Tamar Bates, Caleb Grill win NABC DI All-Star Game at Final Four in San Antonio
Tamar Bates and Caleb Grill represented Mizzou on the East in its 100-91 win over the West in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All-Star Game on Friday afternoon at the Alamodome in San Antonio.
Bates showcased his leadership throughout the game, shouting instructions on defense in the second half. He was also part of a moment where he brought a team huddle to East senior forward David Joplin of Marquette before his halftime interview.
“They wouldn’t leave me alone (and let me) break out of the huddle. I appreciate it,” Joplin said during his halftime interview. “That’s Tamar. He’s a leader.”
Bates’ 11-point outing joined teammates Joplin (21 points), graduate forward Zach Freemantle (11) of Xavier, redshirt-senior center Viktor Lakhin (11) of Clemson and senior guard Erik Reynolds II (11) of Saint Joseph’s as the East’s double-digit scorers.
The senior guard scored the game’s last points, sinking both free throws after he was intentionally fouled by West senior guard/forward Jamiya Neal of Creighton with five seconds left.
Bates’ first bucket came from a top-of-the-key 3-pointer to give the East a 49-30 lead with 1:49 left in the first half.
The Kansas City, Kansas, product scored a step-back 3-pointer from the left wing for his other made deep shot, which gave the East a 67-59 advantage with 12:52 remaining in the final frame.
Bates added two rebounds, one assist and a steal, going 3-for-5 from the field, 2-for-3 from deep and 3-for-4 from the line.
Grill could not find the offensive success Bates had, finishing scoreless with five missed shots. The graduate guard added one rebound, an assist and two steals.
Bates tried to set up the Southeastern Conference Sixth Man of the Year for points after intercepting a pass from West senior guard/forward Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones of UC San Diego. He threw an alley-oop pass to Grill, but he missed the layup with 6:07 left in the second half.
Grill entered the contest fresh off a Hot Shot Challenge win with Murray State senior guard Kylen Milton and GCU women’s basketball senior guard Alyssa Durazo-Frescas, recording a time of 50.7 seconds Thursday at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio. The Wichita product also finished second place in the Men’s 3-Point Challenge, falling to UC San Diego senior guard/forward Tyler McGhie in the finals.
Joplin was awarded the NABC DI All-Star Game MVP award, tying for a game-high 21 points on 7-for-8 shooting with a 4-for-5 clip from 3-point range. He added three rebounds, one assist and two steals.
SEC rivals graduate guard Wade Taylor IV of Texas A&M and senior guard Cam Carter of LSU showed out for the West team. The former recorded 14 points and the latter tied for a game-high 21.
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