Northern Kentucky, Southwest Ohio basketball players shine in annual All-Star Game

A collection of the best seniors from across the Bluegrass and Buckeye states took the floor at Thomas More University for another installment of the "Battle at the Border".

Six players from Northern Kentucky and 13 players from Southwest Ohio took the floor in one final game as high school students Saturday night. While many players are committed to playing at the next level, others were looking to impress the multitude of college coaching staffs in attendance.

The All-Star Games began in 1991 on the campus of Shawnee State University in Portsmouth, Ohio. The event moved to TMU's Connor Convocation Center in 2002. Last year, the Kentucky boys and Ohio girls took home wins in the games' first year back after two years off due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here's how this year's contests turned out.

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Girls light up the scoreboard in a high-scoring affair

The girls took the floor first, and with more time to warm up, they came out firing.

Trailing 3-2 in the early minutes, Kentucky went on a 12-0 run highlighted by a Noelle Hubert corner three that was assisted by Ryle's Abby Holtman.

After throwing the first punch, Kentucky maintained a double-digit lead before going on a 15-3 run over four minutes to break the game open and take a 22-point lead at 51-29. Talawanda's Kylie Fears scored six of Ohio's 9 points to close the half and make it a 58-42 game.

Coming out of the locker room, Kentucky opened the second half with an 11-0 run to open up a 69-42 lead and seemingly put the game away. Mason's Carly Prows responded with 10 points, West Clermont's Anna Swisshelm scored five, and Milford's Miah O'Toole capped off an 11-0 run that cut the deficit to nine at 85-76.

"When they went on their run, what helped us was defense and transition. Getting stops and then going," Cooper senior Whitney Lind said.

Fears got her final points of the game on an and-one to cut the deficit to 93-87. But in a game of runs, Kentucky landed the final punch with an 11-0 run in less than a minute. Lind had 6 points and Jakayla Thompson made the play of the night when she stole the ball, then completed a pass while falling down for a Love Mays layup.

Lind, a Lehigh commit, led four Northern Kentucky players with 18 points. Grace Brewer played staunch defense en route to 8 points, Holtman finished with 6, and Hubert had 3.

"They've all been coached the right way," Kentucky All-Stars head coach Joey Thacker said. "They're really good teammates, and they're multifaceted when it comes to their game."

Mays took home MVP honors for a Kentucky team that avenged last year's 99-84 loss. She scored 15 of her game-high 23 points in the second half. Tri Village's Rylee Sagester was Ohio's MVP, leading the team with 17 points on five 3-pointers.

Even though the All-Star Games are nothing more than late-season exhibitions, there is a sense of pride that comes with putting on the jersey.

"I want the win for Kentucky when it's versus Ohio," Lind said.

The Kentucky All-Stars have now won 16 games in the series to Ohio's 13 wins.

Kentucky All-Stars 117, Ohio All-Stars 94

Ohio: Sagester 6 0 17, Prows 4 1 11, Fears 4 1 9, Farris 3 0 8, Greene 2 3 7, Swisshelm 2 3 7, Smith 3 0 7, Miller 2 1 6, Razzano 1 2 5, Steele 1 3 5, French 2 0 4, Hinkle 1 0 3, George 1 0 3, O'Toole 1 0 2. Totals: 33 14 94.

Kentucky: Mays 8 5 23, Ford 7 2 19, Lind 6 4 18, Thompson 4 0 9, Brewer 4 0 8, Tandy 3 1 7, S. Thomas 3 0 7, D. Thomas 1 4 6, Holtman 2 2 6, Jackson 2 0 4, Guess 2 0 4, Hubert 1 0 3, Dillman 1 0 3. Totals: 43 18 117.

Halftime: K 58-42. 3-pointers: O 14 (Sagester 5, Farris 2, Prows 2, Hinkle, George, Miller, Razzano, Smith), K 11 (Ford 3, Mays 2, Lind 2, S. Thomas, Hubert, Dillman, Thompson).

Kentucky completes the sweep with a 93-83 boys win

The boys contest was a back-and-forth affair that wasn't decided until the final minutes.

Behind dunks from Evangel's Cyr Malonga and Simon Kenton 7-footer Gabe Dynes, Kentucky opened up a 23-16 lead 10 minutes into the game.

"It's very rare that I get to practice with that," Dynes said of Malonga, who is 6-foot-10.

Ninth Region Co-Players of the Year Evan Ipsaro and Jacob Meyer were set to play in the game but had to back out. Their presence was missed as Ohio went on an 18-2 run to take a 34-25 lead. Taft's Eian Elmer pitched in 4 of his 7 points and Lakota West's Nathan Dudukovich made two 3-pointers to give Ohio a 40-35 halftime lead.

Dudukovich had 11 points in the first half and made a late push to win Ohio MVP honors. He scored Ohio's final 6 points of the game to finish with a team-high 17.

"It feels really good. It was fun coming out here with my boys," Dudukovich said.

But Cincinnati's players went quiet in the second half as Kentucky went on a 20-5 run to take a 66-58 lead. Dynes opened the run with one of his two dunks. Kentucky kept their Buckeye counterparts at arm's length the rest of the way, never letting the lead get smaller than nine.

"You've got to match that intensity they're giving us, and that physicality they're giving us," Kentucky All-Stars head coach Larry Kihnley said.

Pleasure Ridge Park's Greg Cole and Madison Central's Jaylen Davis, who was his team's MVP, scored a combined 15 points in the final 10 minutes to secure a second straight victory.

Despite the loss, Ohio still leads the all-time series with 18 wins to Kentucky's 12 wins.

Kentucky 93, Ohio 83

Ohio: Dudukovich 6 0 17, Rice 5 0 13, Callaghan 4 0 9, Elmer 3 1 7, Lewis 2 1 6, Parks 3 0 6, Walker 3 0 6, Ream 2 0 5, D'Augustino 2 0 4, Wenger 1 0 3, Maxwell 1 1 3, Crim 1 0 2, Browne 0 2 2. Totals: 33 3 83.

Kentucky: Davis 7 2 19, Cole 5 0 13, Robinson 5 2 12, Moore 2 6 10, Malonga 5 0 10, Cooper 2 0 6, Edelen 3 0 6, Dynes 2 0 4, DeBoard 2 0 4, McCrear 2 0 4, Brooks 1 0 3, Henry 0 2 2. Totals: 36 12 93.

Halftime: O 40-35. 3-pointers: O 12 (Dudukovich 5, Rice 3, Wenger, Callaghan, Ream, Lewis), K 9 (Davis 3, Cole 3, Cooper 2, Brooks)

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: High school basketball: Kentucky, Ohio meet in Battle at the Border