• Louisville signee Mikel Brown Jr. scored six points, and Kentucky signee Malachi Moreno had nine points in the McDonald’s All-American boys game.
• Future LSU player ZaKiyah Johnson, a Sacred Heart alum, scored 11 points for the East team in a losing effort.

Louisville and Kentucky basketball’s representatives in the McDonald’s All-American Game both had solid showings Tuesday night.

Future Cardinal Mikel Brown Jr. had six points and displayed his deft passing for the West team. Future Wildcat Malachi Moreno had nine points and a block for the East team.

Ultimately, Brown and the West squad ended on top, notching a 105-92 victory at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Not surprisingly, the three best players in the 2025 class — in terms of recruiting rankings — were three of the best players on the floor Tuesday.

AJ Dybantsa, a BYU signee and the country’s top-ranked 2025 prospect, finished with 17 points for the West team. Cameron Boozer, the No. 2 player in the 247Sports Composite rankings, had 16 for the East. But they both took a back seat to Darryn Peterson. The Kansas signee, and the No. 3 recruit in the 2025 cycle, had a game-high 18 points in the win for the West.

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Afterward, Boozer and Peterson were named the game’s co-MVPs.

Nate Ament, a 6-foot-9 forward who is the highest-ranked uncommitted player in the 2025 cycle and has both Pat Kelsey and Mark Pope‘s programs among his five finalists, ended with 11 points for the East team.

Ament, a Virginia native, was originally planning to decide between Louisville, Kentucky, Arkansas, Duke and Tennessee on Tuesday but said Monday he was pushing back the announcement to a later, unspecified date.

There was some Kentucky flavor Tuesday in the girls game, too; with former Sacred Heart star ZaKiyah Johnson, Bethlehem High School’s Leah Macy and UK signee Kaelyn Carroll on the East team. They came up on the wrong end of the scoreboard, however: 104-82.

After the West ran out to an 18-0 lead, Johnson was a big reason why the East got back in the game. The four-time state champion and Kentucky’s reigning Miss Basketball, who’s signed to play at LSU, scored a team-high nine points during the second quarter and grabbed a couple of rebounds before the break; at which point her squad trailed 54-45.

Behind 16 points from MVP Sienna Betts, a UCLA signee, the West was too much to overcome in the second half. It closed by winning the fourth quarter, 25-16.

Johnson finished with 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting (1 for 3 from 3-point range) to go along with four rebounds, two steals and an assist in 22:11 of run. Carroll, a product of Tabor Academy in Massachusetts, had three points, two rebounds and an assist in 15:50. Macy, a Notre Dame signee who is still recovering from a right knee injury, did not play.

The Courier Journal brought you live updates, scores, highlights and analysis throughout the game. Check it out. 

McDonald’s All-American boys game highlights

McDonald’s All-American girls game highlights

FINAL | West 105, East 92

The West left no doubt in ending a four-game losing streak to the East, winning the final quarter 31-22.

Brown finished with six points, including an and-1 layup to help bolster the West’s lead early in the quarter.

Moreno finished with nine points for the East.

Kansas signee Darryn Peterson and Duke signee Cameron Boozer were named co-Most Valuable Players. The former scored a game-high 18 points for the West; while the latter had 16 for the East.

West Team leads East after three quarters of McDonald’s All-American Game

After a back-and-forth third quarter, the West owns a four-point lead, 74-70, against the East entering the final period.

Moreno had four points in the quarter, upping his total to seven. Brown didn’t score in the third stanza, remaining at three points.

Two Houston signees dominated the quarter: Isiah Harwell had 11 points, while Chris Cenac had nine. Neither player scored a point in the first half.

Through three periods, Duke signee Cameron Boozer leads all players with 14 points, followed by Darius Acuff (an Arkansas signee) with 13 and Niko Bundalo (a Washington signee) with 12. Top-ranked 2025 prospect AJ Dybantsa, who’s headed to BYU, has 11. Ament has seven points.

HALF | West 48, East 40

The West extended its lead over the East to eight at halftime with a 24-19 second quarter. Fourteen of its points during the period were unanswered.

Brown and Moreno finished the half with three points apiece. The former’s facilitating for the West caught the eyes of Adam Finkelstein, 247Sports’ director of scouting; and the latter came up with a block for the East at the end of the first quarter.

Ament chipped in five points for the East.

Representing the West, AJ Dybantsa led all scorers with nine points. Niko Bundalo (West), Darius Acuff (East) and Cameron Boozer (East) had eight points apiece.

Watch Kentucky signee Malachi Moreno’s end-of-quarter block

Check out Moreno’s quarter-capping block to end the first quarter of tonight’s game, which kept the East’s three-point lead intact, in the embedded video below:

East team leads West after first quarter of McDonald’s All-American Game

The East holds a three-point lead, 24-21, over the West after the first quarter of this year’s McDonald’s All-American Game.

Ament had five points in the opening period, knocking down a 3 and sinking a pair of free throws. AJ Dybantsa, the top-ranked player in the 2025 cycle, had four points.

Brown had two points, while Moreno had a block at the buzzer to keep the East’s advantage at three.

Cincinnati signee Shon Abaev had six points on a pair of triples for the East squad.

Starting lineups for boys McDonald’s All-American Game

• East: Darius Acuff (Arkansas), Braylon Mullins (UConn), Nate Ament, Cameron Boozer (Duke), Eric Reibe (UConn)
• West: Mikel Brown Jr. (Louisville), Darryn Peterson (Kansas), AJ Dybantsa (BYU), Caleb Wilson (North Carolina), Chris Cenac Jr. (Houston)

FINAL | West 104, East 82

UCLA signee Sienna Betts was named the Most Valuable Player. She finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists for the West; which had a 79-66 lead at the end of the third quarter and outscored the East by nine, 25-16, in the fourth.

HALF | West 54, East 45

The West opened the game on an 18-0 run, but the East made up half of that deficit over the first two quarters.

Johnson helped get the East back in the game. The LSU signee scored a team-high nine points during the second period.

When is the McDonald’s All-American Game?

The McDonald’s All-American Game is scheduled to tip off at 9 p.m. today inside the Barclays Center.

The girls will take the court first for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff.

What channel is the McDonald’s All-American Game on?

The McDonald’s All-American Game will air on ESPN, which is channel 602 on AT&T U-Verse; channel 206 on DirecTV; channel 140 on Dish; and channel 506 on Spectrum.

The girls game will air on ESPN2, which is channel 606 on AT&T U-Verse; channel 209 on DirecTV; channel 143 on Dish; and channel 509 on Spectrum.

If you subscribe to a cable package, you’ll be able to livestream the game via ESPN.com and the ESPN app. If you don’t have cable, you can livestream the game via Fubo, which offers a free trial.

McDonald’s All-American Game roster

Here’s a look at the East and West rosters for the boys and girls McDonald’s All-American Game:

Sacred Heart star ZaKiyah Johnson representing Louisville in girls McDonald’s All-American Game

McDonald’s All-American is just the latest in a long line of accolades for Johnson, who was named Kentucky Miss Basketball, Gatorade Kentucky Girls Basketball Player of the Year and the Most Valuable Player of the Girls Sweet 16 to cap off her dominant run with the Valkyries.

Johnson, a 6-foot LSU commit, will play on the East team today alongside Macy (Notre Dame), who formerly played for Mercy Academy. Joining them on the roster is UK commit Carroll, a 6-2 wing.

Louisville basketball signee Mikel Brown Jr. wins 3-point contest at McDonald’s All-American Game

Brown won the McDonald’s All-American Game’s 3-point contest Monday, besting girls champion Aaliyah Chavez with a record-setting 28 points during the final round. For his last shot, the point guard went with a no-look trey.

Brown then proceeded to shout out Louisville during an interview after the competition. Here’s a replay:

What Mikel Brown Jr., Malachi Moreno said about recruiting Nate Ament

With the news of Ament pushing back his commitment, here’s what Brown and Moreno had to say about recruiting him to their respective schools during the McDonald’s All-American Game festivities:

“I’ve been talking to Nate every single day about it, honestly,” Brown said. “At the end of the day, it’s his decision; so I think it just comes down to him and his family. But, obviously, I’m making a pitch and I’m trying to get him locked in. … At the end of the day, it’s Nate’s decision — and I’ll be happy for him either way.”

“My pitch has been: ‘You see what Kentucky has; they have legends, a crazy fan base, an amazing coach, an amazing coaching staff, awesome facilities,'” Moreno said. “‘It’s a great place to be. It’s really basketball-focused; and it’s a real, true place where you can grow and you can reach your dreams.'”

Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton. Reach Kentucky men’s basketball and football reporter Ryan Black at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RyanABlack.