How local hoopsters showed out for the last time in the Savannah Senior Showcase event
The Savannah Senior Showcase provided the best upperclassmen in the city a chance to show out one more time on the basketball court Wednesday night at Savannah High -- and the players did not disappoint in an entertaining, spirited matchup.
The boys game featured the East Team, coached by Johnson head coach Chuck Campbell and Savannah assistant George Brown, while the West squad was led by Beach coach Simon Heyward and Groves coach Kevin Evans. The coaches drafted their squads earlier in the week -- and the matchups were intriguing.
The East team dominated in the first half and led 48-17 at intermisson. But the West never gave in and made a game of it. The East prevailed in the end 78-72 in a game that became serious in the final minutes.
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Johnson's Antonio Baker and his teammate Malachi Robinson came up big for the East playing for their Atom Smasher coach Campbell as Baker had 22 points, including an emphatic dunk with 40 seconds left to ice the game, with Robinson scoring 16. Windsor Forest star Qurahn Anderson, who signed to play at USC Beaufort Monday, showed off his high-flying athleticism with three highlight-reel dunks among his 22 points.
"It was a lot of fun getting one last chance to play with all the guys I grew up playing with," Anderson said. "Me and Shamarrie (Hugie of Beach High School) were going at it tonight -- but he's my guy for life. We're best friends, but we never want to lose to each other."
Benedictine point guard Stephon Frazier was on the East squad and played with the ferocious intensity that has made the 5-foot-8 senior one of the top players in Savannah. He scored four points, but his defense and passion for the game stood out.
"It was fun practicing for this earlier in the week, but once we tipped off it was intense and I had to turn it up a notch," Frazier said. "I didn't feel like I had anything to prove -- we did that by reaching the state semifinals this year. I just played my game, and it was a lot of fun in front of this crowd."
Baker said he enjoyed the game, and when it came down to the wire the competitive fire came to the forefront.
"We wanted to put on a show," Baker said. "But at the end, we wanted to win it really bad. It was like any other game, things got intense at the end."
Hugie, the Beach senior who missed time down the stretch with a wrist injury for the Bulldogs, had an impressive showing with 18 points on the night for the West squad. Zyere Edwards, who led St. Andrew's to a second straight GIAA title this season, also had 18. Woodville-Tompkin's Alfonzo Ross, who has also signed with USCB, added 14 points and Ahmad Grovener of Windsor Forest scored 15.
"It was definitely a lot of fun competing against the best guys in the city," said Edwards, who has signed to play with Augusta State. "We wanted to put on a show, but it was competitive and it got a little chippy at times. I've been playing with Stephon (Frazier) since we were in the Garden City rec league as kids -- so we were going at it, but we're really close friends."
Girls game provides storylines
Hannah Cail of Calvary Day and Veronica Sierzant of Islands are best of friends who have gone head-to-head in prep matchups a few times in their careers -- and they did it one more time in the Savannah Senior Showcase on Wednesday night.
Cail's Zumi squad came out on top with a 64-57 win over Sierzant's Turbo team at Savannah High.
Cail teamed up with Woodville-Tompkins star Janiyah Heyward to lead the Zumi team. Cail was solid with her outside shooting, scoring 18 points, and showed excellent vision on several pinpoint passes to Heyward, who converted down low, while hitting some deep shots to score a game-high 28 points. Raina Cannon of Windsor Forest scored 11 points for Zumi.
"It was really fun playing with players I usually go against," said Cail, who was signed to play at Georgia College & State University. "To play one more time in front of the Savannah fans meant a lot to me."
Heyward said it was a great experience playing with Cail.
"It was great to play with someone on the same level as I am," Heyward said. "She has the same vision and basketball IQ and knew where and when to find me -- we had a lot of fun tonight."
Sierzant, who has signed to play volleyball at Syracuse, was her usual dominant self down low as she led the Turbo team with 19 points to go along with double-digit rebounds. Sanai Chisholm of Woodville-Tompkins scored 17 points.
At one point late in the game, Cail had the ball on the perimeter, and Sierzant smiled as she invited her friend to drive against her to the basket.
"I was definitely close to blocking her shot a couple times, but she scored on me too, but I know she is scared of me," Sierzant said with a smile. "It was a lot of fun to play in this game tonight. I got to play with girls I went against during the season, and I thought they hated me -- but they didn't. I made some new friends."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Senior Showcase gives basketball stars last chance to shine
