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OrlandoSentinel.com
High School Hoops Senior Showcase
Team Florida loses to USA squad in basketball showcase
Buddy Collings

Sentinel Staff Writer

March 23, 2008

WINTER PARK

Allen Chaney said Team USA had plenty of motivation to mount a comeback against Team Florida in the Senior Showcase boys basketball feature game Saturday night.

"We were Team USA. It would have been an embarrassment to lose to a team with all of their guys from one state," said Chaney, a University of Florida recruit from New London, Conn.

Team Florida led by as many as 10 in the second half but unraveled in the final five-and-a-half minutes and lost a 120-115 shootout at Winter Park High School.

Chaney, a solid 6-foot-8 power forward, played a big part with 15 points, five rebounds and two dunks. He was named to the seven-player All-Showcase honor squad and said his first trip to Florida since he played in Orlando at age 11 was a good one.

"There's a lot to do here and hopefully I can get to see Nick Calathes and the rest of the [UF] team while I'm here."

The Showcase, celebrating its 10th anniversary, offered the expected up-and-down tempo and a total of 25 dunks.

But the smallest guy on the floor, 6-foot point guard Travon Woodall of consensus high school national poll champion Jersey City, N.J. St. Anthony's, walked away with Most Valuable Player honors for Team USA.

Woodall, a Pittsburgh signee, had 22 points and several key plays in the comeback.

Florida's MVP was Louisville-bound Jared Swopshire, a 6-8 leaper from IMG Academy who scored 25.

The All-Showcase team also included Storm Warren (20 points) of Richwood, La., Travis Leslie (14) of Columbia, Ga., and Florida's Kevin Foster (16) of Lakeland Kathleen and Zach Bailey (15) of Hollywood Chaminade.

P.J. Gaynor, a 6-9 forward signed by UCF, ran the floor and was active inside in contributing 13 points, four dunks and seven rebounds for Florida.

Winter Park senior Kyle McClanahan, the only unsigned Team Florida player, had four points, two steals and several slick passes in transition.

Brett Chance of Lake Howell and Lorne Merthie of Winter Springs both scored 18 points in an entertaining Florida East-West game that Merthie's Gold team won 105-103 in overtime.

Merthie, who is close to academically qualifying but is still looking for a college destination, got opportunities to show he could run the point and also had the Gold team's first two overtime baskets on acrobatic drives.

Chance, a 6-2 senior guard, was MVP for the Blue. He came in still wearing a smile from landing his first major-college offer from Canisius of Buffalo.

"That got me excited," Chance said. "Today was about having fun."

Copyright 2008, Orlando Sentinel





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