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 </figure><div>KSHSAA Covered
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SALINA &ndash;&nbsp;Andover&rsquo;s Josh Kim spent a rough December evening in McPherson&rsquo;s Roundhouse, struggling to keep the Trojans afloat against Gabe Pyle and the host Bullpups. &nbsp; In March, Kim&rsquo;s hopes for a second Class 5A boys title in three seasons were dashed by Corbin Johnson and Kapaun Mt. Carmel in the state semifinals in Emporia. &nbsp; But on Saturday at Kansas Wesleyan&rsquo;s Mabee Arena, Kim was tossing lobs to Pyle and laughing it up with Johnson as their Gold squad rolled to a 107-61 victory over the Blue in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association All-Star Game. &nbsp; &ldquo;It was great not having to worry about them anymore,&rdquo; said Kim, who scored 13 points and handed out seven assists. &ldquo;You only had to worry about the good stuff.&rdquo; &nbsp;
<figure class="caption figure_object_image"><img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=14&amp;image_path=/images/2025/6/22/McPherson_s_Gabe_Pyle.jpg" alt="17864" width="667" height="396" />
<figcaption>McPherson's Gabe Pyle (14) reacts to a 3-pointer by Moundridge's Bear Moddelmog that put the Gold squad over 100 points in Saturday's KBCA All-Star Game.</figcaption>
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 &nbsp;There was plenty of good stuff for the Gold, which was coached by McPherson&rsquo;s Kurt Kinnamon and Kapaun&rsquo;s Steve Eck, both of whom guided their high school teams to successful state title defenses in March. Their 12-player team drew largely from south central Kansas and featured a variety of foe-turned-friend lineup combinations. &nbsp; In fact, the Gold starting lineup featured Kim and players from teams responsible for three of Andover&rsquo;s five losses last season &ndash; Pyle, Johnson and Derby&rsquo;s Jack Ulwelling &ndash; as well as Wichita Heights forward Amalachi Wilkins. &nbsp; Even the Gold reserves tapped into the unique partnerships. Reed Friesen of Class 3A champion Hesston was on the court with Moundridge&rsquo;s Bear Moddelmog, whose Wildcats dealt the Swathers one of their two losses last season in the Hillsboro Trojan Classic title game. &nbsp; But on Saturday, those combinations were lethal. Pyle, who joined his older brothers Drew and Ben as recipients of the KBCA&rsquo;s Mr. Kansas Basketball award prior to the contest, scored a game-high 19 points. Elyria Christian&rsquo;s Ty Romero, the MVP of the Central Kansas All-Star Basketball Classic in March, added 14 points and Ellinwood&rsquo;s Landon Simpson added 10. &nbsp; The Blue team got 11 points each from Ottawa&rsquo;s Caleb Hepner, Shawnee Mission Northwest&rsquo;s Tyler Salmon and Goodland&rsquo;s Brady Brumbaugh. But after building a 16-8 lead in the first five minutes, its momentum faded amid cold shooting and the Gold&rsquo;s defensive pressure, which led to a flurry of fast-break points. &nbsp; &ldquo;It was really cool,&rdquo; said Johnson, a KSHSAA Covered All-State Top 5 selection who will play at Wichita&rsquo;s Sunrise Christian Academy next season. &ldquo;There&rsquo;s such good players from around the same city, so to team up and put our stuff together, the chemistry that we had was really fun. &nbsp; &ldquo;It&rsquo;s what basketball is about, just building friendships.&rdquo; &nbsp;
<figure class="caption figure_object_image"><img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=14&amp;image_path=/images/2025/6/22/Ellinwood_s_Landon_Simpson_and_Rock_Creek_s_Coley_Burgess_40.jpg" alt="17870" width="667" height="444" />
<figcaption>Ellinwood's Landon Simpson drives on Rock Creek's Coley Burgess (2) during the KBCA All-Star Game.</figcaption>
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 Even those whose paths didn&rsquo;t cross with the others during the winter made a splash for the Gold. Simpson, one of the state&rsquo;s top scorers last season at more than 24 points per game, scored all his points in the Gold&rsquo;s 60-point second half after Romero led them to a 47-29 halftime lead with 12 first-half points. &nbsp; Galena&rsquo;s Jack Perry added nine points on 4-of-7 shooting. Macksville&rsquo;s Diego Esparza had just two points, but hounded the Blue team&rsquo;s guards with his quickness. &nbsp; All those contributions made an impression on Kim, who will play collegiately at Washington University in St. Louis. &nbsp; &ldquo;Small-school guys can hoop,&rdquo; Kim said. &ldquo;I want people to know that. They can go.&rdquo; &nbsp; Kim scored seven points and Pyle added four in the Gold&rsquo;s 15-4 run to start the second half that pushed the lead to 62-33. The Gold made 27 of 47 shots in the second half (57.4%) to stretch its margin. Meanwhile, the Blue finished 19 of 80 from the field and 7 of 43 from 3-point range. &nbsp;
<figure class="caption figure_object_image"><img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=14&amp;image_path=/images/2025/6/22/Ottawa_s_Caleb_Hepner_and_Kapaun_s_Corbin_Johnson.jpg" alt="17867" width="667" height="456" />
<figcaption>Kapaun Mt. Carmel's Corbin Johnson (34) defends against Ottawa's Caleb Hepner during the KBCA All-Star Game.</figcaption>
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 Moddelmog, who helped Moundridge to Class 2A titles as a sophomore and junior, pushed the Gold over the 100-point mark with a 3-pointer that made it 101-59 with two minutes remaining. &nbsp; &ldquo;I&rsquo;ve had a past with Bear,&rdquo; said Friesen, who scored eight points. &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve played baseball together in the past and we played together last summer. We&rsquo;ve become pretty good friends and it just makes it fun when you can get out on the court together.&rdquo; &nbsp;
<figure class="caption figure_object_image"><img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=14&amp;image_path=/images/2025/6/22/Elyria_Christian_s_Ty_Romero_and_Marysville_s_Will_Otott.jpg" alt="17866" width="667" height="453" />
<figcaption>Marysville's Will Otott (14) drives in the lane against Elyria Christian's Ty Romero (25) during the KBCA All-Star Game.</figcaption>
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 The crossover on Saturday wasn&rsquo;t limited to player-to-player. After Eck watched from the bench Saturday, he recalled splitting two state tournament battles against Kim and Andover &ndash; who defeated Kapaun for the 2023 5A title &ndash; and several Greater Wichita Athletic League battles against Wilkins and Heights. &nbsp; In Kapaun&rsquo;s most recent meeting with Heights, Johnson hit a fadeaway 3-pointer at the buzzer that gave the Crusaders a 56-53 victory, spoiling the Falcons&rsquo; senior night. &nbsp; &ldquo;For me, it was fun that I could sit on the same bench with them instead of coaching against them,&rdquo; Eck said. &ldquo;I told Josh and Amalachi, I&rsquo;m glad you guys are on the same side with me this time because I&rsquo;m tired of seeing your face.&rdquo; &nbsp; KBCA BOYS ALL-STAR GAME &nbsp; GOLD 107, BLUE 61 &nbsp; Blue &hellip; 29 &hellip; 32 &hellip; &ndash;&nbsp;&hellip; 61 &nbsp; Gold &hellip; 47 &hellip; 60 &hellip; &ndash;&nbsp;&hellip; 107 &nbsp; Blue &ndash;&nbsp;Hepner 4-6 2-2 11, Salmon 5-15 0-0 11, Jones 1-8 2-7 4, Rowley 1-3 0-0 3, Broxterman 0-6 0-0 0, Burgess 2-9 2-2 6, Otott 0-1 3-4 3, Brumbaugh 4-20 1-2 11, VanHoutan 1-5 2-2 5, Skocny 1-7 4-4 7. Totals 19-80 16-23 61. &nbsp; Gold &ndash; Ulwelling 1-6 0-0 2, Wilkins 4-6 0-0 8, Kim 6-9 0-0 13, Pyle 9-16 0-0 19, Johnson 4-11 0-0 9, Esparza 1-3 0-0 2, Baalmann 2-4 0-0 4, Perry 4-7 0-0 9, Friesen 4-7 0-0 8, Moddelmog 4-5 0-0 9, Simpson 4-7 1-2 10, Romero 5-9 2-2 14. Totals 48-90 3-4 107. &nbsp; 3-point goals &ndash;&nbsp;Blue 7-43 (Brumbaugh 2-14, Hepner 1-2, Rowley 1-3, VanHoutan 1-4, Skocny 1-6, Salmon 1-7, Jones 0-1, Broxterman 0-2, Burgess 0-4); Gold 8-32 (Romero 2-6, Kim 1-2, Moddelmog 1-2, Simpson 1-2, Perry 1-3, Pyle 1-4, Johnson 1-5, Wilkins 0-1, Baalmann 0-2, Ulwelling 0-5). Rebounds &ndash; Blue 46 (Hepner 7); Gold 60 (Johnson 13). Assists &ndash;&nbsp;Blue 11 (Jones 3); Gold 28 (Kim 7). Turnovers &ndash; Blue 9, Gold 7. Total fouls &ndash; Blue 9, Gold 19. Fouled out &ndash; None. &nbsp;
<figure class="caption figure_object_image"><img src="https://kshsaacovered.com/common/controls/image_handler.aspx?thumb_id=14&amp;image_path=/images/2025/6/22/Ottawa_s_Caleb_Hepner_and_Hesston_s_Reed_Friesen.jpg" alt="17871" width="667" height="418" />
<figcaption>Hesston's Reed Friesen (22) pivots toward the lane against Ottawa's Caleb Hepner (4) during the KBCA All-Star Game.</figcaption>
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🏀 McPherson's Pyle shines in KBCA Boys All-Star Game