Points A Plenty In All-Star Affair
MISHAWAKA – The boys’ portion of the McDonald’s Michiana High School All-Star Basketball Games gave fans exactly what they wanted to see Monday night.
Points.
Plenty of points.
A “balanced” offensive outburst carried the Gray team past the Red squad 126-105 in the fourth annual contest held in the Wiekamp Center on the Bethel College campus.
The Gray team may have prevailed, led by a triple-double from Mishawaka Marian star Devin Cannady, but no one put in more points that Filip Serwatka.
Serwatka, the top scorer for Concord this past season, poured in a game record 45 points in a losing performance. The talented big man hit 19-25 shots from the field, including 4-8 from 3-point range. He also entertained the large crowd with at least eight dunks in the fast-paced, up-and-down affair. Serwatka has yet to make his college choice.
Rashaan Jackson, a WCHS senior, had three points for the Red team. Jackson also had four assists and three rebounds.
“It was just great to get a chance to play with these guys who I have played against all the time in high school,” said Jackson. “I came to this game last year and it was a lot of fun. The talent around our area is unbelievable.”
Jackson helped lead the Tigers to an 18-5 overall record his senior season, including a perfect 7-0 mark to claim the Northern Lakes Conference championship.
“It was just a really fun season to be a part of and our success was due to our team chemistry,” remarked Jackson about his final season playing for coach Doug Ogle. “I thoroughly enjoyed our season.”
Jackson, who shot 1-5 from the field and 1-2 from the line Monday night, is still exploring his options but plans to play in college somewhere next season.
The Gray team, which shot 55-100 from the field in the win, never trailed. The Gray bolted to a 17-4 lead to open the game en route to building a 61-48 halftime lead. Cannady, who is bound to play at Princeton, had 13 points at intermission. Serwatka poured in 23 points in the opening half on 9-11 shooting from the field for the Red team. The Gray team hit 25-45 shots in the opening half, while the Red was cold in making just 19-49 attempts.
The winning Gray team, which had eight players score in double figures, completely controlled the final half as well.
Cannady, a heady, verstaile guard, finished with 19 points to go with 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Peyton Staples (Mishawaka) had 15 points for the Gray squad, while Reontre Lawrence (South Bend Riley) had 14 and Paul Forman (Churubusco) and Dion Harris (South Bend Clay) each added 12. The trio of Greenan Sullivan (South Bend St. Joseph), Ryan Lutz (Penn) and Billy Doslak (Penn) each chipped in with 10 points.
Fairfield senior Joe Line contributed nine points and six rebounds for the winning Gray team.
Goshen junior guard Brady Bechtel finished with 17 points for the Red team. Jacob Strong (John Glenn) scored 14 points, Austin Woolett (Goshen) 12 and DK Fox (NorthWood) 10 for the Red squad. Pete Smith (Northridge) and Dimitri Giger (Elkhart Memorial) each had two points and Braxton Linville (NorthWood) led the Red team with five assists.
The winning Gray squad finished 55-100 frm the field, including 14-42 from distance. The Red squad hit 44-98 overall from the field and were 12-44 from deep.