TORRANCE When Mary Star’s Antonio Wimbley got the call informing him of his selection to Friday night’s South Bay Athletic Club Senior Basketball All-Star game, he admitted he was excited.
“I just wanted to come out here, hoop and show everyone what I was made of,” Wimbley said.
Wimbley finished with a team-high 18, helping lead the American All-Stars to a 121-115 victory in the 30th installment of the all-star classic at El Camino College.
The Mary Star guard scored 13 points in the first half, but it was his final basket of the night that sent his supporting crowd into a frenzy. With the ball just above the three-point line, Wimbley crossed over San Pedro’s Nate Cigar before sinking his three-pointer.
“I looked at the crowd and saw all my family and my supporters from Mary Star,” Wimbley said. “I knew I had to give it my all for my last bucket.”
Leuzinger’s Darrian Henry added 17 for the Americans. Promise Madubugwu (Gardena) and Jeremiah Wilson (Serra) scored 12 points apiece. Keith Williams (Peninsula) and Shane Biscaya (El Segundo) had 11 each.
“I wanted to come out with some positive energy, some good energy,” Henry said. “It was a work-hard, play-hard type of game.”
Henry’s mentality during Friday night’s game was to have fun and just play ball.
“It was a good atmosphere,” Henry said. “There was a lot of positive energy and good sportsmanship. For me, it was about making buckets. No talking (involved).”
Biscaya was playing against El Segundo coach Scott Martin and knew he had to keep the trash talk to a minimum.
“I was telling (Martin) all game to get ready to guard me,” Biscaya, who transferred from Redondo following his junior season, said. “I knew if I said anything bad and we lost, I would have regretted it.”
Biscaya was a key part in El Segundo reaching the CIF-Southern Section Division 5-AA championship game, but he relished in getting to play alongside Wilson, as well as Palos Verdes’ Alex Hassanein and Torrance’s Jalen Thomas.
“I got to play with a lot of guys I came up with,” Biscaya said. “It was a great experience to play with them together.”
El Segundo’s Gavin McKinnon led the Nationals with 20 points, with Mira Costa’s James Reach scoring 17. Serra’s Devin Shell had 15, North Torrance’s Kobe Carr finished with 12 and Carson’s Jacob Ortega scored 11.
McKinnon didn’t hesitate when he was selected to play in Friday night’s all-star game.
“I thought it was a great opportunity to play against some of my teammates and compete with and against the best kids in the South Bay,” McKinnon said.
The final score blew away Wimbley’s expectations heading into the contest, thinking it would be comparable to a pick-up game.
“I didn’t think everyone was going to be competitive,” Wimbley said. “I thought it would be lackadaisical. But we came together and got the win.”