ARCHBALD – Seth Maxwell started and finished the Blue’s 106-102 victory over the Red in Tuesday’s Lackawanna League Senior Boys Basketball All-Star Game at Valley View High School.
The 7-foot Abington Heights center scored six of his team’s first eight points, helping ensure that the team made up of Division 1 and 4 players would trail for less than two minutes of the 40-minute game. When the Red threatened late, Maxwell scored the Blue’s final five points to secure the win.
“We definitely weren’t going to let them win,” said Maxwell, who finished as the game’s second-leading scorer with 17 points and also grabbed seven rebounds. “We knew if it was going to get tight, we were going to pull it out there.”
After trailing by 16 with 7:35 left, the Red closed to within 101-98 in the last two minutes.
Maxwell hit a 3-pointer from the left corner with 1:09 left, then converted one of 12 assists from former AAU teammate Cole Stetzar from West Scranton into a clinching dunk with 30 seconds left.
The Stetzar-to-Maxwell combination produced a pair of crowd-pleasing, alley-oop dunks in the second quarter.
Maxwell showed his mid-range shooting touch during a fast start that produced six points and five rebounds in the first 3 ½ minutes.
After the game, Maxwell said he will be attending The Hill School in Pottstown, a prep school with a strong basketball reputation, to try to boost his status as a college prospect.
“I kind of wanted to get higher offers,” Maxwell said. “I definitely wanted to get stronger and smarter basketball-wise.”
Maxwell finished 8-for-11 from the floor.
Tommy Rothenberger also represented Abington Heights. He had seven points, two rebounds and a steal.
Maxwell was not the only Abington Heights post player to make an impact on a Lackawanna League all-star victory.
Monday night during the Lackawanna League Senior Girls All-Star Game in Forest City, Alessia Brunori shared the rebounding lead and produced a double-double in the Orange’s 98-95 overtime win over the Maroon.
Brunori made five of her six shots while finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds. She made all three of her shots when the Orange was hanging on against a Maroon comeback from 12 down in the fourth quarter.
Teammate Nicole Getz was also selected, but missed the game with an injury.