Area’s senior all-stars shine on hardwood

By AARON MANAGHAN

Sports editor

Tuesday was a memorable day for the area’s top high school senior hoopsters. After all, it’s not everyday your high school career comes to an end.

But for a number of Kitsap County’s best on the basketball court, Tuesday marked just that with the 2008 West Sound Senior High School All-Star Basketball Games, held at Olympic College’s Bremer Student Center.

“It’s a last time to play together,” Olympic’s Nicole Buhl said. “It was a lot of fun.”

In the girls game, which kicked things off, team Puget Sound topped team Cascade 52-47, led by King’s West post Megan Spence’s 16-point effort. Buhl scored eight for Puget Sound while Oly teammate Pepper Fanua won the hot-shot shooting contest and Trojans Shawntell Bradford scored six.

Central Kitsap was well represented on team Cascade, with Katie Lintz putting in 10 points. Nolan Winger scored two and Lauren Forney and Sam Sudy both also played for CK.

The game was incredibly physical, staying closer throughout until a late run by Puget Sound put the contest out of reach.

“As it kept progressing, it got more intense,” Lintz said. “At first, we weren’t taking it too seriously. Then the competition set it.”

On the boys side, team Cascade took down Puget Sound 92-75 thanks to 17 from Gig Harbor’s Nick Pappuleas. Rashad Greene and Joey Johnston both scored 11 in representing Olympic. Johnston also said several nice passes, including a no-look dish and a behind-the-back pass in the all-star gala.

They teamed up with Klahowya’s Chris Zumdieck and Caleb Leavitt on team Cascade, who scored eight and seven points respectively.

CK senior Andrew Braun, winner of the slam dunk contest, scored 11 for team Puget Sound, as did Cougar teammate Andrew Shearer. Braun was happy to take the dunk crown.

“All those guys are (6-foot-3-inches, 6-foot-4-inches),” Braun, 6-feet himself, said. “I was focusing on the dunk contest the whole time.”

Still, it was nice to end his high school career with the game as well.

“It was great,” Braun said. “It was a lot of fun.”

Part of what made it so fun was playing with and against foes and friends on both teams.

“I just like playing with all the other good players,” Zumdieck said. “It’s just fun not having to hate them all the time.”

The same was true for the girls.

“It was really fun just playing with the girls I’ve played against,” Forney said. “And we all get along splendidly.”

Spence won the girls three-point contest, while Shearer took the boys’ contest. PA’s Jake Madison won the boys hot-shot contest.

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