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Ocoee’s Dakara Merthie and Edgewater’s Dylan Foster were named MVPs Saturday at the second-annual Orlando Health Cure All-Stars Basketball Games for Orange County seniors at Windermere High.
Merthie scored 19 points as her Warriors squad squeaked past the Soldiers 51-48. In the boys game, the first team to 100 points was declared the winner. Foster scored 16 points as the Warriors raced past the Soldiers 101-93.
Pictures | Orlando Health Cure All-Stars Basketball Games
In the girls game, the Warriors trailed by five points with two minutes left, when Bailey Travis of Horizon nailed a 3-pointer and then they applied the defense.
The Warriors got a stop on the next possession and Merthie tied the game with a runner in the lane. Tight defense by the Warriors on an in-bounds play, with sideline coverage applied by Travis, forced a five-second call with 33 seconds remaining.
The Soldiers worked the ball around the perimeter and Timber Creek’s Laila Allen fired a 3-pointer that rimmed off long and into the hands of Horizon’s Zoe Corjay on the other side of the court. Corjay gathered the rebound and drilled a 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining for the game-winner.
Merthie, who also won the girls 3-point shooting contest, hit 4 3-pointers in the game and said she wished she’d had a couple of those 3s a week ago at the state championships, where Ocoee lost 31-26 in the semifinals against Winter Haven She said it was fun to play with players who are usually the opposition during the season.
“It feels great to play my last, kinda high school-situation game with great girls from around our area playing together,” said Merthie, who will play at College of Charleston next season. “It was fun. Instead of competing with them I actually got to play with them and enjoy it and have fun because usually we are going neck to neck in different situations, so this was fun.”
Merthie’s Ocoee teammate led the way for the Soldiers squad with 17 points, while Lake Highland Prep’s Eryn Griffin added 9 points and Boone’s Naima Durandisse had 7. For the winners, Travis added 7 points and Corjay, Madison Perez of Timber Creek and Valeria Munoz of Lake Highland had 5 each.
Cure All-Stars Basketball: Doubleheader pays homage to cancer victims
On the boys side, Foster was joined in double figures by Orlando University High center Kyle Bailey, who had 20 points, while Lake Highland’s RJ Ingram and Winter Park’s Will Ryan had 12 each, and Wekiva’s Jasen Francillon added 10. For the losing Warriors, Josh Theus of Orlando Christian Prep had 20 points, Lucas Boyd of Windermere had 16, Michael Madueme of Lake Highland had 13, and Connor Corris of Windermere Prep added 10.
Madueme won the boys 3-point shootout over Lake Nona’s Kason Beezer, and then Madueme knocked off girls winner Merthie 8-5 in the co-ed shootout.
Foster, who will go off to play college basketball at Cleveland State next season, was excited to win the MVP honor.
“It feels good to come out here before I leave for college and put on for the city,” Foster said. “It really helps me say that I’m one of the best players in Orlando, in the city, and I just want to show that to everybody.
“It was pretty fun. I like the event and to show out for cancer and all of the people who go through stuff and put on for the community.”
Bailey, who will play college ball at NAIA school Coastal Georgia also could have easily won the MVP honors.
“It feels great. There are a lot of great players in the area and it was good to play one last high school game,” Bailey said. “It’s different, because in season you have the rivalries and what-not and you might not necessarily like each other, but when you come together in something like this is super fun because we all know how to play.”
Bailey was happy to show his range for a 6-foot-9 big man, knocking down four 3-pointers.
“It feels good. It’s nice to be able to stretch the floor and get different opportunities,” he said.
The games are part of a series of Cure events put on by Orlando Sports Foundation in the battle to find a cure for cancer.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com@OS_ChrisHays.
Continue reading...
Merthie scored 19 points as her Warriors squad squeaked past the Soldiers 51-48. In the boys game, the first team to 100 points was declared the winner. Foster scored 16 points as the Warriors raced past the Soldiers 101-93.
Pictures | Orlando Health Cure All-Stars Basketball Games
In the girls game, the Warriors trailed by five points with two minutes left, when Bailey Travis of Horizon nailed a 3-pointer and then they applied the defense.
The Warriors got a stop on the next possession and Merthie tied the game with a runner in the lane. Tight defense by the Warriors on an in-bounds play, with sideline coverage applied by Travis, forced a five-second call with 33 seconds remaining.
The Soldiers worked the ball around the perimeter and Timber Creek’s Laila Allen fired a 3-pointer that rimmed off long and into the hands of Horizon’s Zoe Corjay on the other side of the court. Corjay gathered the rebound and drilled a 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining for the game-winner.
Merthie, who also won the girls 3-point shooting contest, hit 4 3-pointers in the game and said she wished she’d had a couple of those 3s a week ago at the state championships, where Ocoee lost 31-26 in the semifinals against Winter Haven She said it was fun to play with players who are usually the opposition during the season.
“It feels great to play my last, kinda high school-situation game with great girls from around our area playing together,” said Merthie, who will play at College of Charleston next season. “It was fun. Instead of competing with them I actually got to play with them and enjoy it and have fun because usually we are going neck to neck in different situations, so this was fun.”
Merthie’s Ocoee teammate led the way for the Soldiers squad with 17 points, while Lake Highland Prep’s Eryn Griffin added 9 points and Boone’s Naima Durandisse had 7. For the winners, Travis added 7 points and Corjay, Madison Perez of Timber Creek and Valeria Munoz of Lake Highland had 5 each.
Cure All-Stars Basketball: Doubleheader pays homage to cancer victims
On the boys side, Foster was joined in double figures by Orlando University High center Kyle Bailey, who had 20 points, while Lake Highland’s RJ Ingram and Winter Park’s Will Ryan had 12 each, and Wekiva’s Jasen Francillon added 10. For the losing Warriors, Josh Theus of Orlando Christian Prep had 20 points, Lucas Boyd of Windermere had 16, Michael Madueme of Lake Highland had 13, and Connor Corris of Windermere Prep added 10.
Madueme won the boys 3-point shootout over Lake Nona’s Kason Beezer, and then Madueme knocked off girls winner Merthie 8-5 in the co-ed shootout.
Foster, who will go off to play college basketball at Cleveland State next season, was excited to win the MVP honor.
“It feels good to come out here before I leave for college and put on for the city,” Foster said. “It really helps me say that I’m one of the best players in Orlando, in the city, and I just want to show that to everybody.
“It was pretty fun. I like the event and to show out for cancer and all of the people who go through stuff and put on for the community.”
Bailey, who will play college ball at NAIA school Coastal Georgia also could have easily won the MVP honors.
“It feels great. There are a lot of great players in the area and it was good to play one last high school game,” Bailey said. “It’s different, because in season you have the rivalries and what-not and you might not necessarily like each other, but when you come together in something like this is super fun because we all know how to play.”
Bailey was happy to show his range for a 6-foot-9 big man, knocking down four 3-pointers.
“It feels good. It’s nice to be able to stretch the floor and get different opportunities,” he said.
The games are part of a series of Cure events put on by Orlando Sports Foundation in the battle to find a cure for cancer.
Chris Hays can be found on X.com@OS_ChrisHays.
Continue reading...
