All-Stars put all their skills on display in Shootout

In an all-star game that showcased plenty of team play, Eric House of Fort Vancouver High School was named the star of stars Sunday night.

House led his squad in scoring — with 17 — but it was his passing, rebounding, and play-making ability down the stretch that gave the Blue team a 104-90 victory over the White squad in the annual Les Schwab Tires Roundball Shootout at Union High School.

Blue ended the game on a 19-1 run, with House getting four assists during that stretch.

“It was fun having a lot of players who could help me out,” said House, the second consecutive Fort Vancouver athlete to be named MVP of the boys game after Kenny Kirkland earned the trophy last year. “They made me look good. They were there for me at the right time.”

The Blue stars also won the girls game. Haley Smith of Camas was MVP with 17 points and 24 rebounds.

“It’s so cool. I didn’t even know. I didn’t think I had that many rebounds,” she said. “It was really fun, and I love my teammates. Practice this week was really, really fun.”

The Shootout, now in its 15th year, is for senior basketball players from Southwest Washington. In some cases, teammates from high school are pitted against each other in these all-star games. And the best of the classifications all bring their games into one gym.

Sometimes, those type of games turn into individual, one-on-one contests.

Not Sunday.

The Blue squad trailed by 11 with 8:28 to play before outscoring White 36-11. Scott Brooks of Prairie scored eight of his 14 points in that final stretch. Lucas Swanson of Mountain View scored all of his 14 points in the second half. Gabe Foster of Hudson’s Bay had back-to-back buckets late, as did Andrew White of Mountain View.

House finished 6 of 11 from the floor and 5 for 5 from the line for his 17 points. He also had 12 rebounds, five assists, and two steals.

Adam Herman of Prairie led the White squad with 14 points. Trevor Hurn of Woodland added 12, and Mitch Tugaw of Hockinson and Jordan Miller of Fort Vancouver each scored 11 points. Herman also won the slam dunk contest.

“To me, that was the funnest part,” he said. “Out there by yourself, showing what you can do.”

Kramer Ramberg of Columbia River took the boys 3-point contest. He made 20, including 13 in a row, in the finals.

“Once I hit three or four in a row, I was in a rhythm,” he said. “It’s an honor, playing with a bunch of guys I’d never played with before. It’s a good experience. I’m glad I got to be able to do it.”

Smith led Blue to victory in the girls game with her dominance in the paint.

Blue led for much of the contest, but Lexi Gleason of Hudson’s Bay led a late rally for White, scoring eight consecutive points to tie the game at 63 with two minutes to play.

Shelby Williams of Ridgefield responded with a cross-over move for a bucket, giving the Blue the lead for good. Smith would then bank in a 3-pointer for a five-point lead.

Kass Cloyd of Columbia River led Blue in scoring. She finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Nichole Kates of Ridgefield added 11 points and Kaitlyn Moses of Woodland finished with 10.

Gleason was the high-point player for the day, finishing with 23. Hannah Trigg of La Center scored 12 points for White.

Macy Mukensnabl of Skyview added 11 points. She also won the 3-point contest.

“It’s pretty awesome,” she said.

She also enjoyed playing in an exhibition game, with nothing on the line.

“You can just really do anything you want, even if you miss a shot,” she said. “You’re playing with a whole bunch of people you’re used to playing against, and you’re having fun.”

But it is work, too.

Smith said she had not done too much basketball work after Camas’ season ended a couple of weeks ago. Many of her all-star teammates had taken a break.

“All of us were dead after the first 10 minutes (of practice),” she said. “We knew we had to run. We got ourselves in better shape.”

Then Smith ended up taking home a trophy for that effort.

Les Schwab Tires Roundball Shootout

Girls

BLUE 72, WHITE 66

BLUE — Kass Cloyd 19, Haley Smith 17, Nichole Kates 11, Kaitlyn Moses 10, Shelby Williams 9, Sheleena Giles 4, Brittany Landon 2. Totals 27-73 (8-23) 10-26 72.

WHITE — Lexi Gleason 23, Hannah Trigg 12, Macy Mukensnabl 11, Kiley Thomas 5, Ramona Vercher 5, Janae Davis 5, Alicia McElroy 3, Bre Sorenson 2, Michelle Bolliger 0. Totals 23-87 (9-35) 11-21 66.

Halftime — Blue 38-29.

Boys

BLUE 104, WHITE 90

BLUE — Eric House 17, Scott Brooks 14, Lucas Swanson 14, Gabe Foster 12, Andrew White 12, Blake Bowen 9, Jeff Parrish 8, Chad Futrell 7, Scott Backstrom 6, Garett Speyer 5. Totals 40-100 (5-26) 19-27 104.

WHITE — Adam Herman 14, Trevor Hurn 12, Mitch Tugaw 11, Jordan Miller 11, Kramer Ramberg 10, Chris Morgan 9, Cole Larson 9, Jeremy Ewing 7, Tylor Yi 5, Tyler Paluck 2. Totals 35-92 (8-32) 12-19 90.

Halftime — White 49-44.