Peterson, Boozer earn Co-MVP honors as West wins 2025 McDonald's All-American Boys Game

The Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York played host to an elite crop of prospects on Tuesday night for the 2025 McDonald’s All-American Boys Game. As expected, many of the headlining names on the court looked the part.

Thanks to a balanced attack from Kansas five-star shooting guard signee Darryn Peterson, superstar BYU forward signee AJ Dybantsa and others, the West team fought its way to a 105-92 win.

Peterson led the way with 18 points and earned Co-MVP honors with star Duke forward signee Cam Boozer, who poured in 16 points for the East. The West had five in double-figures. Dybantsa had 17, Washington forward signee Niko Bundalo had 12, while Houston center signee Chris Cenac and USC guard commit Alijah Arenas each had 11.

Houston guard signee Isiah Harwell also had 16 points for the East alongside Boozer. Arkansas guard signee Darius Acuff had 12.

The opening quarter was filled with missed 3-point attempts in the beginning, though both teams did eventually get going. Cincinnati forward signee Shon Abaev drilled a pair of treys to lead East to a 24-21 lead at the end of the period. Five-star forward Nate Ament added five early, while Arkansas five-star guard signee Meleek Thomas paced the West with five points.

After not playing in the first quarter, Baylor forward signee Tounde Yessoufou made his presence felt with high energy up and down the floor. The Baylor signee had a pair of breakaway slams off steals to help West take a 48-40 lead into halftime. Peterson nailed a 3-pointer while Bundalo notched back-to-back buckets amidst a 14-4 run that ended the quarter. Five-star guard Brayden Burries was also instrumental in the West team’s success in the half.

Intensity picked up in the second half and Houston signees Cenac (West) and Harwell (East) were at the center of the action. While Cenac was cleaning the glass and knocking down a corner 3-pointer, Harwell pulled East back into the game with 11 points in the quarter. The five-star guard hit a trio of treys, the last of which tied the game at 60.

Boozer also had his hand in the action, slithering his way toward free points in the paint. He threw down a mean dunk as East worked its way back in the third. USC guard commit Alijah Arenas and Bundalo then went on a 9-0 run to give West a 73-66 lead with less than two minutes to play in the quarter. That lead was trimmed to 74-70 heading into the final period.

Peterson exploded in the fourth, rocking the rim with dunk after dunk as the West lead blossomed back to double digits. Dybantsa continued his steady attack while Arenas knocked down another 3-pointer. Yessoufou and Duke forward signee Nik Khamenia added on late as the lead maintained 10-plus the rest of the way.