With the area still buzzing over the Fort Myers Green Wave winning the first boys’ high school basketball state title in Southwest Florida history, the senior all-stars took the stage Wednesday night and treated the crowd at Bishop Verot’s John J. Nevins Gymnasium to a thrilling event.

Both South Florida Association of Basketball Coaches’ all-star games delivered climactic finishes.

The girls’ contest was decided in overtime with the South squad topping the North 87-82. Both teams drained last-second shots in regulation to force overtime.

The boys’ game appeared to be headed in the direction of blowout, but the home team, led by Mariner’s Kameron Beach, rallied from a 24-point second half deficit. They had a chance to take the lead with five seconds left, but Charlotte’s Nick Goshay missed from three-point range.

The away team, which featured players from Cape High, Ida Baker and Class 4A state champion Fort Myers, prevailed 93-89.

“In an all-star game with so many talented kids, runs like that are going to happen,” said Mariner coach James Harris, who guided the home squad. “The guys kept playing hard even when they were down big.”

In the interest of trying to even up the sides, the boys’ teams weren’t divided geographically.

Beach, Ricardo Barsesa and Clint Johnson, who played a major role in leading Mariner to a 20-9 record and state playoff berth this season, helped the home team rally after they fell behind 81-57 with about 10 minutes left.

Beach scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half. Seacrest’s Brunes Charles led that team with 18 points.

“We’re all competitive, we all wanted to win,” Beach said of the comeback bid.

Each game was divided into two 20-minute halves. The away squad built a 49-34 lead at the break. Cape senior Joel Hill sank two three-pointers early and scored all 10 of his points in the first half. Ida Baker’s Justin Pascale contributed for the winning team.

As anticipated, Fort Myers coach Scott Guttery was named Coach of the Year after leading the Wave to a 59-57 win over Oak Ridge in last Saturday’s Class 4A state final. It’s the first championship for Southwest Florida.

“The support from the whole community, not just in Fort Myers, but all of Southwest Florida has been amazing,” Guttery said. “I guess my hope is this will start to bring respect to our area, and the college coaches will start coming down here to recruit.”

In the girls’ contest, the sides were divided into Team Collier (South) and a Team Charlotte/Lee (North).

Island Coast’s Lindsay Ellis helped trigger a 14-0 run by the North to begin the second half and that team grabbed a 49-38 lead.

Ellis sank one three-pointer and scored eight of her 12 points in the second half. Ida Baker’s Cheyanne Ross chipped in with two points.

The South fought back courtesy of 12 three-pointers. Barron Collier’s Katie Arnold buried a three with 4.4 seconds left to put the South up 82-80, but Charlotte’s Angela Thompkins answered with a fallaway 12-footer at the buzzer to tie it. The South scored all five points in overtime.

“It was really exciting and a great experience,” said Ellis, who played the past two years at Island Coast after transferring from Canterbury. “That was exciting when we tied the game. I wish we would’ve won but it was still a great game.”

Boys

Away 49 44 – 93

Home 34 55 – 89

Away (93) – Henry 6, McClendon 8, D.Hagan 7, Manning 9, Hill 10, Abu-Kadier 6, Gaidys 10, Yepes 19, Occasio 3, J.Hagan 7, Thomas 8. 3-point goals: Yepes 5, Hill 2, Thomas 2, Gaidys 2, D.Hagan 1, J. Hagan 1.

Home (89) – Charles 18, Lockhart 2, Beach 15, Boileau 17, Johnson 6, Simmons 5, Barsesa 7, Paulk 7, Kincaid 6, Goshay 6. 3-point goals – Boileau 3, Charles 2, Barsesa 1, Paulk 1, Beach 1, Simmons 1.

Girls

South 38 44 5 – 87

North 35 47 0 – 82

South (87) – Thomas 7, Carrach 17, Arnold 17, Ulrich 4, Reid 4, Langdon 22, Beretta 4, Mambuca 7, Perry 3, Loewel 2. 3-point goals – Langdon 5, Arnold 4, Carrach 1, Perry 1, Mambuca 1.

North (82) – Thompkins 18, McCann 9, Huyler 11, Ross 2, Snowden 7, Talford 4, Ellis 12, Rosario 6, Weatherbee 5, Mitchell 6, Derbach 2. 3-point goals: Ellis 1, McCann 1.

Girls Tennis

Bishop Verot 6, Naples 1: For the first time in three years, including postseason matches, Bishop Verot came away from a tennis match with Naples with a victory Tuesday.

The Vikings (5-0) visit Community School of Naples Thursday.

Singles – Linda Kornienko (BV) def. Melissa Clark 6-4, 7-6; Mariel Rickert (BV) def. Caroline Kattenborn 6-1, 6-1; Kendall Shumake (N) def. Nia-Marie Eddie 6-4, 6-3; Kathleen Norris (BV) def. Sammy Zerbe 6-0, 6-1; Kayla Cheslosky (BV) def. Lissette Gomez 6-7, 6-4, 6-4.

Doubles – Kornienko-Rickert (BV) def. Clark-Shumake 8-2; Eddie-Norris (BV) def. Kattenborn- Zerbe 8-3.

Sports editor Jim Linette contributed to this report.