Season 53 All Star Game

WEST 80, EAST 73

WEST IS BEST IN SEASON 53

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The West All Stars broke open a tied game late, scoring the last 7 points of the contest to come out on top of the annual MBA classic 80-73.

The victory was the 20th in the series against 33 triumphs for the East and the first West win in three seasons.

PLAYER OF THE GAME

33 GVP...Playing in his first game as a Hall of Famer, Sacramento's star forward CRENTIS DENTIST had his way with Pete Marzano of Dallas. Dentist, playing in his fifth All Star Game in as many seasons, poured in 23 points, going 10 for 15 from the field (1 for 3 from deep and 2 for 2 from the foul line) while pulling down 6 boards. The 6-6 Dentist, the league leader in steals, tied for most thefts in the game with 2, while blocking 1 shot and handing out 1 assist. He is the fifth River Dogs player to earn All Star Game MVP honors. It is his first time winning the award.

The other Sacramento players to earn MVP honors were:

Season 23...forward Dean Wormer

Season 27...guard Wes Montgomery

Season 29...guard Cheetos Jones

Season 49...forward Doo-rag Dripp

Other 20-plus GVP performers

30 GVP...Second-year Gillette guard Joey "Joe-Joe" Shamadu, Jr. celebrated his initial ASG appearance by leading all scorers with 24 points, including burying 5 of 6 from beyond the arc. The 6-2 Shamadu also tied for game-high in assists with 5 and added 1 rebound.

30 GVP...Dallas' star fourth-year guard Juzan Djinn made things miserable defensively for San Jose's Jesse Shershot in the latter's final All Star Game appearance. And while holding the perennial top scorer in the league to just 10 points, Djinn turned in a triple-double, scoring 20 points, tying for game-high in assists with 5 and blocking a game-high 5 shots.

29 GVP...Second-year Dallas guard Kopi Luwak exchanged buckets with his opposite Shamadu, Jr. all game long, coming up with a team-high total of 21 points that included 3 bombs. The 6-2 Luwak also led his team with 6 rebounds and added 2 assists.

NEXT UP: The second half of Season 53 kicks things off with a superb FEATURED GAME contest that has unbeaten second-in-the-East Oklahoma City (5-0) visiting the first-place upstarts in the West, the Gillette Humps (4-1). This is the second Featured Game for both teams this season. Both were winners in their previous spotlight appearances.