Brown's 31 leads South | Maryland Gazette (HometownGlenBurnie.com)

Mandel Brown walked into the North County gym on a mission.

"I wanted to show everyone what I can do," Brown said.

Brown made sure those watching knew after leading the South in a 50-point third quarter and a 127-109 win in the 20th annual Anne Arundel County Senior All-Star Classic last night.

Brown scored a game-high 31 points - 19 in the third quarter - and collected six rebounds and six assists to win the Most Valuable Player award for the South All-Stars.

"He was able to showcase his skills tonight, which I was happy for," South coach Jeff Starr said.

David Ford scored 17 points and picked up 10 rebounds and five blocks to win the MVP for the North squad.

"He's a ballplayer," North coach Andrew Lazzor said. "He was physical. He was going strong to the basket. He's been doing it all season, so I wasn't surprised he did it tonight."

The North All-Stars brought a 47-46 lead into the third quarter, but the South hit nine 3-pointers to take a 96-71 lead into the fourth.

Dewey Smith connected on five 3-pointers - two in the third quarter - to finish with 17 points. His second three gave the South a 59-49 lead with

6:51 left in the quarter.

The trio from Arundel - Julian Watson, Jordan Benson and Brown - broke the game open from behind the arc.

Watson gave the South a 64-53 lead with a 3-pointer from the right wing with six minutes left, and Benson connected from the left on the next possession. Brown's 3-pointer from the left corner put the South ahead by 16.

"He's a pretty good player," Ford said. "That's all I can say. He's a pretty good player. You have to get out there on him because he can shoot from deep."

Kevin Hunt, who finished with 13 rebounds and six assists, found Brown under the basket for a lay-up for an 18-point lead.

Brown sandwiched North All-Star Antonio Wright's 3-pointer with two of his own, and he connected on a three-point play for an 89-68 lead. Brown then stole the North's mid-court pass and returned it for a dunk with 43 seconds left in the third.

Brown finished the quarter with his fourth three for a 94-69 lead.

"This is the best time of my life," Brown said. "All four years I played varsity, and this is the best experience ever. It's amazing. I'm on top of the world right now."

Late in the fourth quarter, Brown soared over his 6-foot-8 teammate, Brad Bald, for an offensive rebound and a put-back, then came back down the court for a 3-pointer and a 120-92 advantage.

"There's very little defense played in an All-Star Game, especially from the 3-point line," Lazzor said. "He got hot, and that was impressive to see."

A.J. Mann scored 18 points for the North, and his Old Mill teammates, Brandon Riley and Deonte Puller finished with 12 and 11, respectively.

Wright gave the North a 32-28 lead with a 3-pointer from the top of the key at the start of the second quarter. Mann threw a behind-the-back pass under the basket to Riley for a lay-up to stretch the North's lead to 42-32 with 2:49 left in the first half.

But Hunt threw a one-handed pass to Smith for a three from the corner, and Mike Dixon followed with a jumper from the top of the key to tie the score at 44-44 with 54 seconds to play in the second.

Hunt put the South ahead by two with a left-handed dunk on a fast break, but Will Smith ended the half with a 3-pointer from the left wing to send the North into halftime with a one-point lead.

The South opened the third quarter on a 13-2 run, and Brown took care of the rest. The North All-Stars scored 38 points in the fourth quarter, but it was too late.

"It was impressive to see," Lazzor said. "As long as they had big smiles on there faces, it was nice to see."

South 22 24 50 31 - 127

North 24 23 24 38 - 109

South (127)

Brice 0 0-0 0; J. Watson 5(1) 1-2 12; Smith 6(5) 1-2 17; Bald 2 2-4 6; Friend 1 0-0 2; Atkins 2(1) 0-0 5; T. Watson 3 0-0 6; Benson 7(1) 1-3 16; Dixon 2 1-2 5; Brown 12(6) 1-1 31; Eng 5 0-0 10; Boston 2(1) 0-0 5; Hunt 2 0-2 4; Wallace 3 1-2 7. TOTALS: 52(15) 8-18 127.

North (109)

Pierce 3(2) 0-0 8; Fleet 2 0-0 4; Parker 2 0-0 4; El-Said 1 0-0 2; Mann 8(2) 0-0 18; Wright 5(3) 0-1 13; Riley 5(2) 0-0 12; Johnson 3(1) 1-4 8; Ford 7 3-4 17; W. Smith 2(1) 0-0 5; Puller 4 3-4 11; M. Smith 3 1-1 7. TOTALS: 45(11) 8-14 109.