Northeastern Conference Boys All-Star game short on D, long on offense

There was some defense played in last night’s annual Northeastern Conference boys All-Star game. Not much, but enough for the North squad to escape with a 135-129 win, Friday night, at Swampscott High.The North watched a double-digit lead it held most of the second half disappear with about two minutes remaining, when South Division MVP Matt Temme of Marblehead scored seven points in a run that closed his team’s gap to 128-126, and Danvers’ coach Tom Walsh called timeout with 1:41 left to play. Classical’s Nick Grassa buried a 3-pointer out of the timeout, and the North dug in and allowed just three points the rest of the way.Click here for more photos”You want to win, so we had to play a little D at the end,” Salem coach Tom Doyle said. “Overall, it was a good game. Very entertaining, and exciting to watch. I’m sure everyone enjoyed all the offense.”English’s Keandre Stanton led the North squad with 28 ppoints, mostly on dunks, while North Division MVP Antonio Reyes added 21. Corey McMillen of English had 16 points, while Trae Weathers and Raphy Medrano of Salem chipped with 12 apiece.For the South, Temme led the way with 22 points, while his Marblehead teammate Tom Stockwell added 18. Omar Benabicha of Saugus had 15 points, while Brian Sullivan of Swampscott contributed 14.The decisive shift for the North came midway through the first half with Stanton and Travonne Berry-Rogers of English on the floor with Reyes and Salem’s Medrano brothers, Raphy and Dario. Trailing by one, the unit went on a 15-2 run that was capped when Berry-Rogers (11 points) converted a three-point play and Stanton stuffed a fancy pass from Reyes.Temme kept the South from being blown out when he scored seven straight points for his team late in the first half, which ended with the North ahead, 66-55.Benabicha hit a couple of three-pointers early in the second half for the South, but Stanton, Weathers and McMillen scored on three straight dunks to keep the lead near double figures. The North eventually opened a lead of 14 points, its largest of the second half, when Weathers made a lay up with 8:08 left in the game.Weathers won the slam dunk contest at halftime with a thunderous power jam. Stanton, who was probably the favorite, went the high-risk route but was unable to convert intricate passes from Berry-Rogers. McMillen, another likely contender for the crown, also went big but failed to make any of his three attempts, all of which involved him trying to collect a pass off the side of the backboard. Classical’s Wally Abraham, though not a participant in the game, made a strong showing in the dunk contest with a lengthy straight-ahead effort that got a rousing ovation.