{"id":218,"date":"2026-05-07T08:49:03","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T08:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=218"},"modified":"2026-05-07T08:49:03","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T08:49:03","slug":"south-girls-north-boys-ride-defense-to-wins-in-oc-all-star-basketball-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=218","title":{"rendered":"South girls, North boys ride defense to wins in OC all-star basketball games"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

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Read more Orange County baseball Top 25: Orange Lutheran, Huntington Beach stay in top spots<\/a><\/p>\n

CYPRESS \u2014 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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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

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.<\/p>\n

The offensive stars also delivered.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Cypress point guard Ryan Gov scored 17 points off the bench for the North boys.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

But it was defensive plays that flipped the outcome of the games.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was one of the moments where momentum was on the line and she helped flip it,\u201d South coach Brian Barham of Portola said of Booth, who scored seven of her nine points in the second half.<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\udc40Play of the game, block and layup for Portola\u2019s Amelia Booth, tied score 55-55 w\/ about 4:30 left and South soon took lead for good! \u2066@PortolaGBB\u2069 pic.twitter.com\/xKHumLcewN<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u2014 Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) May 3, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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

Portola\u2019s Madison Nguyen helped seal the win by making 5 of 6 foul shots down the stretch.<\/p>\n

Read more 21 free fun things to do in Southern California in May<\/a><\/p>\n

The South players swarmed each other on the court to celebrate.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just a lot people who were telling us, \u2018The (North) team is so great. You guys are going to lose,\u2019 \u201d said Lam, a recent Air Force signee. \u201cWe wanted to prove it a little \u2026 (and) play our best.\u201d<\/p>\n

Adyra Rajan of Fairmont Prep and Rachel Goran of Mater Dei scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the North.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe really stepped up,\u201d El Modena coach Matthew Henderson said of Belote, who scored eight points. \u201cHe\u2019s a guy from our first practice who said, \u2018Coach, I want to defend. I want to guard their best player.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had David in the middle,\u201d the coach added. \u201cBiggest guy on the court. He affects the game on both sides.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s Nicholas Giarrusso.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve known him since I was like 8 years old,\u201d Gov said of Giarrusso. \u201cIt felt great to share the court with him one last time.\u201d<\/p>\n

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 of Orange Lutheran (12) and Abisogun (10).<\/p>\n

\n

Ryan Gov show pic.twitter.com\/pCLc4JqM1g<\/p>\n

\u2014 Dan Albano (@ocvarsityguy) May 3, 2026<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Edison\u2019s Derick Johnson paced the South with a game-high 18 points. Capistrano Valley Christian\u2019s Matthew Ahern and Tesoro\u2019s Max Draper added 15 and 14 points, respectively.<\/p>\n

The games, sponsored by OCO and Farmers and Merchants Bank, attracted about 3,000 fans, game organizer Jesse James said.<\/p>\n

Read more Free things to do for Mother\u2019s Day in Southern California<\/a><\/p>\n

RELATED: OC all-star basketball rosters<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A block by Amelia Booth of Portola sparks the South girls while Mekhi Belote of Los Amigos helps anchor the defense for the North boys.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":217,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-218","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-verified-news"],"yoast_head":"\nSouth girls, North boys ride defense to wins in OC all-star basketball games - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=218\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South girls, North boys ride defense to wins in OC all-star basketball games - 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