AURORA | After 40 minutes of high-flying, long-range shooting basketball, Team West and Team East needed, and wanted, more time to decide the winner of the A-Town All-Star Boys Basketball Game Saturday at Gateway High School.
The annual event featuring Aurora’s top talent as presented by Sentinel Colorado — played for the first time since the 2019 because of the coronavirus pandemic — went to overtime for the first time in the fifth time playing thanks to Team East’s late rally, but Team West scored six of the combined eight points in the extra-two minute session for a 115-111 victory.
Six players scored in double figures for Team West, topped by Vista PEAK senior Curtis Stovall III, who finished with 22 points — including three in overtime — while Eaglecrest senior Ty Robinson made a big 3-pointer in the extra session to give Gateway coach Ibn Shabazz a victory in his home gym.
Hinkley junior Taveon Long scored the only basket in overtime for coach Shawn Palmer’s Team East and finished with a game-high 27 points, while high-flying Smoky Hill junior Anthony Harris Jr. rocked the rims to the tune of 19 points.
The teams garnered their points in vastly different ways.
Team West put itself in position for victory by knocking down a whopping 21 3-pointers, including at least one for eight of the 10 players who appeared in the game. Stovall III knocked down five of the triples, while Regis Jesuit senior Alonzo Paul (17 points) and Cherokee Trail junior Titus Washington (14 points) made four apiece.
Conversely, Team East enjoyed the advantage in the paint as it was led by the hard-working Long as well as Harris Jr., who flushed a variety of dunks, including alley-oops off the backboard from both Long as well as junior Brayden Maldonado, his Smoky Hill teammate.
Robinson, who finished with 16 points, was the only player of the 19 who appeared in the game to return from the 2019 game.
Watch a full replay of the game on the NFHS Network (subscription required), here
Courtney Oakes is Sentinel Colorado Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
2021 A-TOWN ALL-STAR BOYS GAME
TEAM WEST 115, TEAM EAST 111 (OT)
Score by halves:
Team West 60 49 6 — 115
Team East 55 54 2 — 111
TEAM WEST (115)
Titus Washington (Cherokee Trail) 5 0-0 14, Curtis Stovall III (Vista PEAK) 7 3-4 22, Andres Arellano (Gateway) 6 0-0 14, Ty Robinson (Eaglecrest) 7 0-0 16, Jaylen Carrizales (Vista PEAK) 5 0-0 12, Blakeley Stoughton (Regis Jesuit) 2 1-2 6, Alonzo Paul (Regis Jesuit) 5 3-3 17, Devin Philio (Rangeview) 1 0-0 2, Damajio Merritt (Rangeview) 4 0-0 9, Jericho Gutierrez (Grandview) 3 0-0 6. Totals 45 7-9 115.
TEAM EAST (111)
Taveon Long (Hinkley) 13 0-0 27, Brayden Maldonado (Smoky Hill) 5 0-0 12, Adrian Price (Eaglecrest) 4 0-0 8, Anthony Harris Jr. (Smoky Hill) 9 0-0 19, Cade Palmer (Rangeview) 1 0-0 2, Jameel Wright (Overland) 5 1-2 12, Remy Wedgeworth (Overland) 4 0-0 10, Khafre Garrett-Mills (Aurora Central) 7 0-0 15, Kavon Williams (Aurora Central) 3 0-0 6. Totals 51 1-2 111.
3-point field goals — Team West (21): Curtis Stovall III 5, Alonzo Paul 4, Titus Washington 4, Andres Arellano 2, Jaylen Carrizales 2, Ty Robinson 2, Damajio Merritt, Blakeley Stoughton. Team East (8): Brayden Maldonado 2, Remy Wedgeworth 2, Anthony Harris Jr., Taveon Long, Kavon Williams, Jameel Wright. Technical fouls — Team East bench.