ACBF Senior All-Star Game Notebook -
Stars take a final bow
MaMahan, Johnstone earn POG recognition

By KARL E. PEARSON
Staff Writer

JEFFERSON — Jake McMahan had some extra incentive when he got to Thursday’s Ashtabula County Basketball Foundation Senior All-Star Game at Falcon Gymnasium.

It turns out, so did Chris Johnstone.

McMahan is already getting ready for tennis season at Geneva, where he is returning for the Eagles as the Star Beacon Ashtabula County co-Player of the Year, which he shared with graduated teammate Kyle O’Dell. But tennis coach Phil Dubsky sent McMahan off to the game with a mission.

“Coach Dubsky told me if I scored 30 points, I wouldn’t have to run next week,” McMahan said with a big smile. “I didn’t quite make it to 30, but maybe I can get a little bit of a break.”

Dubsky might have to consider that as McMahan walked away designated as Player of the Game for the Red team. He scored a game-high 23 points, including hitting six 3-pointers, also shared high-rebounder honors in the game with eight and dished out two assists, stole the ball once and also blocked a shot. McMahan hit a trio of treys in each half of the game, played on a 40-minute college format.

But McMahan’s efforts weren’t enough to produce a victory for the Red. It was Johnstone’s second-half surge that powered his Gray team to a 90-84 victory.

Johnstone exploded for 13 of his 16 points in the second half to lead the charge for the Gray. He struck for a pair of 3-pointers, mixed in four assists and steals each and also grabbed two rebounds.

“I thought if it was going to be my last game, I was going to make sure I left it all out there,” he said. “In the first half, I was a little rusty because I hadn’t played for a while, but when I came out for the first time in the first half, I really didn’t want to come out. I just knew then I was going to put everything into it that I could.”

McMahan came into Thursday’s game with a little momentum built up from his performance in Tuesday’s Star Beacon-Ed Batanian Senior Classic. He had finished second in the 3-point shooting contest at halftime of that game to Conneaut’s Josh Furmage, then went out in the game and hit two more treys to help lead the Typhoons to a 68-64 victory.

“I was feeling pretty good when I got out here tonight,” he said. “I was just feeling it. I think it carried over a bit from the game the other night.

“I wanted to go out with a bang tonight.”

For a game that was about as loosely structured as any game can by, there were actually a number of other candidates for Player of the Game honors from both squads. For instance, Johnstone was ably backed up by his Lakeside teammate, La’Roo Wells, who scored a team-high 20 points, shared team rebounding honors with eight and also contributed a game-high five steals and three blocked shots. Two of his baskets were dunks.

Furmage also had a solid night for the Gray. He finished with 13 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Jefferson’s Brian Bevins also had a fine shooting night, netting 12 points, including two 3-pointers.

The Red also had other serious candidates. Jefferson’s Cory Prine scored 12 points, hitting two 3-pointers, and also had two rebounds and an assist. McMahan’s Geneva teammate, Michael Schubert, scored 10 points, including a 3-pointer, and mixed in seven rebounds, four assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Pymatuning Valley’s Brandon Easton contributed nine points, seven rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot.



Family affair

Three-fourths of the coaching responsibilities were kept in the Henson family. Sisters Kelly Henson and Kim (Henson) Triskett spun the dials for the victorious Gray team, while Tom Henson, the long-time boys basketball coach at Grand Valley, shared coach duties with Grand Valley legend Jim Dodd for the Red. All four coaches are members of the ACBF Hall of Fame.

It made for interesting eavesdropping along both sidelines. At one point, one of the Red players hesitated to take a shot and turned the ball over. Tom Henson had an answer for that.

“When in doubt, shoot it,” he hollered out to his team.

The coaches rarely have much of an opportunity to get to know their players, since they are coming from such varied backgrounds, unless they have been on opposing teams during the season. Since the Henson sisters generally are involved coaching the GV girls basketball teams, it seemed unlikely they would have a good working knowledge of their personnel.

Instead, Kim Triskett showed a remarkable facility for knowing the names of all the players on the Gray roster. Told there would be a quiz after the game on some of the names, she came up with a ready answer when asked for the identity of one player.

“Did I pass?” she said.

Sisters aren’t always known for getting along, but the pair had a rollicking good time bantering with their players and each other. Never a discouraging word was heard between them. When it was suggested that they might be able to buy extra timeouts if needed for the right price, Kelly Henson had an answer.

“Just bill it to my dad,” she said with a laugh.

It was a good experience for all concerned. Just ask Tom Henson, the ultimate coaching junky.

“I had a great time,” he said. “It was great coaching against my daughters and working with all these great kids.”