All of the requisite elements of an all-star basketball showcase were in place Thursday night in the 34th annual Capital Classic. There were high-flying slam-dunks, gratuitous alley-oops and, in the end, a ridiculous total of points. The only thing missing was the crowd — only 3,127 showed up at Comcast Center.
They had plenty of room to stretch out and enjoy the Capital All-Stars’ 149-145 victory over the U.S. All-Stars.
It started auspiciously for 6-foot-9 Gus Gilchrist (Progressive Christian) as he elevated for a breakaway slam dunk, but pinned the ball on the side of the rim and came down in a heap. Gilchrist rose from the floor with a sheepish grin. Then he got serious, scoring 24 points, grabbing nine rebounds and blocking three shots to earn MVP honors.
“My legs buckled,” Gilchrist said of his early misstep. “I was just laughing. It was funny to me too.”
Joining the Virginia Tech-bound Gilchrist with post-game honors were Sherwood guard Deontay Twyman (16 points, eight assists) and Eleanor Roosevelt forward Darnell Dodson (18 points, six steals). All were awarded game balls along with U.S. All-Star leader Malcolm Delaney, a Virginia Tech recruit from Towson Catholic (Balt.), who led a late rally, finishing with a game-high 31 points.
But the night belonged to the Capital All-Stars who also got strong efforts from Montrose Christian guard Adrian Bowie (14 points), Freedom guard Cameron Long (13 points), DeMatha center Jerai Grant (11 points, 10 rebounds), and DeMatha guard Jeff Peterson (14 points, six assists), who hit a key 3-pointer with a minute to go after the U.S. pulled to within two points.
In the second half, the teams combined for 20 dunks. The most memorable was turned in by Twyman, the smallest player on the floor at 5-10, who made a breakaway two-handed windmill. The play came in a scintillating three-minute stretch during which Twyman also hit a 3-pointer and a 15-foot fallaway, and threaded a perfect bounce pass in transition to St. Mary’s Ryken’s John Flowers.
“Every time I play here I have success,” said Twyman, who led Sherwood to the Maryland 4A state title at Comcast. “I wouldn’t mind coming back here.”
