THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 12, 1994 TAG: 9407120435
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL WHITE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HAMPTON LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
Ferguson's Antwain Smith hardly had to worry about spraining an ankle during the Virginia High School Coaches Association boys basketball All-Star Game Monday night.
His feet rarely touched the ground.
Smith, a 6-7 forward bound for the St. Paul's College, poured in game-high 21 points during an electrifying air show as the East ran away from the West, 102-88, at the Hampton Coliseum.
``I was really hyped up for this game,'' said Smith, who punctuated his play with several dunks, blocked shots and soaring rebounds. ``I had a lot of family here, and my girlfriend, too. Plus, I felt I should have started. It was like I had to prove myself to the coach.''
Smith got into the flow early in the first quarter, when he threw down a power dunk over a hapless West would-be defender.
``When I get a good dunk like that on somebody, I'm good for the whole game,'' Smith said.
Meanwhile, the player many figured to grab the headlines, Bethel graduate and Wake Forest-bound Tony Rutland, suffered through an off night, finishing with 11 points.
Smith was believed to be headed to West Virginia University. But he said a paperwork discrepancy caused him to lose interest in that school, after which he turned to St. Paul's.
Smith was an easy pick as the East's most valuable player. Salem's Mark Byington, the Group AA state player of the year, led the West with 18 points and took MVP honors for his team.
William Fleming's William Fitzgerald added 17 points for the West.
Despite the loss, the West fared much better than last year, when former Hampton High School star Damon Bacote led the East to a 106-68 romp.
Monday, the West led by three after one quarter, by a point at the half and by five - 62-57 - with 5:45 to play in the third quarter.
But a three-point bomb by Louisa County's Robert Shelton ignited the East on a 22-4 run that blew the game open.
Smith figured prominently in the East's explosion, as he brought the crowd to its feet with back-to-back dunks. But the play that may have finished the West off was Franklin's Ben Ricks' 25-foot heave at the buzzer that clanged off the backboard and in.
Nansemond River's Howard Frier, the only player from South Hampton Roads in the game, scored nine points, seven in the first half. And Old Dominion incoming freshman Brion Dunlap, from Woodbridge High, scored just six points for the West. by CNB