BLUE-WHITE BASKETBALL ALL STAR GAMES HELD IN ASHEVILLE AREA
SKYLAND — Two of the longest running high school all star basketball games in North Carolina were held recently in the Asheville area, according to several media reports including the Asheville Citizen-Times.
The annual Blue-White all-star games were held at T.C. Roberson, with the two teams comprised from players in western North Carolina. The Blue team defeated the White in the women’s game by a 78-61 count and then the White beat the Blue 104-93 in the men’s contest.
Three McDowell players helped lift the Blue to victory in the women’s game, with Tuccoa Brackett scoring 16 points to lead all scorers and earning the game’s Most Valuable Player award. Jessica Patrick and Taylor Settlemyre of McDowell each had 13 points.
Clyde Erwin’s Brooke Garrison led three White players in double figures with 14 points, scoring 12 of her 14 in the second half. Franklin’s Lindsay Simpson and Murphy’s Katrina Evans added 12 apiece.
Enka senior Taylor McCurry keyed his team’s win in the men’s game, earning Most Valuable Player honors as he scored 16 points to go with six rebounds and five assists. McCurry was the Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year and averaged almost 28 points a game this season.
Pisgah’s Rory McClure tallied a game-high 23 points for the White team, which held a nine-point lead at halftime. Franklin’s Jeb Brewer and Cherokee’s Tsalidi Sequoyah added 12 points apiece.
Leading scorers for the Blue team in a very balanced attack included North Henderson’s Hunter Donaldson with 19 points, Mountain Heritage’s Alex Biggerstaff with 16, and Eli Buckner of Mountain Heritage, McDowell’s Ethan Freeman (11) and Avery County’s Alex Villanueva scoring 11 points apiece.
The Blue-White girls game was the 36th annual contest in the charity exhibition’s history, while the boys game has been held for 60 years.
