While the duel between Iowa and South Carolina captured the attention of most of the nation on Sunday, another high-stakes basketball game occurred on the other side of the country: the 2024 HBCU All-Star Game. The game featured premier talent from the biggest HBCU Division 1 conferences, along with some outliers. The teams were named after HBCU and NBA legends, Ben Wallace, a Virginia Union graduate, and Hampton's most recent Hall of Fame inductee Rick Mahorn.

For Team Ben Wallace, players from the SWAC and CIAA constituted the roster. On the other side, representatives from the SIAC and MEAC played for Team Rick Mahorn. Mahorn's team also housed the outliers in Jason Jitoboh from Tennessee State (Ohio Valley Conference) and Hampton's Tedrick Wilcox Jr. (Coastal Athletic Association). Texas Southern's Johnny Jones and Lincoln's Jason Armstrong Team Wallace, while North Carolina Central's LeVelle Moton and Clark Atlanta's Alfred Jordan directed Team Mahorn. Jones spoke on the broadcast after the game about the significance of the event.

“Real excited for these young men,” Jones said in a quote obtained by CBS Sports' Cameron Salerno. “I thought both teams played extremely hard. I though it was a great show for the fans. Our guys did a much better job of sharing the basketball in the second half and locking in on the defensive end… That was a big difference in this game.”

The HBCU All Star game streamed on Paramount+, but it also landed on national television through CBS broadcasting. In the preview show, Howard alumnus AJ Ross and Southern graduate Avery Johnson discussed each player and what they brought to the table.

For those unfamiliar with the HBCU All-Star game, it was nothing like the NBA's decrepit version. Over the years, the professionals have put in declining amounts of effort, to the point where the game turns into a glorified three-point and dunk contest. That, however, is not true for these HBCU student-athletes. With NBA and other professional scouts in the crowd, the game began and remained competitive from the jump. The first play of the game encapsulated that notion. After winning the team, Benedict College's Asanti Price soared for an alley-oop for Team Mahorn, but got fouled and went straight to the free-throw line. The first play sent a clear message: this game will not be a walk in the park.

Following Price's failed alley-oop attempt, both teams traded a barrage of three-pointers. While multiple players hit from deep for Team Wallace, North Carolina Central's Fred Cleveland Jr. lit it up for Team Mahorn. He hit two quick threes from the jump, the second of which he took from nearly 30 feet. After the initial scoring burst, both teams began to set into a flow. After Team Wallace took a 15-11 lead, Mahorn's squad came storming back. They went on a 12-4 run to take over and would hold the lead for the rest of the half. While their advantage did balloon into the double-digits, Team Wallace finished the half strong and reduced the deficit to 56-53 before going into the break.

At the start of the second half, Cleveland Jr. tried to give his team some breathing room with another bomb from deep. His attempts to rekindle his first-half magic, though, fell flat. Eventually, Team Wallace reclaimed their first lead since the 12:50 mark in the first half with a three-pointer from Mississippi Valley State's Rayquan Brown. Immediately in response, Mahorn's Christian Wells, who already has several offers to play overseas, got fouled on a made three-pointer, though he could not cash in for the four-point play.

Over the course of the second half, Wallace's team slowly built a lead through defensive stops and transition buckets. They had about half as many turnovers as Team Mahorn, yet made about the same amount of three-pointers. Bethune-Cookman's Dhashon Dyson, the eventual MVP, hit a three to extend Team Wallace's lead to nine points, the biggest of the game. Their final 10-2 run helped put Team Mahorn away. In the last minute of the game, with a double-digit difference on the scoreboard, both teams let loose, pulling out their best dunks and taking moon shots from deep range. Team Wallace walked away the victors of the 2024 HBCU All-Star game, 108-97.

Team Wallace finished with six players scoring in double figures. Dyson, the game MVP, finished with 19 points and made five three-pointers. Jaylen Alston of Winston-Salem State ended with 16, and Alcorn State's Jeremiah Kendall finished with 14. For Team Mahorn, Tennessee State's Christian Brown led the way with 21 points. Fred Cleveland finished right behind him with 20 points of his own.