WIBCA all-star basketball weekend: Cheney's Evan Stinson scores 37 points in 3A squad's win
BELLEVUE, Wash. - The spotlight could have been taken by a number of college-bound standouts at the WIBCA all-star boys basketball game Saturday at Bellevue College.
But Cheney's Evan Stinson felt he had something to prove - and did in a big way.
With a few flicks of the shooting wrist in a short amount of time, the WSU signee took all suspense out of the featured 4A-3A game.
Stinson scored 24 of his game-high 37 points in the first 11:14, including an uncanny display of long-distance shooting range, and the 3A all-stars waltzed out of the college gymnasium with a 141-106 victory over the 4A team.
He sank six 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes - from distances where mere mortals could only dream of firing away from.
"Some of those shots were from not your normal high school basketball player," said Glacier Peak boys coach Brian Hill, who oddly enough coached the 3A all-stars while Eastside Catholic coach Brent Merritt coached the 4A team.
North Thurston's Ray Adams added 22 points, and Mountlake Terrace's Jaxon Dubiel chipped in with 20 as the 3A team drilled 17 made 3-pointers in a game that got out of hand in a hurry.
But this show belonged to Stinson, a 6-foot-7 guard who got cooking three minutes into the game.
After his first long-range bucket, Stinson looked as if he was playing a game of "Around the World" in 3-point shooting, including taking steps further back.
"Every time I touched it, I just wanted it to go up," Stinson said. "Thankfully they went in."
He made three more 3-pointers in a 46-second span to give the 3A team a 29-15 lead at the 12:08 mark of the first half.
"I told him before this, 'You have to show these people how good you really are,'" said Mount Spokane guard Ryan Lafferty, who plays against Stinson in the Greater Spokane League.
"I wasn't surprised by it at all. He is a great player that has gone under the radar the last couple of years."
It got to the point that the 4A squad began face-guarding Stinson, even playing a box-and-one defense on him to trip him up. Nothing slowed him down.
"Knowing we never made it to the (state) playoffs, I haven't been on that stage," Stinson said. "Now (people) can put a face to the name - and hopefully a game to the name."
Mount Si's Blake Forrest led the 4A team with 16 points.
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CLASS 1A 99, CLASS 2A 90
Don't tell the 1A squad that all-star games don't matter.
Trailing by 17 points early in the second half to arguably a more talented opponent, the 1A squad rallied behind timely shot-making - and the all-around play of Seattle Academy's Alex McCleery-Brown, who tallied 16 of his team-high 22 points after intermission in a comeback win.
"We just didn't want to quit," McCleery-Brown said. "We know people usually take all star games lightly, and we just wanted to battle back."
The 2A team took a 47-30 lead on Anacortes standout Harry Davies' basket a minute into the second half.
After that, the 1A squad chipped away at the large deficit, getting two buckets from McCleery-Brown, and back-to-back 3-pointers from King's Nick Linhardt, of King's.
McCleery-Brown sank a pair of 3-pointers, too - and Lynden Christian's 1A player of the year Dawson Bouma's jump shot in the lane tied the game at 87-87 with 2:13 remaining.
Cedarcrest senior Jack LaBlanc's 3-pointer gave the 2A team its final lead, 90-87, before the 1A all-stars closed the game out on a 12-0 run over the final 1:41.
"I hit some shots, and down the stretch, we just pulled away," McCleery-Brown said.
Mark Morris senior Braydon Olson led all scorers with 23 points, including 15 of his team's final 17 points of the first half.
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CLASS 2B 120, CLASS 1B 82
Photo by Todd Milles
Adna's Luke Salme and Brewster's Brady Wulf shared game-high honors with 19 points apiece, and the 2B all-stars sank seven 3-pointers in the first half and cruised to an easy win in Bellevue.
Liberty of Spangle's Lincoln Foland added 18 points, including three 3-pointers in a four-minute span in the second half.
Mossyrock's Zack Munoz paced the 1B all-stars with 16 points, 14 coming in the second half, including four 3-pointers.
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FUTURES GAME: TEAM PEPPLE 133, TEAM KRAUSE 92
Davis Fogle knows he has a busy offseason ahead.
But first - the 6-foot-6 junior from Anacortes High Schools showed why he is arguably the top in-state recruit for the 2025 class.
Fogle exploded for a game-high 39 points in Team Pepple's runaway win over Team Krause on Saturday afternoon at Bellevue College.
The third-year Futures Game - a showcase of some of the top non-senior talent in Washington. - preceded the three senior-only all-star games.
Fogle scored 16 points in the first 14:31 as Team Pepple overcame an early 11-point deficit to cruise to victory.
"I wanted to ... be able to showcase my talent," Fogle said. "It was to play with all the top guys around here."
Auburn's Jaylen Petty added 23 points for the victors.
Rogers of Puyallup's Treyshawn Weatherspoon and O'Dea's Brian Webster led Team Krause with 19 points apiece.
