Unheralded Players Put on Show, South Wins, 103-92

Four all-county selections and another standout guard skipped the Costa Mesa Kiwanis Orange County boys’ all-star basketball game Saturday night and their absences may have contributed to a rather disappointing turnout at Orange Coast College.

That fact also may have paved the way for the less-heralded players. The most memorable moments in the South’s come-from-behind 103-92 victory over the North in front of an estimated crowd of 1,200, most likely will be the number of crowd-pleasing performances turned in by the less-heralded players.

Foremost of those was Woodbridge’s Brandon Beeson, a 6-foot-6 all-county forward who played in the shadow of center Chris Burgess, the 1997 county player of the year and All-American bound for Duke. Beeson, named most valuable player of the all-star game, scored 33 points, fourth-best in series history, and had 14 rebounds. Beeson, who has signed to play at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, made three three-pointers and scored 22 points in the first half, even though the South fell behind by as many as 10 points.

“I just wanted to show that I could play,” Beeson said. “It wasn’t just the thing about Chris. Our team won the CIF. I just wanted to show that I can play.”

Burgess did not play in the Kiwanis game, choosing instead to play earlier in the day at the more prestigious Nike Hoop Summit in Orlando, Fla. All-American center Eric Chenowith of Villa Park, who is headed to Kansas, also played in the Florida tournament. Also missing were Mater Dei guard Kevin Augustine, who played in the first Southern California All-Star Classic in Long Beach last week and guards Isaiah Cavaco of Villa Park (family commitments) and Mater Dei’s David Castleton (shoulder surgery).

Mater Dei center Mike Vukovich and forward Tom Lippold, who took second billing to Augustine most of the season, turned in fine performances for the North, netting 17 points each. They also combined for 13 rebounds. Vukovich is headed to UC Santa Barbara and Lippold has signed with University of San Diego.

Little known Sonora swingman Tom Landry, also of the North, scored 13 points and had 10 rebounds. South guard Peter Martinelli had six steals, one shy of the series record.

Center Robert Smith of Valencia was the show-stopper, winning the halftime slam-dunk contest. He had two key blocked shots, seven points and 10 rebounds.

“Everyone in the county focuses on the big players,” Smith said. “But some of the really good players are overlooked, so for us, this was a chance to get some exposure.”