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East-West boys basketball: West is best

Tuesday, July 21, 2009
(Updated 1:16 pm)

GREENSBORO — Even Julius Brooks didn't realize the carnage unfolding before him.

The former Page basketball star finally glanced up at the scoreboard late in Monday's North Carolina Coaches Association East-West All-Star Game and saw the damage: The West was en route to a 124-92 win at the Greensboro Coliseum, breaking the record for both most points scored and biggest margin of victory in the 61-year-old event.

"I looked up and was like, 'Whoa!'" said Brooks, now at Loyola (Md.). "When you're playing, you don't pay attention."

The West topped the previous record for most points in the game — set in a 119-113 West win in 1987 — with several minutes to go. The previous biggest margin of victory was 31 in 1965.

A 3-pointer by the East's Zach Faircloth in the final minute closed the gap to 30, but K.J. Sherrill, who played at West Rowan and is now at Charlotte, put down an uncontested dunk at the buzzer for the record.

Sherrill had a game-high 19 points and 11 rebounds.

"They showed their talent," said West coach Howard West of Winston-Salem Reagan, whose team had eight double-figure scorers. "We were lucky to have a good group that didn't mind sharing the ball."

Winston-Salem Mount Tabor's Mike Grace, who will head to Yale in the fall, earned MVP honors with 16 points and five assists. His 3-pointer just before the first-quarter buzzer gave the West a 33-16 lead.

"He was our vocal leader," West said of Grace. "From the moment he stepped on the floor, he was in control of his group."

It was essentially in hand at that point. The West, which featured seven future Division I players, had already put on a fireworks display when East Lincoln's Keith Rendleman pinned a shot against the backboard and started a fast break to North Mecklenburg's Kyle Gaillard, who threw down a left-handed dunk over a defender to bring the crowd to its feet and prompt several scoreboard replays.

"There were some leapers out there," West said. "It was no place for the faint-hearted."

The East had five double-figure scorers, led by 16 each from Greenville Conley's Jaron Lane and Camden County's Ricky Krainiak, and their 92 points would have been good enough to win in five of the previous 10 games.

But the West shot 58.3 percent to the East's 39.5 and had stretched its lead to 27 by halftime. The West scored at least 28 points in every quarter.

"We came together as a team and the switch flipped," said Brooks, who had 10 points and 11 rebounds and was joined in double figures by Wakefield Ellison of Asheville (17), Rendleman (14), Kyle Gaillard of North Mecklenburg (13), Drew Absher of Davie County (11) and Wake Forest-bound C.J. Harris of Mount Tabor (11).

"You only get one try at this thing," said West, who has been coaching for 40 years. "The record's OK, but getting a chance to coach it is an honor."

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com

East 16 18 25 33 — 92
West 33 28 31 32 — 124

East —Jaron Lane 16, Ricky Krainiak 16, Marcellous Perez 11, Candon Rusin 11, Zach Faircloth 10, DaMetrius Upchurch 9, Alex Tucker 6, Stan Okoye 6, Harrison George 4, Trey Sumler 3.

West — K.J. Sherrill 19, Wakefield Ellison 17, Michael Grace 16, Keith Rendleman 14, Kyle Gaillard 13, Drew Absher 11, C.J. Harris 11, Julius Brooks 10, Eric Mayo 8, Josh Pittman 5.

Accompanying Photos

Jenny Tenney

Photo Caption: East All-Star player Marcellous Perez (5) is guarded by West All-Star players K.J. Sherrill (53) and Eric Mayo (33) during Monday night's game. 

Additional Photos

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