ORANGE COUNTY HIGH SCHOOL ALL-STAR BASKETBALL GAMES : Lucas Leads Inspired North Boys to 88-85 Upset

The bill of fare at the pregame meal for the North team before Saturday night’s Orange County All-Star basketball game consisted of local newspaper clippings that heralded the South team as a heavy favorite in the 22nd annual charity game.

“We had three newspapers and we passed them around so that everyone could read them,” said North forward Dennis Burbank of Valencia. “We were still talking about those stories in the locker room before we took the court.”

Ah, the power of the press. An unheralded North team took it to a South squad that featured seven Division I players and scored an 88-85 upset in front of 1,275 fans in UC Irvine’s Bren Center.

Richard Lucas, a 6-foot 8-inch center from Katella who is headed for the University of Oregon in the fall, led a second-half rally by scoring 17 of his game-high 34 points in the final 11:32 of play.

Guard Chris Patton of Mater Dei sealed the victory with two free throws with 13 seconds remaining as the North won its fourth straight game and narrowed the South’s lead in the series, 12-10.

The South was shut out in the final four minutes of play after holding a 15-point lead with 11:52 remaining. Afterward, South Coach Steve Popovich of Marina talked about the role of being a heavy favorite in an all-star game.

“It’s tougher to be the favorite than the underdog,” he said. “You can talk all you want and write all you want, but until you hit the floor . . . “

Popovich’s voice trailed off, much like his team’s offense did in the second half. The South had sputtered early, falling behind by 11 points in the first half, but rallied for an 11-point lead at halftime when forward Jeff Herdman of Mission Viejo scored 12 points in the last three minutes of the half.

The South opened a 54-38 lead in the second half and appeared to be headed to an easy victory. But Lucas, named the game’s most valuable player, went on a scoring tear. He had 23 points in the second half and his 34-point total was the third highest in the game’s history behind Mark Wulfemeyer (40) and Rick Aberegg (37).

“I woke up this morning and I knew I was going to have a big game,” Lucas said. “When I got in the low post, I was scoring every time. We deserved this.”

North Coach Steve Brooks of Los Alamitos called the victory one of the most satisfying of his career.

“The kids really responded to a big challenge,” he said. “They showed a lot of courage and played with great intensity. It was nice to have Richard Lucas on my side after playing against him for four years.”

Lucas made 13 of 18 field goal attempts and 8 of 12 free throws. He also held Mark Georgeson, Marina’s 6-10 center headed for the University of Arizona, to just five points and two rebounds.

“He played great,” Popovich said. “He hit his shots and boarded well. It was a great performance. They deserved to win. Even if they lost, they deserved a lot of credit for playing hard.”