Alabama Sweeps Mississippi In All-Star Contests;
Boys Cruise To 87-76 Victory, Girls Claim 64-54 Win
Alabama’s boys and girls each swept to victory in the 23rd annual Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Basketball Games Friday night at Alabama State University’s Dunn-Oliver Acadome in Montgomery. The wins gave Alabama a 12-11 lead in the series that began in 1991.
Alabama Boys 87, Mississippi 76
Alabama’s All-Stars jumped out to a fast start and held off a late Mississippi rally to post the win.
The win marked the second straight for the Alabama boys, coached by St. Jude’s Earl Taylor and Madison County’s Bubba Webster.
Wenonah High School senior De’Runnya Wilson, a 6-foot-6 Mississippi State football signee, scored 15 points and had a game-high 11 rebounds to earn MVP honors. He also had a game-high four assists. Jeremy Johnson of Carver-Montgomery, an Auburn football signee and Alabama’s 2012 Mr. Football, added 17 points and 10 boards. Shelby County’s Tyler Madison, a UAB signee, added 13 points.
Mississippi MVP Sam Craft of Olive Branch had 11 points, including two late 3-pointers to help his team cut the Alabama lead to six at 80-74. He also had seven rebounds and two steals. Torloff Thomas of Meridian also scored 11 points, sinking 3-of-8 from the 3-point arc. TreShawn Bolden of Callaway also scored 11 points with a team-high eight rebounds.
Alabama out-rebounded Mississippi 55-43.
Alabama Girls 64, Mississippi 54
Hoover High School senior Marqu’es Webb closed her prep career much like it started, with a double-double as she paced the Alabama girls’ victory.
Webb, a Vanderbilt signee, had 19 points and 14 rebounds to earn MVP honors for Alabama. She also had a team-high four steals.
She began her basketball career at Montgomery’s Brewbaker Tech but moved to Hoover as a junior. The Lady Bucs won the Class 6A state title in 2012 and 2013 and Brewbaker won the 2010 4A state crown.
Alabama, coached by Tiffany Frederick of Hoover and Larry Strain of Woodland, the coaches of Alabama’s 6A and 2A state champions, respectively, jumped out to an early 10-0 lead. They stretched the lead to 27-10 before Mississippi clawed back to within two points, 35-33, at halftime.
The game remained close in the second half until Webb took over on the boards inside and Alabama’s quick defense finally wore down the visitors.
Faith Academy’s Jasmine Rhodes, an LSU signee, added nine points for Alabama, and Dominique Patrick of Center Point, a Grambling signee, chipped in eight. Prattville Christian’s Kristen Emerson, a Troy signee, added six points and six rebounds.
Ripley guard Jayla Chills was named MVP for Mississippi, scoring 11 points, grabbing four rebounds and four steals. Alexus Malone of Oxford, a University of Buffalo commitment, also had eight points and 10 rebounds.