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    South girls, North boys ride defense to wins in OC all-star basketball games
    • May 3, 2026

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    The North boys defeated the South 99-78 in the Orange County all-star basketball game on May 2, 2026 at Cypress College. (Photo by Dan Albano, Orange County Register/SCNG)
    The North boys defeated the South 99-78 in the Orange County all-star basketball game on May 2, 2026 at Cypress College. (Photo by Dan Albano, Orange County Register/SCNG)

    CYPRESS — The South girls surged late in the second half after a blocked shot produced a breakaway layup. The North boys featured their own shot blocker and found their stride after consecutive steals in the final two minutes of the first half.

    The 59th edition of the Orange County all-star basketball games on Saturday showed that defense still matters on a court full of seniors known for their 3-point shooting and dunks.

    The South girls followed a late blocked shot and layup by Amelia Booth of Portola to a 67-62 victory at Cypress College.

    The North boys opened a double-digit lead late in the first half off consecutive steals and cruised to a 98-77 triumph. Fairmont Prep center David Abisogun, a 6-foot-9 senior committed to Texas State, added two blocks for the North.

    The offensive stars also delivered.

    Santa Margarita point guard Madi Lam scored a game-high 26 points to pace the South girls. Her tally was the sixth highest in game history.

    Cypress point guard Ryan Gov scored 17 points off the bench for the North boys.

    But it was defensive plays that flipped the outcome of the games.

    Booth blocked a 3-point attempt, grabbed the deflection and raced for a layup to tie score 55-55 with about 4:30 left in the second half. Moments later, Natasha Jafari of Beckman completed a three-point play for the go-ahead basket.

    “That was one of the moments where momentum was on the line and she helped flip it,” South coach Brian Barham of Portola said of Booth, who scored seven of her nine points in the second half.

    San Clemente post Reese Tremper added to a pair of free throws after an offensive rebound to push the lead the South lead to 60-55.

    Portola’s Madison Nguyen helped seal the win by making 5 of 6 foul shots down the stretch.

    The South players swarmed each other on the court to celebrate.

    “It was just a lot people who were telling us, ‘The (North) team is so great. You guys are going to lose,’ ” said Lam, a recent Air Force signee. “We wanted to prove it a little … (and) play our best.”

    Adyra Rajan of Fairmont Prep and Rachel Goran of Mater Dei scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the North.

    The North boys turned steals into layups by Mekhi Belote of Los Amigos and Gov to open a 43-30 with about one minute left in the first half.

    “He really stepped up,” El Modena coach Matthew Henderson said of Belote, who scored eight points. “He’s a guy from our first practice who said, ‘Coach, I want to defend. I want to guard their best player.’ “

    “We had David in the middle,” the coach added. “Biggest guy on the court. He affects the game on both sides.”

    Gov scored 11 of his team-high 17 in the second half, including a spectacular three-point play off an alley-oop away from the basket from Crean Lutheran’s Nicholas Giarrusso.

    “I’ve known him since I was like 8 years old,” Gov said of Giarrusso. “It felt great to share the court with him one last time.”

    Gov, who is committed to Azusa Pacific, led five North players in double-figure scoring. The other four were Acen Jimenez of La Habra (15), Noah Barker of El Dorado (13), Josh King (Orange Lutheran (12) and Abisogun (10).

    Edison’s Derick Johnson paced the South with 18 points. Capistrano Valley Christian’s Matthew Ahern and Tesoro’s Max Draper added 15 and 14 points, respectively.

    The games, sponsored by OCO and Farmers and Merchants Bank, attracted about 3,000 fans, game organizer Jesse James said.

    RELATED: OC all-star basketball rosters

     Orange County Register 

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