ANDERSON — Three great high school basketball careers came to an end Saturday, June 17, at Anderson University. All three are 1,000-point career scorers and have cut down nets following sectional, state or conference championships; and they were key players on the last three Madison County men’s basketball championship teams. And the trio also will continue their basketball careers in college next season.

For one evening at the Indiana Class Basketball All-Star Classic, Ronnie Williams of Liberty Christian, Jon Ross Richardson of Lapel, and Mark Albers from Pendleton Heights were teammates, and, not surprisingly, all three played key roles as their unit of all-stars won in dramatic fashion.

Richardson posted a double-double, Albers scored 26 points and Williams scored six of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including a driving layup as time expired to lead the Red team to a 116-114 win.

Albers, who also had seven rebounds and five assists, shared Most Outstanding Player honors with Nike Sibande of Indianapolis Crispus Attucks. After so many head-to-head battles with Williams and Richardson, he was happy the trio was wearing the same jersey for a change.

“It was a lot of fun being able to play with these guys after playing against them for all these years,” Albers said. “We’ve been seeing each other a lot, and I knew they would both have good games.”

Williams was playing in the gym he will soon be calling home when he plays for Anderson University this fall. He also was glad he wasn’t playing against the Bulldog and Arabian stars.

“It was a great time and a great atmosphere,” he said. “I grew up playing against these two my whole life, but being on the same team made it a lot easier.”

“All three of us won county championships the last three years; it’s about time they put us on a team together,” Richardson added.

Williams and the Lions won their title in 2015, while Albers and the Arabians finally broke through in 2017. The 2016 semifinals and championship game will long be remembered for the intense atmosphere and high quality of competition fans were present for in the Lapel High School gymnasium.

In the semis, Liberty Christian overcame a six-point fourth-quarter deficit to edge Pendleton Heights before dropping a five-point decision to Lapel in the championship.

“You get that gym packed, and that place gets really rowdy,” Richardson said. “Indiana basketball is the best way I can put it.”

“Playing at Pendleton Heights has been the best time of my life,” Albers said. “And playing against these county schools was the best atmosphere I’ve ever played in; I’ll never forget it.”

“I’m glad I got to be a part of it,” Williams added. “I’ll never take that for granted.”

Williams took the inbound pass Saturday with five seconds left with both Sibande, who scored 25 points, and Albers on the court. He evaded the first defender and drove the length of the court for the game- winner. He said there was no chance he was going to give up the ball.

“I actually told Nike, of all people, ‘Bro, I got this, I got it,’” Williams said. “I drove down, laid it up to win it. Piece of cake.”

While Williams will be staying in Anderson next year, and Albers will be playing in Indianapolis at Marian University, Richardson is headed to Rollins College in Florida, realizing it may be a while before he sees his friendly rivals again.

“I’ll be missing these guys and won’t be able to see them,” Richardson said.

“I’m going to be jealous — he gets palm trees, and we get snow,” Williams said.

“That will dry his tears real quick,” Albers added.

Richardson scored 10 points and had 10 rebounds with three blocked shots Saturday.