As it turns out, the South had enough - enough scorers, enough rebounders and especially enough double-duty athletes.
Capital's Tommy Gwinn led an undersized but rugged low-post game for the South, scoring 20 points and ripping down 11 rebounds Friday night to lead his side to a 108-94 victory in the North-South All-Star Basketball Classic before a crowd of about 700 at the South Charleston Community Center.
The win gives the South a 23-5 lead since the series resumed in 1983.
The North, which had won two of the last three all-star games, seemed to hold all the advantages Friday - including a decided edge in height and more high-octane scorers. But someone forgot to tell the South's players they were underdogs.
The stocky 6-foot-4 Gwinn, the tallest post player for the South, set the tone early by grabbing four rebounds in the game's first two minutes against a North squad that had four players on its roster 6-6 or taller.
"Really, it's not about height,'' said Gwinn, who was selected as his team's MVP. "If you've got the heart to battle inside and box out, then you can get the ball every time.''
Gwinn wasn't the only one doing damage underneath for the smallish South.
Chapmanville's 6-3 Todd Terry added 17 points and six rebounds and Tug Valley's 6-3 Nathan Brewer scored 10 points. Gwinn, Terry and Brewer - none of whom is known as a 3-point shooter - each knocked down a pair of long shots. They also helped the South to a surprising 64-53 edge in rebounding.
"Our big, strong guys neutralized their long, tall guys,'' said South coach Jerry Bradley of Greenbrier East. "In today's game of basketball, strength is a huge component any more. I think that bore it out just watching tonight's game.''
Terry, who will play linebacker tonight in the North-South All-Star Football Classic at Laidley Field, wasn't the only two-sporter to shine for the South basketball team Friday. Cabell Midland's Michael Brumfield, who will start at quarterback for the South tonight, added 13 points and seven rebounds to the winning total Friday.
The little guys didn't get left out of the fun, either, as Greenbrier East's Jalen Walker tossed in 19 points to lead the South's guard play. He also knocked down three of his team's 10 3-pointers.
Another South guard, Craig Ponder of Bluefield, found a streaking Brewer twice for fast-break layups a few seconds apart in the second quarter as a 9-2 South run finally earned some breathing room with a 40-28 lead.
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Gwinn leads South to 108-94 victory
As it turns out, the South had enough - enough scorers, enough rebounders and especially enough double-duty athletes.
Capital's Tommy Gwinn led an undersized but rugged low-post game for the South, scoring 20 points and ripping down 11 rebounds Friday night to lead his side to a 108-94 victory in the North-South All-Star Basketball Classic before a crowd of about 700 at the South Charleston Community Center.
The win gives the South a 23-5 lead since the series resumed in 1983.
The North, which had won two of the last three all-star games, seemed to hold all the advantages Friday - including a decided edge in height and more high-octane scorers. But someone forgot to tell the South's players they were underdogs.
The stocky 6-foot-4 Gwinn, the tallest post player for the South, set the tone early by grabbing four rebounds in the game's first two minutes against a North squad that had four players on its roster 6-6 or taller.
"Really, it's not about height,'' said Gwinn, who was selected as his team's MVP. "If you've got the heart to battle inside and box out, then you can get the ball every time.''
Gwinn wasn't the only one doing damage underneath for the smallish South.
Chapmanville's 6-3 Todd Terry added 17 points and six rebounds and Tug Valley's 6-3 Nathan Brewer scored 10 points. Gwinn, Terry and Brewer - none of whom is known as a 3-point shooter - each knocked down a pair of long shots. They also helped the South to a surprising 64-53 edge in rebounding.
"Our big, strong guys neutralized their long, tall guys,'' said South coach Jerry Bradley of Greenbrier East. "In today's game of basketball, strength is a huge component any more. I think that bore it out just watching tonight's game.''
Terry, who will play linebacker tonight in the North-South All-Star Football Classic at Laidley Field, wasn't the only two-sporter to shine for the South basketball team Friday. Cabell Midland's Michael Brumfield, who will start at quarterback for the South tonight, added 13 points and seven rebounds to the winning total Friday.
The little guys didn't get left out of the fun, either, as Greenbrier East's Jalen Walker tossed in 19 points to lead the South's guard play. He also knocked down three of his team's 10 3-pointers.
Another South guard, Craig Ponder of Bluefield, found a streaking Brewer twice for fast-break layups a few seconds apart in the second quarter as a 9-2 South run finally earned some breathing room with a 40-28 lead.
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As it turns out, the South had enough - enough scorers, enough rebounders and especially enough double-duty athletes.
Capital's Tommy Gwinn led an undersized but rugged low-post game for the South, scoring 20 points and ripping down 11 rebounds Friday night to lead his side to a 108-94 victory in the North-South All-Star Basketball Classic before a crowd of about 700 at the South Charleston Community Center.
The win gives the South a 23-5 lead since the series resumed in 1983.
The North, which had won two of the last three all-star games, seemed to hold all the advantages Friday - including a decided edge in height and more high-octane scorers. But someone forgot to tell the South's players they were underdogs.
The stocky 6-foot-4 Gwinn, the tallest post player for the South, set the tone early by grabbing four rebounds in the game's first two minutes against a North squad that had four players on its roster 6-6 or taller.
"Really, it's not about height,'' said Gwinn, who was selected as his team's MVP. "If you've got the heart to battle inside and box out, then you can get the ball every time.''
Gwinn wasn't the only one doing damage underneath for the smallish South.
Chapmanville's 6-3 Todd Terry added 17 points and six rebounds and Tug Valley's 6-3 Nathan Brewer scored 10 points. Gwinn, Terry and Brewer - none of whom is known as a 3-point shooter - each knocked down a pair of long shots. They also helped the South to a surprising 64-53 edge in rebounding.
"Our big, strong guys neutralized their long, tall guys,'' said South coach Jerry Bradley of Greenbrier East. "In today's game of basketball, strength is a huge component any more. I think that bore it out just watching tonight's game.''
Terry, who will play linebacker tonight in the North-South All-Star Football Classic at Laidley Field, wasn't the only two-sporter to shine for the South basketball team Friday. Cabell Midland's Michael Brumfield, who will start at quarterback for the South tonight, added 13 points and seven rebounds to the winning total Friday.
The little guys didn't get left out of the fun, either, as Greenbrier East's Jalen Walker tossed in 19 points to lead the South's guard play. He also knocked down three of his team's 10 3-pointers.
Another South guard, Craig Ponder of Bluefield, found a streaking Brewer twice for fast-break layups a few seconds apart in the second quarter as a 9-2 South run finally earned some breathing room with a 40-28 lead.
That grew to a 57-41 halftime edge for the South and the North never again came closer than 11 points.
"We saw that we could push and get our runs more,'' Gwinn said, "and that's what we tried to do.''
Ponder also had the game's only true dunk on a breakaway for an 88-71 lead, though Terry earlier had a half-jam on a baseline drive.
"Obviously, it was our quickness, too,'' Bradley said. "We've got a bunch of quick kids, and took advantage of it.
"What I love about all-star games is that a lot of people want to make it an exhibition, but it's competition. Our guys actually dug down and beat them up a little bit, and took it very seriously, which is always fun as a coach. We've got guys who are very unselfish. We had a great time, and it was very rewarding.''
The North featured four double-figure scorers, led by Jerome Axton of Bridgeport, who had 17 points and six rebounds. He was picked as his team's MVP.
Also for the North, Preston's T.J. Thompson scored 14 points, Fairmont Senior's Ty Garrison 12 (on four 3s) and Parkersburg Catholic's Cole Cwynar 11. Parkersburg South's Chase Fieler, the leading vote-getter in last season's state player of the year balloting to play in the game, was held to two points on 1-of-6 shooting, many times against the defense of South Charleston's Ron Beatty.
Fieler, however, did win the pregame dunk event. The North swept all three skills competitions, with Thompson taking the 3-point shootout and Cwynar the free-throw shooting. In the game, Morgan McDonald of Musselman led the North on the boards with eight rebounds.
"I thought their speed was tremendous,'' North coach Mike Granato of Weir said of the South's players. "They had a tremendous advantage in their speed and their guard player with Ponder and Walker and [Channing] Preece. Their point guard play was exceptional, and when they penetrated the lane and dumped off, it put us at a disadvantage because they were 2-1 on the backside a lot with rebounds.
"In the first half, they just outscrapped us. We may have had a height advantage, but they got a lot more loose balls and a lot more rebounds than we did. The difference in the game was they got at least 14, 16 points off putbacks, especially in the first half. We started to press some in the second half and got our feet moving a little bit and got some easy shots. But it seemed like we [only] kept getting it back to nine, 10 - that area.''
This article is available only to our premium digital content subscribers.
Gwinn leads South to 108-94 victory
As it turns out, the South had enough - enough scorers, enough rebounders and especially enough double-duty athletes.
Capital's Tommy Gwinn led an undersized but rugged low-post game for the South, scoring 20 points and ripping down 11 rebounds Friday night to lead his side to a 108-94 victory in the North-South All-Star Basketball Classic before a crowd of about 700 at the South Charleston Community Center.
The win gives the South a 23-5 lead since the series resumed in 1983.
The North, which had won two of the last three all-star games, seemed to hold all the advantages Friday - including a decided edge in height and more high-octane scorers. But someone forgot to tell the South's players they were underdogs.
The stocky 6-foot-4 Gwinn, the tallest post player for the South, set the tone early by grabbing four rebounds in the game's first two minutes against a North squad that had four players on its roster 6-6 or taller.
"Really, it's not about height,'' said Gwinn, who was selected as his team's MVP. "If you've got the heart to battle inside and box out, then you can get the ball every time.''
Gwinn wasn't the only one doing damage underneath for the smallish South.
Chapmanville's 6-3 Todd Terry added 17 points and six rebounds and Tug Valley's 6-3 Nathan Brewer scored 10 points. Gwinn, Terry and Brewer - none of whom is known as a 3-point shooter - each knocked down a pair of long shots. They also helped the South to a surprising 64-53 edge in rebounding.
"Our big, strong guys neutralized their long, tall guys,'' said South coach Jerry Bradley of Greenbrier East. "In today's game of basketball, strength is a huge component any more. I think that bore it out just watching tonight's game.''
Terry, who will play linebacker tonight in the North-South All-Star Football Classic at Laidley Field, wasn't the only two-sporter to shine for the South basketball team Friday. Cabell Midland's Michael Brumfield, who will start at quarterback for the South tonight, added 13 points and seven rebounds to the winning total Friday.
The little guys didn't get left out of the fun, either, as Greenbrier East's Jalen Walker tossed in 19 points to lead the South's guard play. He also knocked down three of his team's 10 3-pointers.
Another South guard, Craig Ponder of Bluefield, found a streaking Brewer twice for fast-break layups a few seconds apart in the second quarter as a 9-2 South run finally earned some breathing room with a 40-28 lead.
