Willow Glen Resident
Sports
Basketball showcase features two thrillers
By Greg Lydon
Bill Murray almost seemed surprised.
Fans got two thrillers for the price of one at the Del Mar Dons Club Senior Showcase Saturday afternoon at Del Mar High School.
The top boys and girls from the Blossom Valley Athletic League were on display during one final afternoon of hoops for a group of talented seniors.
The girls and boys games both went down to the wire, delighting Dons Club organizers, fans and coaches in attendance.
The 2008 BVAL Mt. Hamilton Division's Most Valuable Player Tyree McCrary stole the show, using all of his 6-foot-7 frame to control the paint to help the South team get the win. He also left no doubt as to who the best dunker in the league was, bringing home the 2008 slam dunk championship as well.
The Oak Grove senior was named the 2008 boys game MVP, aided by Oak Grove point guard and teammate Stacy Long. McCrary played major minutes in the tightly contested boys all-star game.
"Tyree is a very special player," the South head coach Randy Bartholomew of Branham said. "I had to leave him out there as much as possible. He was blocking shots, dunking whenever he got the ball down low and really passing the ball well for us to help our team get the win."
The South nipped the North 76-75 in overtime, but needed a game-tying three-pointer with nine seconds left in regulation to sent the game into the extra period.
Trailing 70-67 with 44 seconds left on the clock, Bartholomew jumped up, wanting a timeout when the ball crossed the half-court line. With the crowd on its feet, the referee never heard the South coach's plea for the timeout. Good thing for Bartholomew, as moments later Long dished to a wide-open teammate who drilled a deep trey to send the game into the extra session.
"Once I saw that our guy had the open look, I sat down and was very quiet," Bartholomew said with a smile. "I was very happy the shot went in. Coaching a game like this is so difficult because you have 12 guys that can all play. I told the guys after the game that I'm sorry if I didn't get you enough minutes in the game."
The South came out gunning in the opening quarter, shooting its way to a 17-12 lead after the first quarter. Leigh shooting guard Tyler Nii and Del Mar guard Dallin Blank helped the North charge back early in the second quarter.
Nii drove and dished to a teammate for an easy score, but Pioneer forward Andrew Springer helped the South squad get the points back quickly, finding fellow Pioneer senior Nick Maggipinto for a pretty transition score.
Moments later, Springer drilled a trey from the top of the key, making the score 22-20 South closing in on the halftime break.
Jake Steeves got to wear his Del Mar jersey one last time at home. The 6-foot-6 senior center was one of two Dons that played in the boys game. Steeves provided nice interior rebounding for the North, along with a nice shot block in the second quarter starting the fast break.
Westmont point guard Max Schnieder looked like a clone of Steve Nash running the fast break after the big block. Schnieder circled around a screen at the top of the key, then pulled up for a crisp jump shot, giving North the lead at 25-24.
The South closed strong with a nice running lay-in from Leland senior guard Drew Marino to give the South a 32-29 lead at the halftime break.
"We played a nice game today," Bartholomew said. "I was very impressed with the skill level of all the guys. Tyree can handle the ball and pass well--he's a load to deal with for his size."
Nii nailed a three-pointer to get things going in the second half, but the South's superior size helped them open up a 42-34 lead soon after the trey by the Longhorn sniper.
Prospect senior guard Nate Taye helped lead the North comeback late in third quarter. Taye ripped a rebound off the defensive glass, then traveled coast-to-coast for the tough finish at the rim, making the score 53-51 South after three quarters of play.
Taye added six more points in the fourth quarter, Nii had two assists on the scores, but the South prevailed in overtime.
Three-point winners
Although Pioneer's Mike Beltramo didn't get the minutes he would have liked in the boys all-star game, he shined on the big stage, taking home first place with style in the second annual three-point shooting contest.
He had never participated in a shooting contest like this before, but after the opening rack of balls Beltramo heated up, nailing four of his final five shots in the final round to bring home the trophy.
"This really tops off my senior year," Beltramo said. "I just tried to stay in rhythm. I didn't change my shot, I just tried to stay consistent. It's a lot of fun to play in a game like this today."
Beltramo, a late addition to the South roster, is no stranger to playing large on the big stage--he shot the lights out in a pre-season tournament at Los Gatos High School earlier this year, taking MVP honors during Pioneer's first place finish.
Kathleen De La Cruz of Silver Creek took first-place in the girls three-point contest. Willow Glen guard Hayley Tharp finished in second place in the shooting contest.
East girls win
Tharp and fellow Rams teammate Brittany O'Brien helped lead their coach and the girls East team into the winner's circle one more time, as the East team defeated the West 55-54 in the opening game of the afternoon.
Game MVP Desiree Collins of Santa Teresa finished the game with 22 points and the game-winning block on the final possession to preserve the dramatic victory.
"I wish I had someone with that kind of size on my team all season long," East coach Amy Gannon of Willow Glen said after the win. "Desiree really dominated on the interior for us, and getting to coach two of my Willow Glen girls one more time was very special. I've known these girls since they were in junior high. It's bittersweet saying goodbye to them, but it was a lot of fun to coach so much talent today."
De La Cruz led the West with 14 points, while Westmont senior guard Kelly Gregg added 12 points in a nail-biting defeat.
"It was fun to play up-tempo today and really play loose out there," Gregg said. "It's a good way to say goodbye to high school basketball. I wanted to have fun today; it was a fun game even though we didn't get the win."
The East sprinted out of the gates to a 16-9 lead after one quarter and continued to push the pace in the second with a 7-0 run, making the score 22-11.
Gregg dished to Del Mar forward Elli Batinich for an easy score, getting the West going midway through the second quarter.
Alyssa Kanzaki, Gregg's teammate at Westmont, played tough down low, putting in four second quarter points to close the East lead to 29-25 at the halftime break.
The seesaw game went back and forth in the third quarter, but a big rebound by Tharp and the key block by Collins sealed the tight victory for the East 55-54.
"It was a phenomenal finish today," Gannon said. "It was a little emotional, but having one last chance to coach these kids was something very special."
Slam dunk champ
McCrary was a man among boys in the dunk contest, flashing the ball between his legs in an opening- round dunk before bringing down the house in the finale.
McCrary brought a young fan out of the crowd and sat him in a chair holding the basketball. The fan flipped the ball up to a charging McCrary, who jumped over the chair and person, caught the basketball and threw down a vicious dunk, inciting a thunderous roar from the crowd.
