South Wins With Help From Gloger

It was not one of the better played games in the history of the Costa Mesa Kiwanis Orange County All-Star Basketball Game. Spencer Gloger of Santa Margarita, the 34th annual game’s most valuable player, said he knows why.

“We had no structured offense,” Gloger said. “It was just everyone taking shots all the time, just like playground ball.”

The 88-82 South victory Saturday night at Orange Coast College was the lowest-scoring game since 1993 and only the fourth time since 1988 that no team broke 100. The teams combined to make only 62 of 162 shots and turned the ball over 49 times. But these kinds of games are meant to be entertaining and the lack of finesse kept it close at the end.

It also made it difficult to select a most valuable player. Gloger, who scored 12 points and had 10 rebounds, got the nod over Marqui Worthy of Sonora, who scored 24 and had seven rebounds. Gloger sealed the honors with a big rebound and assist to Newport Harbor’s Matt Jameson to put the South in front, 85-82, with 40 seconds to go.

South Coach Bret Fleming, said he gave his team free rein.

“We always tried to have one big kid in the game at the time and the other four were free to create off their cuts,” he said. “We just tried to break them down on the dribble.”

The South, playing without Mater Dei center Mike Bayer, who injured his back in practice earlier in the week, took a 10-3 lead in the first five minutes as the North struggled. The North made only five of its first 22 shots but trailed only 19-15 when Loara’s Herb Gracia, as he was heading out of bounds, looped a pass back into the key to Jerett Skrifvars of Brea Olinda who scored.