ORANGE COUNTY ALL-STAR BASKETBALL GAMES / BOYS : Short South All-Stars Come Up Big on Defense

David Drakeford, amid a flurry of activity, tossed up a lifeless 15-foot jumper that fell short.

It left the North in the same spot Saturday at the Orange County All-Star basketball game. Because Drakeford’s desperate shot missed badly, the South held on for an exhausting 71-70 victory in front of 1,500 Saturday at Orange Coast College.

It did so with relentless pressure, using its size disadvantage. With a stockpile of guards, the South ran the legs off the North, a strategy that paid off at the very end.

After South guard Jim Harris missed two free throws, the North had two shots to win in the final 17 seconds. First, Marmet Williams’ three-point attempt glanced off the front of the rim. After a scramble for the ball, Drakeford shot off balance. The ball fell short by several feet as the buzzer sounded.

“My legs were so tired, I couldn’t get a anything into my shot,” said Williams, who was two of 16 from the field. “I had nothing left.”

That was the way the South had played it.

The North, with five players 6 feet 5 or taller, was ready for a bang-and-bump inside game. Instead, they had to play catch, chasing the South guards--nine in all--all over the court.

South Coach Jim Harris used three, sometimes four guards at a time in the second half.

“That created a lot of matchup problems for us,” North Coach Al Walin said. “And we didn’t take advantage of our size on offense. We weren’t patient.”

Still, it never became a run-and-gun show because both sides played fierce defense.

The South jumped out to a 10-2 lead and never trailed. Twice the North tied the score, but could never get over the top.

Chris St. Clair, the game’s most valuable player, and Brian Carlson kept the North in it. St. Clair had 19 points and six rebounds and Carlson, a 6-6 forward, had 14 points.

But the North could never get in a groove because the South never eased its pressure. The North had 28 turnovers.

St. Clair, hounded throughout the game, never put together a run. He made only one three-pointer and scored 12 of his points from the free-throw line.

“That was the plan,” South guard David Sedgwick said. “We wanted to keep running at them and take them out of their offense. It worked.”

The South did get good play from its two big men, Matt Ambrose and Eric Ambrozich. They both had nine rebounds and Ambrose scored 11 points--one of four South players in double figures.