Fresh off his weekend commitment to the Army, Columbus North senior Alex King showed why he was a Division I recruit in Monday’s All-Area All-Star game.
King led all scorers with 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Green team to a 96-93 win against the Gold. He said he did not play his best game, but had fun being able to play with the area’s top players.
“I’ve got friends on different teams, and it’s just nice to come together and play a friendly All-Star game,” King said. “It means a lot being able to play in front of all of these local fans who just want to come and watch basketball.”
The game, which featured players from The Republic’s All-Area team, benefited Columbus Christian student Levi Sallee, who is recovering from a traumatic brain injury.
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The Gold team had the lead for most of the first half with help from Brown County’s Jordan Samples, who hit four 3-pointers in the second quarter and finished with 17 points.
The Green posted a 30-point third quarter to take a 72-71 lead going into the fourth. The Gold started the quarter with a 16-2 run to take a 13-point lead, but the Green rallied back with a 14-0 run of its own. Hauser’s Mason Sherman hit a 3-pointer with two minutes remaining to give the Green a one-point lead.
There were a combined total of 33 3-pointers.
The game was tied with 1:17 left before the Green went on another 6-0 run to take a 96-90 lead. Columbus East’s Max Nolting hit his sixth 3-pointer with just under five seconds left to pull the Gold within three.
Nolting led the Gold with 18 points.
“I was just trying to shoot every time once I got the ball — just put it up there and hope for the best,” Nolting said. “It’s such fierce competition between North and East, it feels good to just relax and have fun. I know quite a few of the players on there, so it’s good to just talk to them and have fun.”
A missed free throw by the Green with 3 seconds left gave Samples one last attempt to tie the game with a 3-pointer, but he could not convert.
Other top scorers for the Green were Jennings County’s Tyler Vogel with 14 points, North’s Nathan VanDeventer of North with 13 and his teammate, Zach Green, with 12. Logan Roth of Columbus Christian and Chad Stuckwisch of Trinity Lutheran added 10 points each.
Hauser’s Alex Gross and Sherman both scored 12 points for the Gold. Ezra Scully added nine on of three 3-pointers.
Hauser coach Griff Roth guided the Green team. Columbus Christian assistant Ryan Crase coached the Gold.
The game featured players from North, East, Hauser, Columbus Christian, Jennings County, Brown County, South Decatur and Trinity Lutheran. Edinburgh’s Coltan Henderson also was invited, but was playing in the Lancers’ season-opening baseball game at Trinity Lutheran.
