PREP BASKETBALL STATE ALL-STAR GAMES : South Boys Get Defensive in 127-109 Win

After scoring 24 points in the “Fabulous 44” California high school all-star basketball game Sunday, Earnest Killum of Lynwood High School wasn’t talking about his dunks or his spinning moves to the basket.

He was talking about team defense.

Wait a minute. Team defense? In an all-star game?

But that was how the South rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half to beat the North, 127-109, before 1,500 fans in the state all-star game at UC Irvine’s Bren Center.

“We weren’t worried when we were behind,” said Killum, who made 10 of 14 shots from the field and was named the most valuable player of the South team. “We just knew we had to concentrate and work harder on defense.”

“We just weren’t playing any defense at all earlier,” said Killum, who’s headed to Oklahoma in the fall. “They (the North) were doing a good job on transition and we weren’t keeping up.”

And the South had plenty catching up to do.

The South made its move with just under four minutes left. El Cajon Christian’s Tony Clark hit a jumper to tie the score, 105-105, and start a 24-4 run by the South.

“I never thought at any time we would lose this game,” said Lakewood Coach Tim Sweeney, who coached the South. “When we got down, the kids were very upset and I had to calm them down.

“The key for us was that we shored up our defense. We had a quicker lineup with (Jeff) Rogers, Killum and Shon Tarver.”

Artesia’s Ed O’Bannon and Tarver of Oxnard Santa Clara, both committed to UNLV, scored 21 points each for the South. Clark added 15 points and Rogers, of Compton Centennial had 14 for the South.

“All-star games are to show what you can do offensively,” O’Bannon said. “That’s why the score was so high. But defense is something you have to want to do. Once they got the lead, we figured we’d better play defense.”

The South had a hard time stopping Oakland Skyline’s Rahim Harris, who scored 28 points and was named most valuable player of the North team. San Francisco Riordan’s Dwayne Fontana had 17 points and San Mateo Aragon’s Jimmie Pryor added 14 for the North.

O’Bannon said he was “frustrated” offensively.

“My shot wasn’t falling and I was fumbling the ball a lot,” he said.

While the game ended on a defensive note, it began on an offensive one.

The game was only eight seconds old when Tarver grabbed a miss by Clark and jammed it to give the South a 2-0 lead.

Killum hit a three pointer with 6:19 left in the first half to give the South a 51-43 lead.

But 10 points from Pryor, including eight in a 1:26 span, fueled a 19-4 run that gave the North a 62-55 lead. The score was tied, 68-68, at halftime.

A 12-1 run gave the North its biggest lead at 94-79. Then the comeback began, as Killum scored the next five points. Then O’Bannon had a layin, followed by a dunk by Killum.

By the time O’Bannon and Killum were finished, the South had tied it, 105-105, before pulling away for the win.

Los Alamitos center Robert Conlisk, who finished with six points, six rebounds and two blocked shots, said the South players had to change their attitude to come back in the second half.

“(The North) stunned us,” he said. “We were out there throwing half-court alley-oop passes and showing off and we fell behind. We had to settle down.”