Red Bank’s Dominique McDuffie won two dunk contests Tuesday night at Notre Dame.

The first was staged. The second came within the flow of Tennessee’s 82-74 overtime victory in the boys’ game in the Tennessee-Georgia high school all-star series.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry- Georgia’s Sammy McDaniel (22) dribbles around Tennessee’s Jordan Buffington (35) during the 2008 all-star prep basketball game Tuesday evening. The 6th annual interstate game was played inside of Notre Dame High School’s gymnasium.

The Georgia team overcame a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter and sent the game to overtime when Ringgold’s Tyler Holt made a 3-pointer from the right corner with 16 seconds left after Georgia forced a turnover in the backcourt.

The Georgia girls defeated Tennessee 64-45. The winning margin is the largest for a Georgia girls’ team in the series, now tied at 3.

McDuffie managed two dunks during the game, which led both teams. Neither was as spectacular as any of his failed attempts, nor the four he executed in the earlier exhibition.

McDuffie pulled three guys from the crowd, stood them near the goal and soared over them for his final and winning dunk that drew a perfect score from the five judges.

“The last dunk contest I was in, I won it jumping over one person,” McDuffie said. “I know I can get four. I might can even get five.”

McDuffie’s Red Bank teammate Tim Benford scored 23 points and picked up his second most valuable player award in four days. He was also the football game’s MVP.

McCallie Jesse Taylor was Tennessee’s player of the game with 18 points, and Northwest Whitfield’s Chris Queen was Georgia’s player of the game with 16 points. Tennessee now leads 4-2.

Holt and Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe’s Sam Martin tied the series high with nine rebounds each. Also from Georgia, Ridgeland’s Sammy McDaniel tied the steals record with four.

“It was fun to coach Tim and Dominique one more time, and the Howard kids,” Tennessee coach John Cherne said. “They’re exceptionally talented. It was a typical all-star game. They played around a lot. The Georgia kids came in and did an outstanding job. But when it was time to tighten our belts, we tightened our belts.”

LFO coach Wayne Weaver headed the Georgia girls and said the only halftime adjustment he made with his team was moving a bigger player over to guard Brainerd’s Jessica Jones, who scored 10 of her 14 points in the first half and was selected Tennessee’s player of the game, and to sag with the others and invite the outside shot.

The spark came in the third quarter from Rome’s Tanisha Woodard, a girl who likely gave Weaver a few problems while he was on the Lady Warriors’ bench.

Staff Photo by Dan Henry- Tennessee’s Nikki Mynatt (34) gets fouled by Georgia's Jordan Marsh (24) during the 2008 all-star prep basketball game Tuesday evening. The 6th annual interstate game was played inside of Notre Dame High School’s gymnasium.

Woodard finished with 13 points and dazzled the crowd with a couple of dishes. She was chosen the game’s MVP.

“She’s a great player,” Weaver said. “She can do a lot of things. She can rebound. She can play defense. When she wants to start playing, she’s hard to deal with. She’s going to make some college a great guard. She just needs to get a little more consistent.”

Coosa’s Robyn Foster scored 14 points and was chosen Georgia’s player of the game. She and Northwest Whitfield’s Caitie Trew, who scored 10 points, made two 3-point goals each and helped Georgia to a 9-0 advantage in that area.

Ironically, the Tennessee team’s Abbey Roe, from Notre Dame, and Nikki Mynatt, from Notre Dame, shared the title in the 3-point shooting contest at halftime. Each made eight, shooting three times each from five designated spots in less than a minute.

Tennessee and Brainerd’s Geoffrey Herman and Georgia nad Gordon Lee’s Eric Galyon tied in the boys’ competition. Each hit 10 before going 6-for-10 in an attempt to break the tie in an extra session.

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