Lewis Scores 17 Points in All-Star Game

PITTSBURGH —  Mater Dei’s 6-foot 7-inch Tom Lewis scored 17 points Tuesday night as the United States team rallied from an early nine-point deficit to defeat Pennsylvania, 114-97, in the 21st Dapper Dan Roundball scholastic all-star basketball game.

Lewis, who was 6 for 12 from the floor and 5 for 8 from the free throw line, was the second leading scorer behind point guard Rodney Strickland of Oak Hill (Va.) Academy, who scored 20 points.

In addition to his 17 points, Lewis also had 8 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. The Monarch senior played for 25 minutes in front of 12,621 fans.

The U.S. team won the game with its rebounding strength, getting 79 rebounds--12 by Georgetown-bound Jonathon Edwards of New Orleans--to 53 for Pennsylvania.

Strickland, a first team All-American who will play at DePaul, was named the U.S. most valuable player after adding seven rebounds and three assists. The U.S. fell behind, 13-4, before putting together scoring surges of 14-3 and 12-2 to take a 55-52 halftime lead.

The U.S., constantly getting second and third shots against the shorter and slower Pennsylvania team, scored 12 straight points late in the third quarter and early in the final quarter to gain a 89-72 lead.

The victory was the 17th for the U.S. in the nation’s oldest all-star game of its kind to five for Pennsylvania. Two Roundball tournaments were played one year.