Some of the area’s best basketball players gathered for a night of top-notch basketball in the 2021 Agganis All-Star Basketball Games at Tony Conigliaro Gymnasium Monday.
In the 16th Agganis All-Star Girls Basketball Game, the South squad picked up a 50-36 win.
The St. Mary’s duo of Maiya Bergdorf and Nicolette D’Itria were able to dominate together on the court one more time to lead the South squad.
Bergdorf picked up South MVP honors with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds while D’Itria tacked on 20 points and six rebounds. Another St. Mary’s player, Alyssa Grossi added four points and four rebounds while the Spartans usual rival on the court, Veronica Tache, added a three-pointer. Lynn Classical’s Sailor Brinkler had six rebounds.
The mix of familiar faces and rivals on the bench was a highlight for St. Mary’s Coach Jeff Newhall, who coached the South side for a third time.
“The unique thing about this is I was sitting next to Veronica (Tache) on the bench,” said Newhall, who was honored with the Dr. Elmo F. Benedetto Athletics Award this year. “We’re rivals with Bishop Fenwick. In her four years we’ve played them 12 times, three times a year. To be able to be on the same bench with them after going back and forth for years and then throw some other Lynn kids from Classical in there, it was a good time.”
Andover’s Tatum Shaw exploded for 13 points and three steals in the second half (each game consisted of two 20-minute halves) to earn North MVP honors.
Masconomet’s Olivia Filmore also shined, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a well-rounded performance. Essex Tech’s Katerina Napoli added seven points and eight rebounds. The North was coached by Marblehead’s Paul Moran.
The boys ended the night with a dramatic finish in the 16th Agganis All-Star Boys Basketball Game. Lynn Classical’s Jayden Thornton was borderline unstoppable, scoring a game-high 33 points and six 3-pointers to earn South MVP honors and lead his squad to an 80-77 come-from-behind win.
And he wasn’t the only Rams player to dominate. Forward Angel Garcia notched the games only double-double with 17 points — 15 coming in the second half — and 12 rebounds.
But Classical didn’t have all the fun.
Swampscott’s Jacob Cooke knocked down a pair of threes and notched 14 points in the win. Masconomet’s Harry Osgood had eight points and three rebounds, while Bishop Fenwick’s Alex Gonzalez had four points and six rebounds.
Sammy Batista showed up for the North squad looking more than comfortable on his home court with four 3-pointers and 25 total points to earn North MVP honors.
Wakefield’s Brett Okundaye also made a splash with a monster one-handed dunk in the first half and ended his night with 13 points and six rebounds. Saugus’ Myles Manalaysay (10 points) and Lynnfield’s Luke Martinho (11) also brought plenty of offense to the mix while Revere’s Calvin Boudreau had an all-around solid game with six points and seven rebounds. Salem’s Guillermo Pimental scored four points.
All of that firepower had the North holding onto a lead almost wire-to-wire before a late South comeback. Garcia heating up helped things get started but the real difference-maker came on Thornton’s final three, which he made through a foul to put the South up 78-77 with a minute to go. The real dagger came when Gonzalez grabbed a board and dished an assist to Thornton in the final seconds to stretch the lead to 80-77.
The North had its chance for a tie after a steal from Pimental but Boudreau’s last-second deep three sailed short.
