 1 0-0 2, Exavion Christon 4 1-1 11, Jemarreya Jones 0 2-2 2, Jordan Hemphill 4 6-7 14, Beau Beckner 2 0-0 4. Totals 41 14-21 110.
EAST; 14 25 12 15 32 — 98
WEST;19 14 20 20 37 — 110
Three-point goals — East 7 (Murray 2, Reed, Johnson, Doss, Eaton, Harvey); West 14 (Fenner 4, Riddick 3, Bowman 2, Wilson 2, Christon 2, Marvin). Rebounds — East 43 (Harvey 6); West 40 (Jones 6). Assists — East 14 (Brewer 6). West 25 (Perry 4, Robinson 4, Wilson 4). Steals — East 10 (Johnson 2, Harvey 2); West 13 (Robinson 3, Fenner 3) . Blocks — East 4; West 3. Team fouls — East 19, West 23.
The victory was the first for the West since 2009 and it was only the third time the West has been on the winning end of the annual event since 2001. The East leads the series 42-30.
"It didn't take us long to bond," said Christon, who scored 11 points, had 3 rebounds and 2 assists in earning MVP honors. "We bonded in practice. We bonded outside of practice. It translated onto the floor tonight."
The East scored the first eight points of the second half to grab a 59-53 advantage but the West responded by scoring the next 13 points. The West never trailed again and the East was never any closer than five the rest of the way.
Each team had six players score 10 or more points, but East had no one score more than 13.
"You want to talk about sharing the basketball, a lot of times in all-star games they don't share the basketball," West Coach B.J. Ross of Charleston said. "Six in double figures; that says it all right there."
The 110 points scored tied an all-star game high for the West. The West also scored 110 points in the 1972 all-star game.
"We've been talking about breaking that losing streak all week," said Perry, who also had four assists and was named the West's outstanding player. "It's not hard to develop chemistry in such a short amount of time, but you do have to focus in during practice. You have to get to know each other and compete."
The West experienced one scoring lull during the first half. Trailing 30-20 with 3:45 left in the second period, the East scoring 19 of the next 22 points. The West bounced back the following period and took a 53-51 lead when Charleston's Brandon Fenner hit a last-second three-pointer.
Fenner, who holds the state record for career three-pointers, finished with four threes for all 12 of his points. Fenner's final 3 three-pointers came during a 90-second stretch in the final period that saw the West expand a 77-71 advantage into a 86-71 lead.
"We talked all week about breaking this losing streak," Ross said. "We haven't won in seven years, so it was a big deal to these kids. But I tell you what, we had a lot of young men who were under-recruited. ... I bet some of these Division I coaches are wondering what they were thinking."
Bentonville's Jordan Hemphill added 14 points and three assists for the West while Benton's Weston Riddick finished with 11 points and Farmington's Matthew Wilson added 10. Jemarreya Jones of Nevada led the West in rebounding with six.
Ben Harvey of Jonesboro and Jahcoree Ealy of Guy-Perkins each scored 13 points to lead the East. Marion's Shawn Doss and Jonesboro's Marquis Ealy each added 11 points. Fort Smith Northside's Tevin Brewer, who was named the East's outstanding player, and Earle's B.J. Murray each scored 10. Harvey's six rebounds led the East while Brewer had a game-high six assists.
"This was the best group I've had that enjoyed working together in the four years I've been a part of the all-star coaching staff," Ross said. "They had great chemistry and most of them came here without really knowing each other. But by Day 2, we lined them up and had them all talk to each other. It was little things like that that made the difference."
Sports on 06/23/2017