Thursday, March 28, 2002
The Warren Hardingstandout was named theMVP in the 95-85 win over Mahoning County stars.
By BILL SULLIVAN
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Warren Harding High guard Ethan Banks opened the game with a soft jumper from the left wing.
The 6-foot-3 senior continued to score and produce good results with his passes as his Red team knocked off the White 95-85 in the Mahoning Valley Coaches Association all-star boys basketball game at Boardman High School Wednesday.
The teams represented Trumbull (Red) and Mahoning (White) counties.
"We played well together," Banks said after his team finished the game on a 25-12 run.
"We have the chemistry. We've been playing together since our sophomore year," Banks said. "It's nice to have them on the same team again. It's easy playing with each other."
Leading the way: He finished with 18 points, including three 3-pointers, and was awarded the Most Valuable Player plaque.
Another Harding player, Shelby Chaney, was on the winning squad that was coached by the Raiders' Garry Rowland and Brian Clark of Sebring.
"These kids played great together," Clark said. "They are a great group of kids; there is tremendous athleticism here.
"It's nice for these kids to get a chance to get up and down the floor."
Despite getting balanced scoring and controlling the tempo most of the way, the Red team saw the score tied at 73 when Matt Kirk of South Range put together his own highlight reel.
John King (Bristol) scored 12 points, Randy Mason (Girard) and Courtney Mazey (Howland) evenly shared 22 points and Chaney and Josh Upshire (Badger) each tossed home 10 points as the winners staked a 66-54 lead on a Banks lay-up with 11 minutes remaining.
Scoring streak: Kirk, who scored 17.5 points per game this year for the Raiders, scored 12 consecutive points for the White, including a shot from the right baseline for a 73-70 advantage at the 6:25 mark.
"Kirk and [Ben] Dickey [Lisbon] did a nice job inside," Clark said. "They had a little height on us with the match-ups."
Kirk scored 22 points and Mike Finamore (Boardman) scored 12 points.
"He came through with a big game tonight," White point guard Marc Palermo (Ursuline) said of Kirk, a 6-foot-6 wing player.
"He got inside and scored a lot; he had a lot of transition buckets. He was getting down the floor real well."
After seeing Banks twice a year in the Steel Valley Conference, Palermo was not surprised he was picked the MVP of the game.
"He should be the MVP. He helped their team out a lot."
sullivan@vindy.com