Matthew Brito wasn’t surprised by Hobbs star Juhreece Thompson’s performance July 30 at the Class AAAAA-AAAA North-South All-Star game in Albuquerque.
Brito had faced Thompson Jan. 24, when Hobbs defeated the Española Sundevils 61-53 in Española during Brito’s final season.
“I’d seen him play at Española,” Brito said. “I knew what he could do.”
The 6-foot, 6-inch, 270-pound Thompson was the top player at the all-star game. He scored 27 of his 29 points after the first half, six of them on powerful slam dunks, and led the South to a 124-117 overtime victory over the North.
Brito, the only local player on the North team, finished with 17 points. He helped the North open up a double-digit lead in the second half.
Brito had given the North an 84-74 lead with a three-pointer. He added a pair of free throws and scored on a driving layup to keep the North up by 10 points 88-78.
“I got in a little groove there,” Brito said. “It was fun getting up and down the court with some of the best players in the state.”
The South battled back and the score was tied 92-92 with 5:09 left in regulation.
“I thought we were going to win the game,” Brito said. “They were physical in the post and outrebounded us.”
The South had taken a 102-101 lead on a slam dunk by Thompson after a nice assist from Artesia’s Derek Montoya with 1:14 left in regulation. A free throw by Manzano’s Ryan Gesiakowski tied the score. Deming’s Anthony Lopez scored to give the South a 104-102 lead, and Gallup’s Alfonso Hubbard answered for the North to tie the score with 30.9 seconds left to play and send the game into overtime.
Hobbs’ Josh Sanders ave the South a 106-104 lead in overtime and three straight baskets by Thompson pushed the South’s lead to five points with 3:07 left. A pair of Thompson free throws made it 116-109 with 2:34 left to play.
Brito, who returned to the game because two North players had fouled out, hammered in a three-pointer to make it 116-112, but the South closed out the victory with a pair of free throws by Alamogordo’s Travis Geiger and one final slam by Thompson.
Brito finished with the third most points on his team. He plans to play at New Mexico Highlands University this season.
“We all came out and wanted to show what we got,” Brito said.