More than four dozen of the league’s top upperclassmen were showcased during the Greater Middlesex Conference Basketball Coaches Association’s annual senior charity all-star doubleheader.

Proceeds from the contests played at Old Bridge High School on Thursday night generated $1,000 for The Marisa Tufaro Foundation, which was the beneficiary of this year’s event.

PLEASE CLICK HERE TO VIEW A GALLERY OF ALL-STAR GAME PHOTOS COURTESY OF ROB MORRIS, WHO HAS MADE THE PICTURES FREE TO DOWNLOAD AND SHARE

In the girls game, Layla Gutierrez of North Plainfield scored 19 points to lead Team Black to a 77-70 comeback victory over Team White, which held a two-point halftime lead.

A 5-foot-4 guard who plays bigger than her diminutive frame, Gutierrez ended her stellar career with 1,289 points and as North Plainfield’s third all-time leading scorer. She also doled out 403 assists, recorded 283 rebounds, and registered 216 steals during her four seasons.

In the boys game, Sam Jones of Sayreville sealed an 87-82 overtime victory for Team American over Team National with a 3-pointer from well beyond the top of the arc.

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Jones will graduate as Sayreville’s all-time leading scorer, regardless of gender, with 1,853 career points. During his senior campaign, Jones broke Steve Makwinski’s 52-year-old boys scoring record of 1,546 points and Rhonda Rompola’s 48-year-old girls scoring mark of 1,608 points.

The all-star doubleheader has a decades-long tradition of giving back to the community and generating tens of thousands of dollars for numerous charitable causes including the American Cancer Society, Team LeGrand, the Christopher and Dana Reeves Foundation, the Gene Haley Memorial Scholarship Fund, Fightstrong Foundation, individuals in medical crisis, and others.

The Greater Middlesex Conference Basketball Coaches Association has been among The Marisa Tufaro Foundation’s biggest supporters, donating more than $11,000 from six all-star doubleheaders to the nonprofit. Basketball teams from the conference also turned the league’s pod tournament during the pandemic-shortened 2021 season into a fundraiser for the foundation.

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“We are eternally grateful to the Greater Middlesex Conference Basketball Coaches Association for selecting our nonprofit as the beneficiary of this year’s all-star doubleheader,” said Cyndi Tufaro, executive director of The Marisa Tufaro Foundation.

“Our foundation has been blessed beyond words with incredible support from the entire conference, which has helped us make a profound impact on the lives of countless children in need.

“We congratulate the players selected to represent their schools in the all-star doubleheader and wish them all the best in their future endeavors.”

Since its inception in July 2017, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has donated $450,000 to fulfill its mission of assisting pediatric patients and other children in need throughout the greater Middlesex County area.

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The nonprofit has also donated thousands of toys, nonperishable food items, winter jackets, children’s books, baby supplies, school supplies and other items upon which it has placed no monetary value.

In addition, The Marisa Tufaro Foundation has awarded $36,500 in academic scholarships to 50 high school seniors and sent 31 elementary and middle school students to a weeklong summer art camp at Rutgers University’s Zimmerli Art Museum.

Marisa Tufaro survived six open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant before succumbing to a rare form of cancer in 2017 following a valiant battle. She was just 13 years old.

Despite being hospitalized for more than two years and maintaining hundreds of doctor’s appointments, Marisa Tufaro was an Edison Township Public Schools honor roll student involved in myriad extracurricular activities who lived a vibrant life that inspired.

Marisa is the daughter of former Home News Tribune and MyCentralJersey.com sportswriter Greg Tufaro and longtime Edison Township Public School educator Cyndi Tufaro.

GIRLS ALL-STARS

TEAM BLACK

Anilah Digss, Carteret

Layla Gutierrez, North Plainfield

Samantha Moench, South Plainfield

Izabella Pardo, Perth Amboy

Mia Pumarada, Mother Seton

Jenessa Raval, Woodbridge Magnet

Olivia River, South Amboy

Angel Smith, Woodbridge

Jiesha Sosa, New Brunswick

Trista Whitney, Saint Thomas Aquinas

Zoe Wilcher, Monroe

Alyssa Young, Middlesex

Coach: Amanda Berrios-German (Carteret)

TEAM WHITE

Julianna Delosantos Branson, East Brunswick

Shahd Elshamma, North Brunswick

Victoria Harmon, East Brunswick Magnet

Eva Hernandez, Piscataway Magnet

Nashaelah Hooker, Colonia

Angie Kearns, Edison

Payton Kmiec, Old Bridge

Ava Kohler, Highland Park

Kayla Navarro, Saint Thomas Aquinas

Alex Nault, Spotswood

Aaliyah Parks, South Brunswick

Victoria Zaniecki, Metuchen

Coach: Jill Bachonski (Colonia)

BOYS ALL-STARS

TEAM AMERICAN

Albion Ahmetaj, Saint Thomas Aquinas

Semir Tolbert Brimage, Spotswood

Kevin Burgman, South Brunswick

Shamar Burch, J.P. Stevens

Nfa Clyne, Colonia

Michai Coffee, New Brunswick

Cameron Hayes-Durina, Metuchen

Omari Hill, J.F. Kennedy

Sam Jones, Sayreville

Jacob Mendoza, Piscataway Magnet

Sebastian Ortiz, East Brunswick Magnet

Dheeraj Samparaboyina, Edison

Trayvon Smith, South Plainfield

Jadiel Vasquez, South Amboy

Camryn Vick, East Brunswick

Coaches: Mark Motusesky (East Brunswick) and Matt Wiater (South Amboy)

TEAM NATIONAL

Jeremiah Arrington, Carteret

Aidan Badger Timothy Christian

Emmanuel Cruz, Woodbridge

Jamael Davis, Dunellen

Donovan Escobar, Perth Amboy Magnet

Kyle Fernandes, Monroe

Justus French, Calvary Christian

Evangelos Kambitsis, Highland Park

Alijah Murphy, Saint Joseph

Donald Nwaigwe, Piscataway

Angel Rodriguez Reyes, North Brunswick

Julian Samuels, Middlesex

Yandel Suana, Perth Amboy

Cole Teresky, South River

Quadir Williams, North Plainfield

Coaches: Felix Romero (Perth Amboy Tech) and Mark Taylor (Saint Joseph)