Edison’s Ermin Kapo follows through on a three pointer in the fourth quarter of Team White’s come from behind 123-111 victory over Team Black in the 2023 GMC Boys Senior All-Star Game at Middlesex College on Wednesday night. Kapo finished with a game high 20 points.
Edison’s Kapo Leads Five Different Team White Players in Double Figures
EDISON, NJ – It was a tale of two different halves in the 2023 GMC Boys Senior All-Star Game at Middlesex College on Wednesday night. However, Team White’s 82-48 surge in the second half would be the difference in a 123-111 victory over Team Black. Edison’s Ermin Kapo led five different Team White players in double figures with a game high 20 points along with 5 rebounds and an assist.
South Brunswick’s Harmehar Chhabra scored all 15 of his points in the second half including 13 in the third quarter when Team White rallied from a 63-41 halftime deficit with a 43-23 outburst. Chhabra also collected 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Woodbridge’s Kendall Pala added 13 points along with 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, and a block. Perth Amboy’s Lorenzo Perez chipped in with 12 points, 4 assists, and a steal while St. Thomas Aquinas’ Jalen Pichardo contributed with 10 points, 7 boards, 2 assists, and a steal.
Noah Taylor of Colonia and Calvary Christian’s Jack Zink shared a team high of 19 points in a losing cause for Team Black. Taylor also collected 3 rebounds, 2 assists, and a steal. Zink also compiled 5 rebounds, an assist, and a steal. St. Joseph’s Anthony Williams added 17 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, a steal and a block while Sayreville’s Sam Omokeji contributed with 13 points, 2 assists, 2 blocks, and a rebound. Laz Rodriguez chipped in with 11 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, and a block.
All 14 of Team White’s players scored while only 12 of Team Black’s players scored. Both teams had five players score in double figures, but eight Team White players scored at least 7 points while only 7 did for Team Black. While both teams each scored 74 points from within the arc, Team White enjoyed a 39-33 edge in points scored from long distance, and a 10-4 advantage in points scored from the foul line. Team White also made 63 percent of its 16 free throw attempts while Team Black made only 40 percent of its 10 attempts.
Team Black enjoyed a slight 48-47 edge on the boards, Team White had more offensive rebounds (19-15). Team Black also had more blocks (5-1) and dunks (6-2). Team White had more steals (10-8) while Team Black had more assists (27-19). Team Black had three of the top four scorers in the game with the trio of Taylor, Zink, and Williams, who combined for 55 points. Team Black’s five double digit scorers outscored Team White’s five double digit scorers by a margin of 79-70.
However, Team White had a more balanced attack with its other 9 players outscoring Team Black’s remaining ten by a margin of 53-32. Team Black opened the game with a 34-17 first quarter lead as Omokeji led the charge with 8 points including two threes while Taylor added 6 points on three field goals and Zink, Williams, and Rodriguez each chipped in with 4. Williams capped the start with a one handed slam in the closing seconds of the frame. Eight different players scored in the first quarter for Team Black.
Kapo and Carteret’s CG Opara led the way for Team White with 5 and 4 points respectively. Wardlaw-Hartridge’s Harrison Kilpatrick (6 points) and Pala each added a three and North Plainfield’s Patrick Adams chipped in with two as only five different players scored. The second quarter saw Team Black’s dominance continue as it outscored Team White by a margin of 29-24. Team Black finished with five dunks in the half as Taylor and Piscataway’s Jonathan Carman (9 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, and a block) each had two dunks in the second.
Zink, who scored 13 of his points in the first half, scored 9 in the second including two threes and a traditional three point play to lead Team Black. Taylor added 6 on three field goals as he scored 12 of his points in the first half. Carman chipped in with 4 while Omokeji fired in his third and final three of the game to finish with 11 of his points in the first half. The quartet combined to score 43 of Team Black’s 63 first half points.
Seven different players scored in the second for Team Black while Kapo led seven different scorers for Team White with 9 points in the frame. Kapo actually had game high with 14 points at the intermission. While Kapo only scored 6 in the second half with all coming in the fourth quarter, his teammates were able to step up for him. Team Black’s quartet of Taylor, Zink, Carman, and Omokeji only combined for 17 points over the final two quarters, and only Williams stepped in in their absence with 13 points including 11 in the fourth quarter.
Team White began the second half rally by taking advantage of Team Black’s reserves that started the second half. Over the first 3:35 of the third, Team White put together a 16-4 tear including all 6 points from South Plainfield’s Mikey Mendez to suddenly close the gap to ten at 67-57. Mendez capped the rally with a steal that he took the other way for the hoop at the 6:25 mark. Then, Chhabra took over for the remainder of the period.
Instrumental in South Brunswick’s run to the GMCT Boys final, and the Central Jersey Group 4 title game, Chhabra sank three treys in the period including back to back threes to cap a 27-19 surge to end the period and close the gap to 86-84. Highland Park’s Daniel Starcevic (5 points and 2 rebounds) also added a traditional three point play during the third quarter rally. Pala then took over in the fourth with 10 of his 13 points including a three to give Team White an 87-86 lead.
Dunellen’s Tarique Dorsey (7 points, 5 rebounds, and an assist) then gave Team White the lead for good by converting an and one for a 90-88 lead. Dorsey ended up with 5 points in the period while Perez scored 7 of his dozen points including a three pointer. Old Bridge’s Ryan Witte (8 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal) scored 5 of his points in the second half including a three in the fourth. Pichardo scored 6 of his points in the second half including a dunk in the closing seconds to wrap up the 12 point victory.
In all, Team White had 9 different players score in the fourth quarter. Only six scored for Team Black including Williams with his 11 and Rodriguez with 5. Rodriguez actually scored 7 of his 11 points on the game over the final two periods. Taylor, Carman, and Piscataway Magnet’s Isaiah Shepard (6 points) each chipped in with two points. Team White outscored Team Black by a margin of 39-25 to finish off the second half blitz to win the game.
Team White, which defeated Team Black 122-113 in last year’s All-Star Game, has now won two straight by an average margin of 123-112. Ermin Kapo and Noah Taylor were recognized by GMC Hoops as the Players of the Game for their respective teams. Special thanks to the people taking care of the book in the game and Jay Gomes of NJ Hoops for providing statistics on the game.