After starting slowly on the biggest stage of his basketball career, Mario Chalmers of Anchorage delivered several clutch baskets in the second half Wednesday to prove why he's one of the top high school basketball players in the country.
Chalmers, a Bartlett High senior point guard, scored 18 of his team-high 20 points after halftime to pace the West in a 115-110 loss to the East in the prestigious McDonald's All-American game in South Bend, Ind.
The game featured the nation's top 22 high school players and was televised nationally on ESPN2.
Chalmers added five assists, five steals and four rebounds in just 19 minutes of playing time. The 6-foot-2 playmaker, who is headed to perennial power Kansas next season, made 8 of 16 shots from the field, including 3 of 9 three-point attempts.
Oklahoma State-signee Gerald Green led the East with a game-high 24 points.
Wednesday's game capped a successful performance at the showcase event for Chalmers, who won the McDonald's Three-Point Shootout two days earlier.
Chalmers scored just two points in the first half before turning the early stages of the second half into the Mario Chalmers Show. He poured in 16 points in a span of five minutes to single-handedly pull the West within five points after trailing 65-43 at halftime.
"Remember that name -- Mario Chalmers," said ESPN analyst Jay Williams. "He's gonna be a great basketball player."
Chalmers began his scoring spree with a reverse layup and then added a jumper, a free throw and three straight three-pointers. He drilled back-to-back threes to make it 74-69, pulling West within five.
"I think on the perimeter he has impressed people the most," ESPN analyst Tim McCormick said. "I was most impressed by the way he gets things done without drawing a lot of attention to himself."
Chalmers scored his last two points on a two-handed dunk in transition that was featured as one of the top plays of the day. Earlier in the broadcast, ESPN put together a highlight package of Chalmers scoring in bunches.
"He has the ability to put up a lot of points in a short amount of time," Williams said.
The night wasn't a total success for Chalmers, who is considered to be the nation's No. 1-ranked senior point guard by many scouting services. He committed one of his three turnovers in the final 32 seconds with his team trailing 110-106.
Chalmers became the third Alaskan to play in the 28th annual McDonald's All-American game. The other two were Anchorage's Trajan Langdon and Juneau's Carlos Boozer.
In 1994, Langdon won the three-point shooting contest and scored 13 points in the all-star game. In 1999, Boozer finished second in the dunk contest and collected 22 points and 13 rebounds in the all-star game.
For Chalmers, the McDonald's All-American game was the beginning of the busy week. After flying back to Anchorage today, he will join the Bartlett Golden Bears for the first round of the Class 4A state basketball tournament at Sullivan Arena.
The reigning state runner-up Golden Bears will take on Wasilla tonight at 8:30.
