NEWARK — Jordan Allen certainly had himself a happy birthday.
The Dover High senior won the dunk contest and was the leading scorer of the boys’ game with 23 points as he guided the Gold …
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NEWARK — Jordan Allen certainly had himself a happy birthday.
The Dover High senior won the dunk contest and was the leading scorer of the boys’ game with 23 points as he guided the Gold squad to a 104-83 victory over the Blue team in the 18th annual Blue-Gold senior all-star game on Saturday afternoon at the Bob Carpenter Center.
“This is fun, playing the game I love on my birthday,” Allen said. “This is the best thing you could ever do.”
On the girls’ side, the Gold held off a late charge from the Blue for a 64-60 win, making it a sweep for the downstate teams.
Emily Truitt of Sussex Central scored 10 points, including a pair of free throws with two minutes left to break a 60-60 tie. Woodbridge’s Altia Anderson, who was awarded the state’s Player of the Year on Friday, chipped in eight points and six rebounds for the Gold.
The Blue girls were on top by two points until the Gold ended the game with six unanswered.
“It’s amazing to me,” Truitt said. “It doesn’t happen often that the Gold wins, so it’s a great feeling.”
Some of the best entertainment of the day came during halftime of the boys’ game when six players, three from each side, competed in the dunk contest.
Allen, who is a Rider University commit, started things off with an assist from Dover teammate Mike Douglas. Douglas ran the baseline, threw the ball off the side of the backboard for Allen who grabbed it in midair and finished with a reverse two-handed slam.
“We’ve been practicing that for the longest time,” Allen said. “ When we end practice, we stay in the gym and practice dunks for a lot of the time.”
Allen’s final dunk of the contest was when he threw a lob to himself, caught it on the bounce and flushed it through the basket.
His dunks didn’t end at halftime. He had four dunks in the game, including an alley-oop in the first half and a two-handed slam off a dish from Douglas with seconds left as the game’s final points.
Milford’s Henry Nesmith also had a standout game for the Gold squad with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.
The Gold was up 51-39 at halftime before the Blue started the second half on a 21-2 run to take a 60-53 lead. But the Gold rallied, outscoring the Blue 51-23 in the final 10 minutes.
“It’s cool but at the end of the day we’re all friends with each other,” Allen said of the victory. “We love playing the game and playing with each other. That’s what we’re here for. We bring everyone together for the fans to watch Delaware’s best talent.”