Gilchrist Gets the Last Laugh

After Missing Dunk, He Winds Up With 24 Points, MVP Honors

Sitting on the glossy wood court, staring up at the bright lights, Augustus Gilchrist was smiling nearly as much as everyone else in the arena after his attempt "to dunk it as hard as I could and get up as high as I could" went awry. A teammate went over to encourage Gilchrist to get up as players on both benches got a good laugh during the second quarter of the last night's Capital Classic all-star game.

At game's end, after scoring 24 points and grabbing nine rebounds, Gilchrist was smiling again as he collected a basketball to commemorate winning most valuable player honors after leading the Capital All-Stars to a 149-145 victory over the U.S. All-Stars before 3,127 at Comcast Center.

"I had fun tonight," said Gilchrist, a senior who played for Progressive Christian this season and was named second-team All-Met. "Getting this [award], if you had told me after that dunk, I wouldn't have believed I was going to get it. That was just another dunk I tried to do. I made up for it. I made a three[-pointer] and [about] eight dunks after that."

In a game filled with players headed for local colleges, it was Gilchrist and two fellow Virginia Tech recruits who shined brightest. Forward Jeff Allen, who attended DeMatha for three years before attending two Virginia boarding schools, finished with 16 points and 15 rebounds, while Baltimore guard Malcolm Delaney scored a game-high 31 points for the U.S. team.

All told, the game included four Virginia Tech recruits, three Maryland recruits, two Virginia recruits, two George Mason recruits and one Georgetown recruit. A fourth player bound for Maryland, Baltimore forward Braxton Dupree, did not play because of a sprained right ankle. Many in the sparse crowd booed every time Virginia recruit Jeff Jones touched the ball for the U.S. team. He had orally committed to Maryland before changing his decision to the Cavaliers in August.

All-Met forward Darnell Dodson of Eleanor Roosevelt added 20 points for the Capital team, while second-team All-Met center Jerai Grant of DeMatha had 11 points and 10 rebounds.

The most memorable play of the game was the missed dunk by Gilchrist. Midway through the first quarter, as the Capital All-Stars began to build a 25-point lead, the 6-foot-9 power forward dribbled uncontested toward the basket before being rejected by the rim and being sent to his backside.

"I was laughing," Gilchrist said, explaining that his leg buckled as he went up for a few extra style points. "It was funny to me, too."

Gilchrist made a three-pointer from the right wing one possession later and finished 11 of 17 from the field. He also blocked three shots. But he might have to listen for a little while to a few friendly jabs about one of the shots he missed.

"We got on him in the locker room a little bit," teammate John Flowers (St. Mary's Ryken) said. "I don't think he'll ever hear the end of it."

Capital All-Stars 149, U.S. All-Stars 145 Back on Top: It was the first victory in three games for the local team since the game reverted back to a Capital vs. U.S. all-star game. The U.S. team leads the all-time series 19-12. Key Shot: With the Capital All-Stars' lead down from 25 points to two, DeMatha guard Jeff Peterson made a three-pointer from the top of the key with one minute left to seal the victory.