All Star Games remaining Saturday, April 8th - Pennsylvania/Maryland All-Star Games at Steelton-Highspire H.S., PA--HERE Thurs, April 13th-  The Berks County vs Mid-Penn Challenge    at Alvernia College in Reading, PA   HERE

Pa. stars beat N.J. 78-62
By Alicia Johnson, April 1, 2006

The term “all-star game” can be a little misleading. Sure, there are the over-the-head passes and constant alley-oops for dunks, but for players and coaches it’s still a game, and one that should be won.

In Friday’s nightcap in the 30th annual roundball showcase, the Pennsylvania and New Jersey all-stars were out for the “W,” which meant full-court pressure, crashing the boards and battling for loose balls.

New Jersey head coach Bob Edmonds was even hit with a technical. In the end, the hometown boys pulled out a 78-62 win.

“I wasn’t surprised, all these guys are competitors,” said West Perry center Justin Fry. “And we all want to come out here and show what we got.”

But even Fry would admit he wasn’t expecting a technical.

Pennsylvania jumped out to an early 13-6 lead before the Jersey squad finally found its rhythm and began knocking down shots. A pair of free throws by John Howell, from North Burlington, tied the game at 18. The visitors took advantage of poor shot selection from the Pennsylvania group to nab a 25-18 lead.

But one thing the about an all-star game is that there is plenty of talent just waiting on the bench. After a few moves, the hometown boys were off to the races again, regaining the lead after two free throws from Red Land senior Curtis Marshall.

Like a few others who have yet to sign with a college program, the senior guard hoped this all-star game would give a few coaches one last glimpse of his skills on the basketball court.

Marshall said he’s attracted interest from West Chester, Shippensburg and Alvernia.

“Hopefully I got noticed a little bit,” said Marshall, who finished with eight points, including 4-for-4 from the line. “But with so many people out here it’s hard to try to get noticed. Hopefully I will get a call or something.”

Pennsylvania used an 11-6 run, behind great feeds from Central Dauphin’s Jalon Bransford, to build on its 37-35 halftime lead. Palmyra’s Corey Brubaker’s And-1 made things 48-41.

The Jersey guys got down by as many as 12 points, 65-53 with 7:47 to go in the game. They got to within six, 65-59, but the Pennsylvania boys kept running and driving straight to the hole.

The UMBC-bound Fry led the Pennsylvania squad with 14 points and six rebounds.

Pennsylvania also won the dunk contest at halftime. Reading Central Catholic’s Alex Franklin received a box of Dunkin’ Dounuts for his effort.

“If you play scared that is when you get hurt,” said Fry about a fear of hurting himself in the game. “You just go out there and have fun.”

“It’s about having fun,” Marshall said. “We have the best players around here (on one team).”

Mid-Penn boys 96  Keystone boys 73

Flashy guard work, ice-cold 3-pointers and nasty dunks were the recipe for the Mid-Penn boys’ 96-73 win over the Keystone team.

Central Dauphin’s David Reisinger gave the packed house a show, with not one, but two dunks in the win. Reisinger brought the crowd to its feet when he dunked right in the face of a Keystone defender, who immediately left the gym (just kidding).

The overall dunk count was 2-1, with the advantage going to the Mid-Penn boys.

“That was the craziest dunk I’ve ever seen,” said Northern’s Tyler Cole. “That kid’s face just lit up ... that should have been a poster.”

The 6-foot-5 Cole showcased his versatility in the all-star game, knocking down 3-pointers and powering up offensive putbacks. The senior finished with 12 points and five rebounds.

“I just try to come out here and have fun,” Cole said. “It’s been hard, since most haven’t played for a while, to get back into shape.

“(The best thing) is getting to know other teammates, talking to them and finding out what they do in the offseason.”

The Keystone boys trailed 34-31 at the half.

The Mid-Penn boys reeled off three straight baskets to start the second half. The sloppy play and turnovers that marred the first half became less of a problem as the Mid-Penn squad started moving the ball around and connecting with teammates cutting to the basket.

The job of getting all these all stars into the game fell squarely in the lap of Cedar Cliff head coach Joel Martin. Since the number of players who actually show up is never known, Martin said he didn’t know what to expect. He even thought about bringing a few of his players just in case the team fell short.

What Martin got instead was 19 players ready to go to work, so he did his best to rotate players in and out of the game.

“Obviously we had plenty of players,” Martin said. “But they all cheered for each other and no one complained about minutes. I just looked on the bench to see who was fresh and wasn’t sweating.

“They are a nice group of guys.”

Harrisburg’s Shawnie Smith represented the Cougars and finished with 16 points. East Pennsboro’s leading scorer John Breski finished with six points, and Camp Hill’s Jeff Conway scored nine points in the win.

Mid-Penn girls 80  Keystone girls 62

For the past couple of months, the Mid-Penn girls have been going at each other with full force on the basketball court, yet somehow all that competition and even a few angry words leads to an unbelievable ability to work well together.

The Mid-Penn girls looked like they’d been playing alongside and not against one another all year as they cruised to a 80-62 victory over the Keystone girls.

Cumberland Valley’s Mahala Thomas, who finished with eight points, has done her fair share of battling with Trinity, but Friday night, Chrissy Forster and Gina Nazzaro were her teammates.

“The mindset is to beat them (Trinity) when you’re playing,” Thomas said. “So when you’re not playing against them, you don’t know what to do.

“A lot of people know each other from playing against each other,” she added. “We know how everyone plays and how they move on the court.”

The Mid-Penn girls used crisp passing and solid ball movement to get open shots, and with this many all-stars on one team, there were plenty of players to step up and knock down a few.

Four Mid-Penn girls scored in double figures in the win.

Nazzaro was a big force for the Mid-Penn squad in the post. Pass after pass found its way into the blocks, and either Nazzaro simply layed it up in transition or kicked it back out for a open jumper. She finished with 14 points, five rebounds and three blocks. Teammate Forster added 11, while Harrisburg’s Stevi Hall chipped in with 12 and Palmyra’s Meghan Briggs added 11, including three 3-pointers. Shippensburg’s Abby Myers scored two points for the Mid-Penn all-stars.

Boiling Springs’ Jessica Davis scored eight points. Red Land’s Sam Rabuck and Northern’s C.C. Nicodemus each scored two.

“We played an unselfish game,” Forster said. “We worked the ball around. Everyone deserves to be here, everyone deserved a shot.”

Sentinel-area all-stars

Here’s a look at how Sentinel-area players performed at 30th annual Roundball Showcase:

Gina Nazzaro: Trinity:14 points, five rebounds, three blocks

Chrissy Forster: Trinity: 12 points, eight rebounds

Mahala Thomas: Cumberland Valley: eight points, five rebounds

Sam Rabuck, Red Land: two points, eight rebounds

C.C. Nicodemus, Northern: two points, four rebounds

Lauren Tucci, Cedar Cliff: three steals, four rebounds

Abigal Myers, Shippensburg: two points, two rebounds

John Breski, East Pennsboro: six points, two rebounds

Jeff Conway, Camp Hill: nine points, six rebounds

Tyler Cole, Northern: 12 points, five rebounds

Dan Skoda, Camp Hill: Four rebounds

Curtis Marshall, Red Land: six points

Justin Fry, West Perry: 14 points, six rebounds.

All Star Games remaining
Saturday, April 8th - five games
The Pennsylvania/Maryland Basketball All-Star Games
at Steelton-Highspire H.S. schedule  -HERE
Find the History of the Maryland/Pennsylvania Series,  HERE

Thurs, April 13^{th-  two games}
The Berks County vs Mid-Penn Challenge  
 at Alvernia College in Reading- schedule  HERE