South Squads Dominate 38th Annual Joe Silver North-South Senior All-Star Classic

Boys Basketball Game

Defense was clearly optional in the boys game as both teams were running and gunning all game long featuring plenty of highlight reel dunks and three-point shots made. Down 28-17 in the first half, the South rallied to tie the game up at 39-39 with 5:09 left. Both teams traded baskets but the South managed to go on a 10-2 run and eventually take a 60-55 lead at the half.

In the second half, the South built their advantage to 81-68 and coasted to a 120-107 victory. Richmond Aririguzoh of Trenton Catholic scored 15 points and was named MVP.

During the intermission break, a dunk and three-shooting contest were held. In the three-point contest, Spencer Cook of Washington Township won with 10 shots made and outlasting Nate Garvey of St.Joseph (Montvale) and Alphonso Gee of Paterson Kennedy who both made nine shots. The dunk contest came down to Eric Johnson-Alford of Passaic County Tech and Breein Tyree of St. Joseph (Met.).

Tyree brought the crowd out of their seats with two thunderous dunks that earned him perfect scores of 30. However, in his final dunk attempt Tyree injured his knee and was unable to continue thus Johnson-Alford won the contest.

“It’s so much fun coaching an all-star game and you get to be around some of the best players in the state,” said South Head Coach Scott Kupersmit. “It’s enjoyable and not the same stress as during the season and fun to get some combinations together and have it work out. We had 15 guys and divided it up into three groups and kept playing equal until we went with the best in the last four minutes and we did that and it wasn’t as close as we though it might be.”

“All our units played well but our second unit particularly with Richmond Aririguzoh of Trenton Catholic,” Kupersmit continued. “He’s a tremendous player and goes hard all the time. For a guy to come out in an all-star game and play that hard says a lot about him and his coach.”

Girls Basketball Game

Down 47-34 with 3:19 remaining in the first half, the South went on a 16-0 spurt taking a 50-47 lead into the locker room and never relinquished the lead in the second half winning 92-83. Maggie McIntyre of Gloucester Catholic capped off the comeback knocking down a trifecta at the buzzer.

Nneka Ezeigbo of Notre Dame was named MVP. During halftime, a three-point shooting contest was held with Nicole Morris of Rumson-Fair Haven burying seven shots and edging out Che’Kasha Andrews of Long Branch and Cassandra Falone of Chatham who hit six shots apiece.

“Always great to see a ton of talent on the court and know you are going to get the offense but I thought the defense was pretty good for an all-star game,” said South Head Coach Lisa Kukoda.

“It’s so much fun coaching an all-star game and you get to be around some of the best players in the state,” added Kukoda. “These girls hard work and instincts plus down no matter how many points just kept fighting back and great to see Maggie put that one in at the buzzer to give us the momentum and lead. The girls did a great job of passing the ball and allowing people to showcase their skills that led to shots getting knocked down in the second half.”