DeWayne Brown and Salim London did not lose in their last 45 high school basketball games. They weren’t going to let that change in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star game.
The Hoover duo was as dominant as ever Saturday in leading Alabama to a 91-85 win at the Mitchell Center on the campus of the University of South Alabama.
Brown, the 6-foot-9 Tennessee signee, was named team MVP after scoring 27 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and blocking three shots.
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London, the son of former Alabama guard Tarik London and a UAB signee, was the leading scorer in the game with 30 points. He also had five rebounds and two assists.
“Salim and I talked about how we haven’t lost in Alabama in 400 days,” Brown said. “This team was great, and it was a great experience.”
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Alabama trailed 43-41 at halftime but quickly took control after intermission. London opened the half with a 3-pointer from the right wing. He then got a steal that Brown converted in a tip-in. On the next possession, Brown got a blocked shot that led to a London layup. Suddenly, a halftime deficit turned into a 48-45 lead that Alabama never lost.
The highlight play of the game came with London blocked a shot, Huntsville’s JD Gossett collected the ball near midcourt and flung it behind his back to a sprinting Brown for a dunk.
The lead grew to nine points before Mississippi made it close at the end. But Alabama sealed the victory when McAdory’s Jacobe Whitted blocked a 3-point shot. Gossett tipped the loose ball past halfcourt to Whitted for game-sealing dunk with 14 seconds left.
“it was a joy to coach these guys but you don’t want to do it for too long because you’ll get spoiled real quick,” said Alabama coach Charles Burkett of Central-Phenix City. “I always knew Brown was good, but he proved that he’s dominant. That’s the word for him – dominant.”
Ridgeland’s Phil Nelson was the Mississippi MVP after scoring 16 points. The leading scorer with 19 for Mississippi was Mike Williams, who will play for his father and former Alabama star Mo Williams at Jackson State.
Alabama now leads the series 19-16.
