{"id":101812,"date":"2015-05-04T06:38:20","date_gmt":"2015-05-04T13:38:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bilcomprd.wpengine.com\/?p=101812"},"modified":"2023-03-21T14:04:12","modified_gmt":"2023-03-21T21:04:12","slug":"maker-leads-team-elite-to-win-at-2015-ballislife-all-american-game-recap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ballislife.com\/maker-leads-team-elite-to-win-at-2015-ballislife-all-american-game-recap\/","title":{"rendered":"Thon Maker & Skal Labissierre Win MVP Awards at the 5th Annual Ballislife All-American Game"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n MVP Thon Maker and Malik Beasley lead Team Elite to a 113-110 victory over Team Future at the 2015 Ballislife All-American Game. Team Future makes a second half comeback only to have a last-second 3-point attempt fall short.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Long Beach, Calif. --<\/em> It looked like the 5th Annual Ballislife All-American Game<\/strong> presented by U.S. Army<\/em> was going to be one of those old-fashioned all-star games where one team doesn't get back in transition and gets blown out.<\/p>\n It happened to Team Future, as Team Elite jumped out to a quick double-digit lead and grew its lead to as big as 26 points, 49-23, in the first half. In the second half, however, Team Future made a spirited comeback and eventually took the lead at 108-107 on a layup by Dwayne Bacon<\/strong> of Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) with 1:03 remaining in the game. It actually took a 3-point lead, but Team Elite executed better down the stretch to pull out a 113-110 victory before a near capacity crowd and a live broadcast on CBS Sports Network at Long Beach (Calif.) City College.<\/p>\n The clinching points came on a dunk by Thon Maker<\/strong> of Orangeville Prep (Mono, Ontario, Can.) off a pretty dish by Donovan Mitchell<\/strong> of Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, N.H.). Team Future had the ball one final time with a chance to tie with 9.7 seconds remaining. Isaiah Briscoe<\/strong> of Roselle Catholic (Roselle, N.J.) fired a 3-pointer that was just long. The rebound caromed long and the ball ended up in the hands of Oregon-State bound Stevie Thompson Jr.<\/strong> of Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, Calif.), whose 3-pointer was short as the buzzer sounded.<\/p>\n \"I just want to keep my eyes open and I enjoyed this opportunity to play,\" said Maker, who was named Team Elite MVP with 17 points (8-of-10 shooting), six rebounds and three blocked shots. \"I want to be myself and play the right way. Getting the win was also important.\"<\/p>\n Also leading the winning team was Malik Beasley<\/strong> of St. Francis (Alpharetta, Ga.). The Florida St.-bound shooting guard finished with a game-high 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Helping Team Future get back in the game from its 63-47 halftime deficit was Bacon -- another Leonard Hamilton recruit headed to Florida State. Bacon finished with 20 points, including 15 after intermission. Briscoe also had 20 points for Team Future.<\/p>\n The game's most consistent player was Team Future's Skal Labissierre<\/strong> of Reach Your Dreams (Memphis, Tenn.). The 6-foot-11 Kentucky-bound forward had 16 points (eight in each half) and controlled the boards. He finished with 16 rebounds, with eight in the first half and eight in the second.<\/p>\n \"We had to get out of the all-star game mentality after halftime,\" Labissierre said. \"It was a fun experience and a good way to go out.\"<\/p>\n <\/p>\n