East tops West in Carino showcase

Brad Fagan started winning before the opening tap, and continued his success the rest of the afternoon.

The 6-foot-5 Kingsway senior won the slam-dunk contest before Sunday's 35th annual Albert J. Carino Boys Basketball Club of South Jersey Senior All-Star Game at Rutgers-Camden.

Fagan then put his trophy aside and helped his East team beat the West, 118-101, in a game that included an assortment of dunks, three-pointers, transition baskets, and, as the score indicated, not much lockdown defense.

Either way, this was a game for players such as Fagan, who have not made a college commitment. He scored seven points in a balanced attack and - more important - like many of the participants was kept busy talking to college coaches afterward.

There was a big crowd for both the grammar school and high school games, with several junior college, Division II and III coaches among the interested spectators.

"It was really fun being part of this," said Fagan, who says he has been in contact with Division II and III schools. "It was great being on the court with so much talent."

That was the consensus of the participants, with players of all skill levels displaying their talents.

For example, the MVP of the winning East team was 5-9 Woodbury guard Mike Smith, who scored 17 points. Smith has yet to make a college commitment, and has Division III schools and junior colleges interested.

The West team's MVP was 6-3 Paul VI point guard Ron Curry, who scored 16 points. Curry was an Inquirer first-team all-South Jersey selection who has earned a scholarship to James Madison.

In addition to his scoring, Curry wowed the crowd with a few sensational no-look passes.

That's right, there was passing in this game, but much more shooting, especially from long range.

Smith hit three of the East's 10 three-point shots. The West had 13 treys, but encountered trouble stopping the East transition game.

Rancocas Valley point guard Tariq Jett was among the other impressive players for the winners. Jett, who is being recruited mainly on the Division III level, scored 13 points, hitting 5 of 8 shots from the field.

In addition to Curry, the West received double-figure scoring efforts from Bishop Eustace point guard and Stony Brook recruit Carson Puriefoy, who finished with 14 points, and 10 points from Overbrook guard James Bullock, who scored eight in the first quarter.

Notes. Eastern guard Mike Wilson of the West team won the three-point shooting contest at halftime. "It was one of my goals to come in here and win this," said Wilson, who also added a trey in the game. "This was a lot of fun, because you built relationships with the guys you played against for four years, and to get to be together one final time was great." . . . The White team won the eighth annual Tim Lenahan Memorial grammar school game, 101-80, over the Black. The MVP for the winners was 6-3 Jamal Holloway of Brooklawn, who scored 16 points. Holloway said he would attend Sterling. The Black team MVP was 5-8 Marquise Owens of West Deptford Middle, who had 11 points.

West   23 23 33 22 - 101

East   30 33 29 26 - 118

WEST: Rob Alessandrine 7, Marquis Goodman 7, Carson Puriefoy 14, James Bullock 10, Mike Wilson 6, Davon Jones 6, Donny Devirgilio 7, Ron Curry 16, Tom Jakubowski 3, Brian Keller 4, Thomas Harper 8, Jake Gurkin 9, Logan Murray 3, Jake Sikkema 1.

EAST: Daquan Chase 7, Mike Smith 17, John Casiello 2, Brad Fagan 7, Jalon Wilson 9, Tariq Jett 13, Lloyd Smith 12, Tyree Brown 9, Brent Slotoroff 7, Kennedy Chukwuocha 8, Vance Matthews 10, Avery Brown 4, Matt Bosch 5, Ron Paden 8.