When you bring some of the best high school seniors in the area together to play basketball one last time, they’re going to compete… even if it’s an exhibition.
In the 39th Annual Lions Club All-Star Classic, the Area All-Stars beat the City All-Stars 77-66 and extended their win margin against the City 23 games to 16.
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The Area took the lead early and held it for most of the game, but the City came back and made it interesting in the second half. The City outscored the Area 8-2 to begin the fourth quarter and took the lead 60-59. But after an Area timeout, they regrouped and outscored the City 18-6 to close the game and secure yet another win for the Area.
“I saw a lot of guys look like they haven’t played in a while,” said Area and Hartville head coach Brett Reed. “It was pretty rusty. There were a lot of missed layups and missed shots that those guys being all-stars don’t normally miss.”
Part of that could have been because of the size of the rosters. Each squad had just six players, and it took a toll on their stamina.
“I felt out of shape,” said Ryan Ward. “It was fun playing with those guys knowing they’re the top talent. And it was also fun playing with Grant [Dedmon] one last time.”
Ward and Dedmon both played for Hartville, the Class 2 state champions. Ward led all scorers in this All-Star game with 19.
“[Grant and I] still have that fire I guess,” Ward said. “We’re wanting to win all the time. At the beginning of the game, we were joking around saying we wouldn’t have it anymore, we wouldn’t have that fire and that competitiveness. But then as soon as we got out there, we couldn’t help but play defense and do our best.”
“It was kind of bittersweet,” Coach Reed said when asked about coaching his two seniors for the last time. “I hate that I won’t ever get to coach them again… But I’m glad that I got to be involved in their last game.”
Garrett Cunningham of Parkview won the Slam Dunk Contest at halftime. He and Fair Grove’s Kyle Cavanaugh competed in the final round, but Cavanaugh failed to throw down on a dunk in the finals.
“I’m going to go hang up my plaques in my room,” said Cunningham. “I can say that I’ve won my first dunk contest. And I got to play with a couple of my dudes for the last time in a high school game.”
Cunningham put in nine points for the City. Glendale’s Zach Helm led the City with 18 points and was crucial in the comeback effort.
But of course, all that matters in this annual event is raising money for charity (the Lions Club donates proceeds to Saving Sight) and honoring the players with a chance to play high school ball one last time.
“I’m honored that they asked me to coach,” said Reed. “It’s for a great cause and it’s great to get to watch all these kids perform one more time before they head off to college, and I’m glad I got to be a part of it.”
Ward said, “I went all out for him [Coach Reed] and Grant just to have one last memory together and end on a good note.”
Area – 18 – 17 – 22 – 20 — 77
City – 8 – 19 – 25 – 14 — 66
Area – Ryan Ward (Hartville) 19, Christian Brown (Rogersville) 14, Johnny Scott (Bolivar) 12, Kyle Cavanaugh (Fair Grove) 12, Kyland Hewett Newbill (Ozark) 10, Grant Dedmon (Hartville) 10
City – Zach Helm (Glendale) 18, Tristan Baker (Glendale) 12, Jake Neff (Catholic) 12, Garrett Cunningham (Parkview) 9, Cameron Satterfield (Parkview) 8, Jordan Bollenbach (Parkview) 7
