South Receives Unexpected Heroics From an Unheralded Trio : Boys: Flint, Trevino and Everett spark a fourth-quarter comeback that helps to defeat the North, 121-114.
In a game filled with extraordinary scorers and crowd-pleasing shooters, the play of three unheralded players paced the South to a 121-114 victory Saturday in the 25th Orange County All-Star boys’ basketball game at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Gym.
A crowd of 2,004 saw guards Mark Flint and John Trevino and center Greg Everett lead a fourth-quarter rally that helped erase a 10-point deficit and gave the South its 14th victory in 25 meetings.
Trevino, a perimeter shooter from Laguna Beach, gave the South the lead for good with 9:07 remaining when he made a three-point shot for a 97-94 lead. Moments later, he added a driving layup to push the lead to five points, 99-94.
Everett, from El Toro, added 14 points and seven rebounds, scoring 11 points in the second half. Everett will attend Creighton in the fall.
Flint, a not-so-flashy point guard from Corona del Mar, ran the South’s offense efficiently and committed only two turnovers. The trio left the game to loud applause with the South leading, 101-94, early in the fourth quarter.
“That group bought them some time and then finally got them the lead,” said North Coach Tim O’Brien of Estancia. “We knew Scott McCorkle and Keith Walker were going to get their points, but those other guys really hurt us.”
As expected, McCorkle and Walker were the big guns for the South. McCorkle, a forward from Capistrano Valley, led all scorers with 27 points, making nine of 18 field-goal attempts and nine of 11 free throws.
Walker, a usually accurate shooter from Brea-Olinda, added 23 points but made only eight of 19 shots and missed all five of his three-point attempts. Walker led the South with 11 rebounds.
“I thought those two worked together fine,” said South Coach Rainer Wulf of Trabuco Hills. “I’d love to have both of them. We were shooting for the game record of 124 points, but when you shoot 41%, you’re not going to set any records.”
North center Robert Conlisk of Los Alamitos was named the game’s most valuable player. Conlisk had 10 rebounds and 24 points, scoring 15 points in the second quarter when the North took a 61-51 lead.
Three days ago, O’Brien wondered if Conlisk would play after talking to his mother and learning that the senior was having academic problems in one of his classes. Conlisk arrived late for a scrimmage against Orange Coast College Thursday night, but it was obvious he was the best player on the team and he continued to play well Saturday.
“I was kind of out of sync in the first quarter and got a little out of control,” Conlisk said. “But I was happy with my game. I haven’t been playing much, just working on the weights to get stronger for college ball.”
Wulf was impressed with Conlisk, saying, “He was a lot more active inside than I thought he was. He hurt us in the first half, but when we walked to the locker room at the half, I noticed most of their heads were down.
“I told my team in the locker room that we may be down by 10 points, but they’re tired. We’ve got them right where we want them.”
The South used a halfcourt trap to get back into the game with Flint and Beau Hossler getting some key steals and McCorkle sealing the victory with nine points in the last quarter, including five of six free throws.
“With the exception of (Agustin) Heredia, I thought our guards were better than their guards,” Wulf said. “Our reserves were solid and McCorkle played a great game. He did everything we asked him to do for two weeks.”
O’Brien, who is one of four finalists for the coaching position at Christ College Irvine, thought his team’s failure to get the ball into the low post in the second half was the turning point in the game.
“Nobody really had a good second half for us,” he said. “I would’ve liked to have played Conlisk the whole game, but your hands are kind of tied in an all-star game. You have to play everybody and make sure they all get their time.”