MCDONALD’S HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICAN GAMES

Little Rock Hall standouts shine

Little Rock Hall graduate Bobby Portis is one of the 10 McDonald's High School All-Americans that signed to play in the SEC next season.
Little Rock Hall graduate Bobby Portis is one of the 10 McDonald's High School All-Americans that signed to play in the SEC next season.

Little Rock Hall’s Bobby Portis and Tyler Scaife helped lead their respective teams to victories Wednesday night in the McDonald’s All-American games.

Portis, a 6-9 center who is headed to the University of Arkansas, scored 12 points as the West boys earned a 110-99 victory in front of 15,818 fans at the United Center in Chicago. In the girls game, Scaife accounted for 15 points and handed out a team-high four assists as the West cruised to a 92-64 victory over the East.

Portis, who was in the West’s starting lineup, was 4 of 5 from the field and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line.

“It was a crazy atmosphere,” Portis said. “The crowd was going wild with every shot. … I just went out there and played as hard as I could and tried to have fun because I knew it was a once in-a-lifetime type of thing.”

Aaron Gordon, who is committed to play at Arizona, led the West boys with 24 points and eight rebounds.

The West led by as many as 17 in the first half . Gordon scored 14 points and Portis had 10 in the first half.

Scaife, a 5-8 point guard who will play for Rutgers this fall, wound up as her team’s second-leading scorer. Although she was not in the starting lineup, Scaife scored seven points early as the West jumped out to a 20-10 lead.

“I was really calm,” Scaife said. “My teammates did a good job of finding me, and I think that’s why I was able to hit those early shots. … I think I played OK, but it wasn’t one of my best games of the year.”

Scaife was 5 of 13 from the field and 5 of 7 from the free-throw line. She did not attempt any three-pointers.

Mercedes Russell, a 6-6 center from Springfield, Ore., had a game-high 16 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocked shots to lead the West. The University of Tennessee signee was selected as the game’s MVP.

Sports, Pages 23 on 04/04/2013

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