LEXINGTON, Ohio — If he was going to break the News Journal All-Star Classic assists record, Lexington point guard Joey Zahn would need a little help from a longtime friend.
Zahn’s record-setting 10th assist came as time expired in the North’s 114-93 win in the 38th edition of the showcase event Thursday night at Lexington High School.
The beneficiary of Zahn’s handiwork was Madison’s Billy Buckley. Zahn and Buckley play on the same AAU team, the Central Ohio Clash, and the two are good friends despite playing for rival Ohio Cardinal Conference schools.
“There was about a minute-and-a-half to go and my coach (South Central’s Brett Seidel) told me, ‘You need one more assist to break the record. Go back in,’ ” said Zahn, who added 12 points and five rebounds for the North. “I went back to him and said, ‘It would only be right if you put Billy in with me.’ We’ve been playing together since the third grade. We’ve been through some wars together in AAU ball.
“We have a friendship that I haven’t built with anybody else. He knows I would do anything for him and he would do anything for me. It doesn’t have anything to do with basketball.”
As for Buckley, the 6-foot-2 sharpshooter was happy to play a part in history. Zahn broke the record shared by Malabar’s Don Williams (1985) and Galion’s Adam Kellogg (1997).
“I was glad to see Joey get the record,” said Buckley, who scored a team-high 20 points and had three assists of his own. “Our chemistry is great.”
Going Away: Trailing 46-42 at the half, the North stars outscored the South 72-47 in the second half. Most Valuable Player Brayden Wilhelm of South Central connected on four of his six 3-pointers in the second half and scored 18 points.
“We weren’t relaxed in the first half. We missed a lot of easy shots,” North coach Brett Seidel of South Central said. “The biggest thing we talked about at halftime was just relax and play. This is what you’ve been doing your whole life.
“It definitely wasn’t the coaching. It’s pretty easy to coach these kids.”
Walking Wounded: That Wilhelm was selected the game’s MP was even more impressive considering all he has been through during his senior year. He was the quarterback of South Central’s football team, but missed the final six weeks of the season with a broken foot.
“The doctor wanted to put a pin in it, but I said that’s not going to happen,” Wilhelm said.
Then in South Central’s regular season loss to Western Reserve, Wilhelm broke a bone in his shooting hand after punching the wall.
“I wasn’t going to go (back to the doctor), but my mom made me go,” said Wilhelm, who connected on 58 treys during the season — including five in a tournament win over Plymouth a week after breaking his hand. “The doctor came in and put a soft cast on it and I looked at my mom and shook my head because I knew I was going to have to take it off to play.”
Dream Matchup: Zahn and Lexington teammate Jonah Yaussy, who suited up for the South, were matched up against one another late in game. The 6-foot-5 Yaussy, who spent his career in the post, brought the ball up the floor a couple of times and guarded Zahn on the perimeter.
“That is a very rare occasion. I can’t say I’ve ever done that in my four years of high school basketball,” said Yaussy, who scored eight points and grabbed 10 boards. “If you noticed, I locked (Zahn) down. He didn’t score on me.”
Zahn took issue with Yaussy’s assessment.
“He did not lock me down,” Zahn said with a laugh. “I got Buckley the ball and he made a layup. I didn’t score, but Jonah didn’t lock me down.”
Opener: In Thursday’s Instant Classic Charity Game, a team of News Journal All-Star Classic alumni knocked off a team of Ohio State football alumni 95-78 in a rough-and-tumble affair that featured a combined 42 personal fouls (27 on the OSU alumni) and 62 free throws.
“I wasn’t surprised by how physical it was,” said former Clear Fork standout and Mansfield Christian principal Mark DeLaney. “The coach in me, I was doing some scouting on YouTube and I kind of figured this is how they were going to play.”
DeLaney was one of six locals to score in double figures. Temple Christian product Brad Humble led the way with 18 points, including a nifty coast-to-coast bucket late in the game.
“I got the rebound and looked up the court and … I decided I was just going to take it,” Humble said. “They are football players and they only know hot to play one way, but I didn’t mind the physical play.”
Mansfield Senior grad Terrence Davison scored 17 points, while former Lex star Jamie Feick scored 13 points and grabbed a whopping 23 rebounds. Clear Fork’s Tyler Ousley matched DeLaney, his former Clear For teammate, with a dozen points. Mansfield Senior coach J.T. Reese, a St. Peter’s graduate, had 11 points.
“We hung in there for a little bit,” said OSU’s Roy Hall.
Hall co-founded the Driven Foundation with Antonio Smith in 2008.
“It’s all about perseverance and a championship mindset,” Hall said. “I think one thing we all have in common is, at some point in our lives, we had to overcome a level of adversity.
“What we try to do is take the Buckeye platform and use it for more than watching guys in helmets and really show people what it’s about to live life.”
