The tournaments are over and state champions have been crowned, yet the season is not finished until the senior all-stars are honored. Last Wednesday at Deering, the SMAA senior all-stars had one last game, an exhibition between friends and rivals.

In the boys’ game, after a combined 199 points, it’s safe to say the senior boys gave the people their money’s worth.

Along with the actual game, some of the players participated in a three-point contest, and the always crowd-pleasing slam dunk contest.

If the fans needed a reminder that this was just for fun, the game announcer first informed everybody that the referees “are not very good, but it’s not their fault,” then mispronounced the last name of Gorham center Mike Foustokos, and for a little while just called him “Mike from Gorham.”

How, after four years, could they get the name wrong?

“I don’t know, I have no idea,” said Foustokos. “It’s a tough name to follow. Most of my teachers still get it wrong, and Coach Jenkins still doesn’t get it right. He can’t spell it or anything; he’s always throwing extra E’s and things in there.”

During the game, nine players scored over 10 points, with two scoring 20 or more. Leading the scoring for the home team, Team A, were Thornton Academy’s Kory Martin, who had 20 points with nine rebounds, and Noble’s Anthony Stanton, who had 14 points and six boards.

For the visiting Team B, South Portland’s Will Furbush paced the offense with 23 points and seven rebounds, including the final three points from the foul line to give his team the win. Biddeford’s Dan Jamieson added 17 points and six rebounds, and Deering’s Kyle Donovan put on a show for his home crowd, scoring 16 points with seven boards, and winning the slam dunk contest.

In the end, Team B defeated Team A by the score of 100-99. The teams combined to make 21 three-pointers, and that’s not including the shots made during the three-point contest, won by Westbrook’s Kyle Sanborn.

“When you get to play with all the best players from the SMAA, it’s a good time. Westbrook is the best high school in the world,” said Sanborn, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds.

It was only a one-point game at the end of the first half, as the visiting Team B took a 49-48 lead at halftime, thanks to 12 points on four three-pointers from Doug Alston of Cheverus.

During the intermission, the three-point contest was held. Gorham’s Andrew Arena took an early lead, hitting nine in one minute, but was overtaken by Sanborn, who hit 11 threes in the minute to take the win.

“When I was younger, I used to be a point guard, and I used to stick the threes, and Coach Karter didn’t know that. Then I got fat, and slow, and tall,” said Sanborn.

The game was paused at the halfway point for the dunk contest, when the score was knotted at 78-78. The timing couldn’t have been better for Team A, as Furbush hit four three-pointers for Team B after the second half started, so the break seemed to stop his momentum for a bit.

The dunk contest was all about Deering’s Kyle Donovan. In front of his home crowd, Donovan got the contest started with a 360 degree slam. Stanton and Foustokos tried to give Donovan a run for the money, but Donovan’s final dunk sealed the deal. Standing at the foul line with his back to the basket, Donovan bounced the ball between his legs with enough force that the ball bounced off the backboard and towards Donovan, who had turned a made a leap of faith up to the rim, grabbing the ball on his own alley-oop and slamming it home, blowing the roof off the gym and getting a standing ovation.

“When Donovan threw down that last one, I knew it was over,” said Foustokos, who finished with eight points and five rebounds.

Down to the final few seconds, Team A had a 99-97 lead, and Team B looked to get the ball in Furbush’s hands beyond the arc to get a game-winning three. That didn’t happen, as Furbush was fouled and got three shots from the free throw line. Furbush hit all three, giving his team a 100-99 win.

“I know Andrew (Arena) and I have worked hard during the fall, summer, and spring, and we both set a goal to be here, and we’re glad we got here,” said Foustokos. “It just feels good that our hard work got recognized.”

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