A dynamic duo from diminutive Dora High School led the South All-Stars back from a 23-point second-half deficit to a 98-93 victory over the North at the Class A-AA North-South All-Star game July 30 at Eldorado High School in Albuquerque.
Dora’s Kyler Adams and Jeremy Butler combined for 36 points to lead the South’s second-half surge.
The North had led 51-35 at halftime and started the second half with two three-pointers.
Leading 61-38 after a driving layup by Mesa Vista’s Frankie Giron, the North let the South back in the game by failing to guard the perimeter.
“They came out and played hard,” Mesa Vista’s Frankie Giron said. “We left them open and they killed us with threes.”
Dora’s Kyler Smith sank a long trey that cut the North’s lead to 70-61. After Giron crashed the boards for a putback, Hagerman’s Jesse Medrano made the score 72-64 with another three-pointer. Mesa Vista’s Jaime Cruz scored on a breakaway layup as the North briefly went back to their running game that had given them their big lead. Cruz fed Rehoboth’s 6-foot, 8-inch Josh Holwerda for a scintillating slam dunk to give the North a 76-64 lead,
The South then ran off 12 unanswered points to tie the score. Smith and Medrano both connected from long range during the run and Butler tied the score with a three-pointer with 7:32 left to play.
A free throw by Peñasco’s Joseph Gurulé gave the lead back to the North, but the South took its first lead 78-77 after a pair of free throws by Texico’s Brett Anderson with 6:32 left to play.
The North came back to take an 81-80 lead, but Smith banged his fourth three-pointer of the second half to give the South an 83-81 lead, and it never trailed again. Smith finished with 21 points to lead the South while Medrano had 17 and Butler 14 points for the South. The South sank eight three-pointers in the second half.
Cruz and Giron, both recent graduates, each had 11 points for the North. Escalante’s Jon Elwess finished with 2 points and Gurulé with X points.
“It was fun playing with these guys,” Giron said. “I knew they could finish.”