SAN DIEGO – The 2026 Ballislife SeaWorld All-American Game started off tightly contested but ended in a blowout, as Team Blue (Sharks) defeated Team White (Dolphins) in a 160-136 shootout at the Nautilus Amphitheater on Saturday.
Photo credit: Ballislife
Oregon commit Tajh Ariza (Link Academy, MO) and Missouri commit Jason Crowe Jr. (Inglewood, CA) earned co-MVP honors for Team Blue. Ariza led all scorers with 30 points, making 11-of-18 attempts from the field with a handful of impressive, high-flying slam dunks that we’ve become accustomed to seeing from the slasher. Crowe Jr. finished with 22 points, 16 of which came during the first half, thanks to a red-hot shooting display from the nation’s most prolific scorer.
“It means a lot to win co-MVP, especially because I got it with my best friend,” Crowe Jr. said. “We both got MVP on our team, so that’s a great feeling. I grew up with him, we were AAU teammates, and I haven’t played with him in a long time, so it just felt good in our last game as high school seniors.”
For Ariza, it was vindicating to leave San Diego with some hardware after he wasn’t selected as the MVP for the Jordan Brand All-Star Game.
“It feels good, winning in Cali,” Ariza said. “I didn’t win at Jordan, so just getting something before I finish my career. I just wanted to put on a show for everybody watching. Playing with my bros, me and J. Crowe, it’s cool.”
Marcis Ponder Wins MVP for Dolphins
Photo credit: Nick Koza
Florida State commit Marcis Ponder took home the MVP for Team White in the loss, tallying 18 points and 15 rebounds. Ponder scored 14 of those points in the second half, finishing several rim-rocking slam dunks, including a few thunderous alley-oops.
“It feels great,” Ponder said. “Coming here to Cali with some of the top players in the country, I’m just happy to be one of the best and to take home the MVP. I only got one job: running the floor, blocking shots, and getting rebounds. That’s been my main job since I was 15, so I continue to do it.”
Don’t try to dunk on Marcis!
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Team Blue started to pull away shortly before the midway point of the second half and all but iced the game on an impressive alley-oop slam by K.J. Torbert that extended their lead to a then-game-high 21 points, 125-104, with just under eight minutes remaining.
With the outcome all but decided, the rest of the game turned into an impromptu dunk contest with a few shots from the logo mixed in. Ariza and Oklahoma State commit Latrelle Allmond (Petersburg, VA) especially showed out during the exhibition, along with Arizona commit Cameron Holmes.
Team Sharks Dominate!
Team White (Dolphins) brought a 76-73 lead to halftime, despite the incredible shooting performance by Crowe Jr. The all-time leading scorer in California prep history put on a show for his home state crowd, making four consecutive one-legged step back 3-pointers from the corner.
These weren’t wide-open, high school 3-point attempts either. They were contested, and from past the college line or deeper, and to top it all off, he hit his signature celebration each time to a progressively louder reaction from the crowd. Perhaps the most impressive part of Crowe’s takeover was the fact that it occurred primarily after the 10-minute media timeout.
“I was just trying stuff,” Crowe Jr. said. “It’s an all-star game, so it doesn’t make any sense not to try new things, just the things I practice on a day-to-day basis.”
For much of the first half, Team White’s Dakari Spear of Dallas, Texas, appeared to be making an MVP bid himself. Spear registered a dynamic three-level scoring performance, finishing with 12 points in the frame after making his first two 3-point attempts in addition to a few crafty layups at the tin and an impressive completion of an alley-oop lob that wowed the folks in attendance.
Final Score: Team Blue (Sharks) 160, Team White (Dolphins) 136
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