The Basin’s best high school basketball players competed in the inaugural Gino’s All-Star Classic at Mazama High School Friday. Here’s how both games unfolded.
Girls: Josh’s Gems 64, Matt’s Ballers 55
Klamath Union sophomore Lisette Watah made a three to get Matt’s Ballers within 44-41 with 3:22 left in the third quarter, but Josh’s Gems responded with an 8-1 run to close the period and kept it at least an eight-point game the rest of the way.
The Gems never trailed, taking an 8-2 lead in the first 2:30 of the contest. Bonanza senior Grace Kness buried back-to-back triples in the last 2:16 of the first quarter to help make it 17-11 entering the second.
The Gems scored the first five points of the second quarter to take a 22-11 lead, but the Ballers trimmed the deficit to 34-27 at halftime. Mazama sophomore Leah Hernandez and Henley freshman Makayla Schroeder had stretches of five and six straight Ballers points, only for the Gems to counter their scoring with threes by Henley sophomore Prestyn Schade and Henley senior Anna Harper.
A 3-pointer and a layup by Klamath Union senior Jazzi Wilson helped the Gems extend their lead to 41-29 early in the third quarter. The Ballers then put together a 12-3 run–capped off by Watah’s three–that included six points from Schroeder. Back-to-back buckets by Harper helped the Gems push the lead back to 52-42 heading into the fourth quarter.
Harper finished with 17 points (11 in the first half) to lead the Gems, Schade had 13 (11 in the first half), Kness had 11 (including three triples), Wilson had 8 (7 in the third quarter), Chiloquin junior Makayla Jayne had 7, Bonanza junior Maggie Ackley had 5, and Lost River senior Zuliana Cobian-Cazarez and Crosspoint Christian junior Hannah Langford both had 2.
Schroeder led the Ballers with a game-high 23 points, Hernandez had 14, Watah had 9, Mazama senior London O’Brien and Crosspoint Christian junior Charlotte Spalding both had 3, Crosspoint Christian sophomore Norah Radford had 2, and Tulelake junior Josefina Mojica-Mora had 1.
Former Henley standout and current Oregon Tech player Annie Campos served as head coach of the Gems, with her Lady Owls teammate Maddyson Tull serving as head coach of the Ballers.
Boys: Matt’s Ballers 56, Josh’s Gems 52
Three clutch rebounds in the final 18 seconds by Crosspoint Christian sophomore Caden Moritz helped Matt’s Ballers hold on for the win in a game they trailed by as many as 11 points.
Josh’s Gems took a 12-9 lead about halfway through the first quarter on a three by Henley sophomore Micah Ibarra and didn’t trail again until the fourth quarter. Up 18-16 to start the second quarter, the Gems used two 7-0 spurts to build a 32-21 lead, with five straight points from Chiloquin sophomore Dilen Black punctuating the first run. Henley senior Bryson Montag hit a three and Moritz made a layup to trim the deficit to 34-26 at halftime.
The Gems pushed the lead to 41-30 early in the third quarter, but four straight points from Mazama senior Kai Hunt sparked a 9-0 Ballers run over the last 4:25 of the period. Down 43-41 at the start of the fourth quarter, the Ballers scored the first 12 points of the frame–eight of which came from Hunt–to extend the run to 21-0 and take a 53-43 lead with about five minutes remaining.
The Gems battled back, with Lost River senior Tate Freeman scoring the last five points of a 7-0 run to get his team within 53-50 with three minutes to go. On the Ballers’ subsequent trip up the floor, Lost River senior Noah O’Neill cleaned up a missed three to make it a two-possession game. The next points came when Klamath Union senior Malcolm Lassett-Hankins drove in for an and-one layup with 18 seconds on the clock, cutting the lead to 55-52. The free throw popped out, and the rebound fell to Moritz, who was fouled.
Moritz made the first free throw and chased down the rebound after missing the second, drawing another foul with 10 seconds remaining. The ensuing trip to the line ended with Moritz grabbing his third straight rebound; this time, he was able to keep the ball away long enough to ice the game.
Hunt led the Ballers with a game-high 16 points (14 in the second half, including two threes), Moritz and Klamath Union senior Grafton Watah both had 8, Mazama senior Ryan Hayden had 7 (including a triple), Montag had 6 (on two threes), O’Neill had 5, Bonanza senior Victor Gonzalez had 4, and Bonanza senior Alex Renzetti had 2.
Ibarra led the Gems with 13 points (11 in the first half, including three triples), Freeman had 7, Mazama senior Gabe Nanni, Crosspoint Christian junior Brock Throne and Chiloquin freshman Denver Bravo all had 6, Black and Bonanza senior Tristan McGann both had 5, and Lassett-Hankins had 4.
Oregon Tech player Keegan Shivers served as head coach of the Gems, while mybasin.com and 104.3 & 960 Sports’ Matt Bowling served as head coach of the Ballers.
