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Thursday, March 28, 2024
HomeNewsArchivesSt. Croix Sweeps All-Star Games in Sunstroke Classic

St. Croix Sweeps All-Star Games in Sunstroke Classic

Fierce action under the boards during the boys game.The 12th Annual Sun Stroke All-V.I. Hoop Classic is now history, but it will definitely go down as one of the best to date—if not the best ever. The huge crowd that packed the Ronald Charles gymnasium on the Central High Campus to see the best the territory has to offer in boys and girls high school hoops did not leave the arena disappointed.
The St. Croix boys and girls swept both games by scores of 71-63 and 56-47 respectively to the delight of the home town fans, but the St. Croix girls had a much easier road to their victory. The boys, on the other hand, had to overcome a small halftime deficit and a tenacious St. Thomas squad that had no quit in them.
Maybe it was playing in front of the largest crowd ever for most of them, but the hustle and determination displayed by all of the players was nothing short of exemplary. The way they threw their bodies on the floor diving for loose balls, the crowd wildly cheering just about every play, it was March madness in April, V.I. style.
In the girls contest MVP Veronique Llanos scored 11 of her game-high 16 points in the first half to lead the St. Croix All-Stars to a 39-26 lead at the break. From there, the home team defense took over.
A 17-8 third quarter extended the St. Croix girls lead to 22 at 56-34. After that Coach Donald Bough called off the dogs, and the St. Croix squad would not score in the fourth quarter, but they did not need to. They did, however, allow the St. Thomas girls a 13-point fourth period that made the score a more respectable 56-47 final.
Llanos led the ladies from St. Croix with 16 points, and Shamyra Vanterpool netted 10 to be the only other player on the winning side in double figures. Everyone on the home team did manage to score at least two points in the victory. For the St. Thomas girls, Shayla Kelly led three players in double figures with a team-high 12 points, while teammates Amara Williams and Aesha Peters both netted 10 in a losing cause.
The boys contest was more hotly contested, and the crowd was in this one from the start. Only one point separated the teams at the half as the St. Thomas Boys All-Star squad held a one-point edge at 26-25. The Crucians, however, took control of the game in the third and then withstood every charge that the boys from Rock City threw at them. Salim Ross of the Educational Complex exploded for eight points to lead St. Croix to a 23-17 third quarter and a 49-43 lead after three periods.
The fourth quarter was tightly contested, but despite nine points from forward Charles Pemberton, who plays for Charlotte Amalie High School on St. Thomas, a balanced scoring attack by the St. Croix boys allowed them to be two points better in the final period at 22-20 for a winning score of 71-63.
Ross led four St. Croix All-Stars in double figures with 14 points, but the man of the game, the MVP was Terrel Christian. Christian was Mr. Everything for the home team: rebounding, defending and scoring. He finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and five block shots to easily have the best all-around performance of the game. Other players in double figures for the winners were Javier Martinez and Chris Sealey who both finished with 10 points apiece. Pemberton led three St. Thomas Boys All Stars in double figures with a game-high 19 points. Teammates Shaquille Bruno and Dornell Weaver netted 13 and 10 points, respectively, in the loss.

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