UCLA-bound forward Reeves Nelson of Modesto Christian and Oregon State-bound Jared Cunningham of San Leandro lead West All-Stars to victory over East All-Stars at Feinberg Academic All-American Basketball Classic. In North-South All-Star Game, Parade All-American from Duncanville, Texas leads victorious North All-Stars in game where no California player hits double figures in scoring. Read below for recap of Saturday night's event.

By Ronnie Flores, Senior Editor

Mother's Day fell on a Sunday this year, but on Saturday night the mothers of 40 of the nation's finest high school boys basketball players got an early gift as their sons were rewarded for their academic and athletic excellence.

The participants in the inaugural Feinberg Academic All-American Basketball Classic were all standouts in the classroom that carry a 3.0 G.P.A or higher. They didn't disappoint their mothers with their classroom work ethic and likewise didn't disappoint on the court as two Pac-10 bound Californians led the West All-Stars to an exciting 92-79 victory over the East All-Stars at Citizen's Bank Arena in Ontario.

"We came to have fun and wanted to get the crowd into it," said Jared Cunningham (San Leandro), who scored a game-high 17 points for the West club on eight of 13 shooting and also contributed three blocks and two steals. "This was a great event to come to."

Cunningham was a second team all-state pick and is bound for Oregon State, but it was another Pac-10 bound all-state second teamer, UCLA-bound Tyler Honeycutt (Sylmar), that gave the West All-Stars a quick boost by scoring the first two baskets of the game. The bigger West team was able to leak out Honeycutt on the break and he used his stellar length and athleticism to finish around the rim. He scored three of the first four field goals and helped the West unit build a 9-0 lead.

The East club settled down with its second unit in the game after the first wave of substitutions. Led by the defensive intensity of Darius Morris (Windward, Los Angeles), the East All-Stars cut the lead to 15-10 on a free throw by the reigning Div. V State Player of the Year. The East unit took its first lead at 18-17 with 6:55 remaining in the first half on a field goal by McDonald's All-American David Wear (Mater Dei, Santa Ana).

A field goal by the East's Leslie McDonald (Briarcrest, Memphis, TN), like Wear headed to the University of North Carolina, tied the game at 23-23 with 5:10 remaining in the half. From there, the West All-Stars dominated as they outscored their East counterparts, 24-10, in the closing minutes of first half to take a 47-33 half time lead.

What made the West's surge even more impressive was the fact they did it without Honeycutt, who was injured during a collision with Cunningham under the basket with 4:37 remaining in the half. Honeycutt did not return to the game but still finished with nine points and six rebounds. What made Cunningham's performance even more special was that he had a second nasty spill in the second half, as he fell head over heels on an opposing player and came crashing down on the hardwood.

"I came down pretty hard on both of them," Cunningham explained. "Coach said it was my decision it I wanted to go back into the game. I'll rest up tomorrow and get back to work on Monday. I'm looking forward to getting to Oregon State and playing my role."

Luckily for the victors, Cunningham was able to stay in the game and he made a huge impact on its outcome. His one-handed alley-oop was the individual highlight of the second half and it gave the West All-Stars a 55-37 lead. The East All-Stars cut the lead to 10 points (59-49) with 11:15 left on a follow-up by David Wear's twin brother, Travis, and stayed within striking distance for a majority of the second half.

The East made their final push behind Morris and Travis Wear, who both finished with a team-high 16 points while David Wear finished with 15 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Morris executed a nice crossover dribble on Cunningham, who fouled him on the play. After the Michigan-bound guard converted the traditional three-point play, the West had an eight-point lead (77-69) with five minutes remaining.

The East got as close as four points at 79-74 with four minutes to play, but could get no closer as the West's Reeves Nelson (Modesto Christian) helped his team take control with his all-around play on both ends. Nelson led a 8-0 mini-spurt that gave his team a 87-75 and sealed the win for the West All-Stars. The UCLA-bound Nelson finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three blocks and two steals. He was named the game's most outstanding player.

"We knew we were bigger and wanted to get out and fast break," Nelson said about the West team's 55-46 rebounding advantage. "I was a little rusty at the beginning of the season (because of my football injuries), but I've was getting back my timing in the last few weeks. I feel like I'm getting better every day."

In addition to Cunningham and Nelson, the West All-Stars also got a solid performance from first team all-stater Andrew Bock (Eisenhower, Rialto), who also won the three-point contest. The Creighton-bound guard made two of three three-point attempts and finished the game with 14 points. Morris' Windward teammate, UCLA-bound Anthony Stover, played for the victors and was the team's fourth player in double digits, finishing with 13 points and nine rebounds.

The second all-star contest of the evening featured a majority of the out-of-state players and neither team seemed to be as cohesive as the two teams that were California-heavy. Perhaps it was the unfamiliarity with each other, but both the South All-Stars (31 percent) and North All-Stars (42 percent) shot poorly in the first half. The North All-Stars picked up its shooting in the second half to record a 81-66 victory.

Leading the way for the victors was Parade All-American Roger Franklin, a small forward with a huge heart from Duncanville High in Texas. Franklin is not the best ball-handler or the best shooter around, but by the sheer force of his personality he makes a positive impact on teammates and the outcome of games.

"This was a big-time event with a lot of the best players in the class," said Franklin, who finished with a game-high 16 points and was named MOP as well as the Academic All-American Classic National Player of the Year. "I wanted to encourage these guys to make sure they played hard. This will definitely be a weekend I remember the rest of my life."

The North All-Stars jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and built a 10-2 lead on a power dunk by Franklin. His team didn't let up and led at halftime, 37-23, as the South All-Stars struggled to find the right combination of players to improve its offensive output.

Michael Dixon (Lee's Summitt West, Lee's Summitt, MO) found an offensive rhythm and gave the South club a ray of hope in the second half. Dixon's lay up made it a ten point game (56-46) with 7:15 remaining in the game, but the South All-Stars never could get over the hump.

Lanky forward Cory Jefferson (Killeen, TX) nailed a fallaway jumper to cut the North's lead to 56-48, but Franklin answered with a conventional three-point play. The North's Matt Vogrich (Lake Forest, IL) nailed two clutch three-pointers late in the game to seal the deal, as both triples stretch the lead back to 15 points. The Michigan-bound guard made three shots from long range and finished with nine points, one of three North All-Stars to finish just one point shy of double figures.

The Baylor-bound Jefferson also netted nine points with forward Carlos Lopez (Findlay Prep, Las Vegas, NV) and guard Trent Lockett (Hopkins, Golden Valley, MN) chipping in a dozen points each for the South club. Dixon, bound for Missouri, scored on an array of smooth outside shots and scored a team-high 13 points in a losing effort.

The nightcap, however, clearly belonged to Franklin. It was a bittersweet season for the Oklahoma State-bound forward, as his Duncanville Panthers opened the season ranked No. 1 in the ESPN RISE FAB 50 national ratings, but failed to live up to lofty preseason expectations. Franklin was glad to end his long season on a high note.

"What I learned is that you have to go ahead at let it go and move on," Franklin explained about Duncanville's disappointing season. "This was my last high school game, so it was important to leave on top (with a victory)."