Gold holds off Blue 160-159 in all-star game thriller

The Blue-Gold Boys’ Basketball All-Star Game started with a boom and ended with a bang as the Gold team triumphed over Blue 160-159 March 16.

Sussex Central’s Clarence McBride-Allen provided the boom with not one but two thunderous dunks in the first quarter. The big man’s dominance started early, lasted long and resulted in the Golden Knight being named MVP.

“It’s just a whole lot of hard work,” McBride-Allen said. “I just never stopped working, my teammates never stopped, and they believed in me. I just boomed off of that.”

McBride-Allen grabbed the crowd’s attention with the two early dunks and relentless work in the paint en route to a team-high 20 points. His Sussex Central teammate Cam’Ron Purnell represented the Golden Knights well in the contest, scoring 17 points.

“It’s definitely a privilege to come in here and play with a lot of good players,” Purnell said.

Donning No. 0, Purnell displayed a Tyrese Maxey level of shooting, leading Gold with five three-pointers. Four of those treys came during the second half as the Blue team began chipping away at what was a 20-point lead for a few possessions.

Kam Trammell, Cape’s lone representative, also came through in the clutch, splashing his second three of the game at a critical moment in the second half. 

“Being nominated for this means you’re one of the top seniors in the state,” Trammell said. “Playing in the game is very fun and exciting because you get to team up with people you haven’t either played with or against in a while.”

One of the players Trammell got to play alongside was Sussex Tech’s Isaiah Ayers.

“It was like AAU days all over again,” Ayers said. “I used to play with Kam in middle school and Isaiah Alston [of Caesar Rodney] in AAU, so it was great to play with them and see the chemistry was still there.”

Ayers enjoyed watching how other top players in the state prepare for a big game. The Raven ended the game with 12 points, connecting twice from deep.

Remaining consistent throughout the game, McBride-Allen split his 20 points evenly in the two halves. He knew his efforts were not going unnoticed, even as the boys from the north were inching their way back.

“My coaches and I were on the sideline talking about possibly winning the MVP; they just told me to keep doing what you’re doing, the MVP is on the line,” McBride-Allen said. “I said, ‘I’m going to take it home, coach.’”

Leading 152-146 when the game switched from timed to the first team to score 160, the Gold team struggled to keep the lead as the Blue team rained threes, taking the lead 159-158. However, within seconds, the Gold team called game.

“It felt great watching [Smyrna’s Obinna Coleman] go up for that final lay-up,” Trammell said. “Down one and Obi puts that lay-up up – we all just jumped off the bench.”

With Gold’s 160-159 victory over Blue, both the state title and all-star game trophy will reside south of the bridge for at least a year.