( – By J.C. Carnahan for WFTV.com – )

If you were unable to catch the Elite 24 High School All-Star Game broadcast from Venice Beach, Calif. this past Saturday, you missed out on an MVP performance from Winter Park High School senior Austin Rivers.

The son of Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers led Team Marques Johnson with 15 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists despite landing awkwardly on his right arm in the second half. Rivers returned to the game after icing his wrist, but came out on the losing end against Team Raymond Lewis 131-128.

Austin Rivers (Photo by Scott Kurtz, ESPN RISE)

The game featured seven of the top seniors on ESPNU’s Top-100 list and three of the nations top-rated juniors. Rivers, who moved to No. 1 overall this week, was the only participant from the Sunshine State but found himself one-on-one against a University of Florida recruit.

After coming up empty on his first attempt from the field and grabbing a rebound on the offensive end, Rivers managed to get going by splitting two defenders and gliding midair towards the hoop, where he finished with an underhanded shot off the backboard just three minutes in.

Moments later, he drained a 3-pointer while Missouri’s Bradley Beal, verbally committed to Florida, had a hand in his face. On the other end of the floor Rivers grabbed a rebound, pushed up court and dished off to fellow co-MVP James McAdoo, a Virginia product committed to North Carolina, for his first assist.

Later in the half Rivers got an easy put-back off a rebound, then drove to the hole against Beal and another defender to finish with a finger roll before getting back on defense to recoup yet another missed shot.

The battle with Beal, No. 5 at ESPNU, was just getting started though as Rivers blocked two of Beal’s shots in the opening minute of the second half then coasted through the lane for an uncontested layup.

Rivers blew past Beal twice off the dribble a few minutes later while attacking the basket, not long before going down with an injury when he was caught off balance midair while reaching up for an inbound pass. He returned to the game with 9:40 to play and scored on a breakaway two-handed dunk. Still in noticeable pain, Rivers resorted to the left hand for his final highlight when he put a spin move on Beal and banked a shot off the backboard for a bucket as a few minutes remained.

Last season Rivers, listed at 6-foot-4 and 189 pounds, was named the ESPN RISE National Junior Player of the Year after averaging 24.3 points and 4.3 rebounds per game for Winter Park’s Class 6A state title team. ESPN lists his current college choices as Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, Florida and UCLA.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –