BRAINTREE – In a preliminary matchup, the Shot For Life All-Stars placed on a present.
In the now-annual All-Star sport main as much as the Shot For Life Challenge this Saturday, the Blue and White All-Stars cut up contests between the most effective highschool shooters within the New England space.
Shot For Life founder Mike Slonina basked within the glory of the occasion and the group he began has raised a whole bunch of 1000’s of {dollars} for the Dr. Curry Research Lab on the campus of Massachusetts General Hospital in honor of his mom, who was recognized with a mind tumor again in 2010.
“We fund trials in tandem CAR-T cell therapy. I started this at 17 when my mom was diagnosed, and while she is OK, we do this for the families that don’t have access to the best therapies,” mentioned Slonina. “This (game) gives the athletes an opportunity to go up and down in our logo and our relationships with the athletes are important. This is just a prelude to the big event.”
The occasion the All-Stars primarily take part in is the Shot For Life Challenge when the winner is called the Best Shooter in Massachusetts. If these video games have been any indication of what’s in retailer this Saturday at Starland in Hanover, the basketball aficionados are in for a deal with.
In the women’ sport, the Blue Squad jumped out to an early 20-13 lead behind Wachusett’s Mary Gibbons, who was 3-of-3 from three-point land within the first eight minutes. While the Navy Academy commit was excellent early on, it was all Kaelyn Carroll the remainder of the way in which because the Tabor Academy sophomore drained 31 factors together with 11 rebounds within the 92-69 rout of Team White.
Molly Donovan (St. George’s) tied issues up for Team White at 34 however Carroll completed out the half with the subsequent six factors for the 40-34 halftime lead and the Blue All-Stars by no means seemed again.
Megan Olbrys participated on this occasion when she starred at Norwood, however the sophomore Villanova star continues to provide again to the group and was the profitable head coach for the Blue All-Stars. Olbrys was poetic on the which means of the sport and the weekend occasion.
“Being a part of this whole organization for almost four years now and being a part of this game last year, it obviously runs a little deeper for some people,” mentioned Olbrys. “After going to college and being able to come back and give back year after year is just a great opportunity. With Mike and his family, the support we are giving with anything and everything is always a good way to share.”
In the nightcap, the sport was a lot nearer down the stretch as Austin Hunt, a Harvard commit for subsequent season, completed off the sport with a thunderous dunk to provide the White All-Stars a 139-135 victory over Team Blue.
Hunt completed with 22 factors with quite a few highlight-reel dunks and acknowledged the true which means of why he – and your entire group of excellent athletes – have been on the court docket.
“It’s fun to get together with a bunch of guys that are all high-level basketball players and do something great for your community and something to raise money for a good cause,” mentioned Hunt. “All of these guys are going to play at the next level, and while it’s an All-Star game, everyone shares in the event, shares the ball well, and plays with a good pace and we try to have fun.”
Team Blue had Rivers tandem Ryan Altman (Rivers) with 26 factors and 12 rebounds, whereas level guard Jay Jones took over within the second half and completed with 24 to make the Red Wings proud.
But the actual eye-opener for the Blue All-Stars was Jake Blackburn with a game-high 32 factors. The Worcester Academy 6-foot-4 wing completed 10-of-15 capturing from downtown within the loss, with many from NBA vary.
Alex Berry (St. George’s) added 18 with 5 rebounds and 4 assists whereas 6-foot-6 teammate Ryder Frost of Beverly (Phillips Exeter ’25) completed with a team-high 26 factors with six treys and two huge free throws down the stretch to seal issues up for Team White with 21.6 left in regulation.
Source: www.bostonherald.com