By Dan Weber
NKyTribune sports reporter
It’s either the end of your high school playing days – or the beginning of your college career. Or maybe a bit of both.
Which is how the 32nd annual Kentucky-Ohio “Battle for the Border” All-Star basketball doubleheader Saturday at Thomas More played out for a pair of Northern Kentucky athletes in the boys’ game that may well have been the best high school hoops exhibition in Northern Kentucky the entire 2024-25 season.
The 110-109 score says it all, with a buzzer-beating step-back three-pointer with 2.7 seconds by the aptly named game MVP Trey Perry giving Ohio its first lead since 14 minutes were left in the first half.
Until then, the Kentucky kids had done just about everything right – except shoot free throws with a four-for-14 performance with misses on six of their last seven down the stretch sealing their fate.
But that’s not the way it looked as the Northern Kentucky pair of Walton-Verona’s Aaron Gutman and Lloyd Memorial’s EJ Walker took over for much of the final 3:00 after Ohio had battled back from a 12-point deficit – 91-79 – with 10:00 left to trail by just one – 101-100. Gutman’s pass to Armelo Boone made it 103-100. Then Walker scored to make it 105-100 with 2:00 left.
And then Gutman, who led all Northern Kentucky scorers with a 23.3 average this season as the Eighth Region player of the year, stuffed one to make it 107-100. But a pair of Buckeye baskets and a pair of missed Kentucky free throws and an offensive rebound score by 6-foot-9 Northwestern-bound Tyler Kropp, for his 22nd point, left the game tied at 107 with 19.8 seconds left.
But that was Gutman’s time to show what he could do, taking the ball on the baseline and flying in for a score with 7.2 seconds left – his 13th points of the night. Kentucky 109, Ohio 107.
But give the Miami of Ohio-bound Perry credit. Instead of driving the lane as he had all night, he backed off for a do-or-die three that was perfect for his game-high 26 points.
“You definitely learn some things,” Gutman said. “It’s a different level from high school. It’s much more physical. The game is much more as a team. Everything matters.”
Like those free throws.
But as a finale to his high school career, Gutman hopes this shows the colleges, “I can do it at this level . . . it means a lot, it showed everyone on the court they can trust me.”
In a game with at least 20 players having announced their college choices, Gutman is still waiting. Waiting it out as the colleges work through the transfer portal recruiting veteran players the way NKU did this week in announcing the signing of three players with nearly a dozen years of college experience among them.
“I figure it’ll be another month,” Gutman says, “but I’m definitely going to play somewhere.”
He’s heard from the likes of Walsh, Lincoln Memorial and Georgetown (Ky.) but based on his 13-point game in just 13:59 here against some of the better players in both states and his comfort level on the perimeter with his 6-7 size, he should keep his phone nearby.
His teammate Walker doesn’t have to worry. The 6-8, 225-pounder from Lloyd scored seven points with three rebounds in 18:17 (third-most playing time for Kentucky) and this is it for his high school career. “He was selected for the Kentucky-Indiana game,” said his father Mike Walker, the assistant coach for the Kentucky All-Stars, “but June 6 he’s gone” to South Carolina of the SEC. No more all-star games for EJ.
This game made it clear to EJ what he plans to do as he leaves high school behind. “I really think being in the best shape of my life,” he says of his gameplan the next couple of months. “So I don’t have to take time to get in shape” when he gets to South Carolina.
As for the basketball part of his game, his plan is to become “a knockdown shooter from three.”
For Mike Walker, the chance to be an assistant to head coach Steve Page, from state champ Great Crossing, “and have one more chance to share the bench with my son” made it all worthwhile.
“It was a lot of fun, a blast.” Mike said, “it was cool . . . a fun few days.”
One Northern Kentuckian, Cooper’s Andy Johnson, originally announced for the game, did not participate.
SCORING SUMMARY
BOYS’ OHIO ALL-STARS 20 31 30 29—110
BOYS’ KENTUCKY ALL-STARS 32 37 31 19—109
OHIO BOYS: Nwokolo 3-10 1-3 3-4 10, Waleskowski 1-2 1-1 0-0 3, Kropp 9-13 1-1 3-3 22, Perry 9-15 3-5 5-5 26, Finefrock 0-2 0-2 0-0 0, Siegfried 2-2 2-2 0-0 6, Stadelman 3-3 1-1 0-0 7, Fisher 2-5 0-1 0-1 4, Kayser 6-9 1-2 4-5 17, Conner 0-1 0-1 0-0 0, Greer 2-6 0-4 0-0 4, Riep 2-3 0-1 0-0 4, Wassler 3-4 1-1 0-0 7; TOTALS 42-75 11-25 15-18 110.
KENTUCKY BOYS: Dawson 4-7 2-4 0-2 10, Gutman 6-11 1-3 0-2 13, Walker 3-7 1-3 0-0 7, McCutcheon 1-1 0-0 0-1 2, Jenkins 4-11 1-5 0-1 9, Price 10-14 5-9 0-0 2, Boone 6-10 0-1 3-3 15, Beickman 1-1 1-1 0-0 3, Edwards 1-1 0-0 0-0 2, Decker 2-5 0-1 0-1 4, Mabe 2-4 0-0 0-2 4, Warfield 4-5 0-0 1-2 9, Mukadi 2-2 0-0 0-0 4, Russell 1-3 0-0 0-0 2; TOTALS: 47-82 11-27 4-14.
NOT SO MUCH FUN FOR THE KENTUCKY GIRLS
They led three times early but that was it as the Kentucky girls were out of this one in a hurry in Saturday’s opener. With an 18-0 run starting midway in the first quarter, a quicker, tougher, more-talented Ohio team led 30-13 after the first 10 minutes. And 58-29 at halftime.
With Kentucky’s top two players, both headed to Louisville – 6-5 Grace Mgubua of Danville Christian and 29-point scorer in the regular season Peyton Bradley of Meade County — coming off knee surgery, Kentucky had no answer for the deep and aggressive Buckeyes who were still pressing in the final minute with a 24-point lead against a Kentucky team with 28 turnovers.
Four Northern Kentuckians – and one player headed to Thomas More, played in the game. Grant County’s Jada Cummins started and scored five points in 11:27 of action. Newport Central Catholic’s Caroline Eaglin, headed to NKU, scored five in 16:11, the most time on the floor for a Kentucky player. Holy Cross’ Aniyah Carter scored six points in 12:08. Walton-Verona’s Braylin Terrell scored four in 11:36. And headed to Thomas More, Franklin County’s Juliana Frazee scored five in 12:58. Holy Cross’ Ted Arlinghaus assisted head coach Billy Inman of Danville Christian.
SCORING SUMMARY
GIRLS’ OHIO ALL-STARS 30 28 19 16—93
GIRLS’ KENTUCKY ALL-STARS 13 16 19 21—69
OHIO GIRLS: Williams 3-6 0-0 0-0 6, Parrish 6-11 3-4 0-0 15, Nienaber 2-7 0-2 1-2 5, Cosgrove 0-2 0-0 0-0 0, Pitzer 2-5 0-1 0-0 4, K. Miller 5-12 3-7 0-0 13, Lipps 4-12 1-3 0-0 9, Mounce 2-6 0-2 2-2 6, C. Miller 0-6 0-2 1-2 1, Whitaker 2-10 1-4 0-0 5, Barnitz 3-5 1-3 0-0 7, Frazier 3-7 1-1 0-0 7, Shuluga 5-9 0-3 1-1 11, Redmon 2-4 0-1 0-0 4; TOTALS: 39-102 10-35 5-7 93.
KENTUCKY GIRLS: Collins 4-7 0-1 0-0 8, Mbugua 0-4 0-2 1-2 1, Quisenberry 1-12 0-2 0-0 2, Bradley 4-7 2-5 0-0 10, Cummins 2-4 1-3 0-0 5, Carter 3-5 0-0 0-0 6, Strader 0-0 0-0 1-2 1, Eaglin 2-6 1-3 0-0 5, Archibald 1-5 0-4 0-0 2, McAlarnis 2-9 1-3 0-0 5, Gilbert 4-5 0-0 0-0 8, Adkins 3-3 1-1 0-1 7, Terrell 2-2 0-0 0-0 4, Frazee 2-7 0-1 1-1 5; TOTALS: 30-76 6-25 3-6 69.