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Walker, Pipkin, Moore help South All-Stars prevail

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CYPRESS --- It’s an all-star game, which means a lot of fun and smiles and highlight plays.

But make no mistake, Edison High senior Randall Walker came to win Saturday night in the 52nd annual Orange County North vs. South All-Star Basketball Games.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s an all-star game, a playground game,” Walker said. “I always want to win. I always got the competitive spirit.”

Walker’s last time wearing an Edison jersey did result in a win. He had nine points as the South team earned a 97-93 victory over the North at Cypress College.

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Newport Harbor’s Collin Pipkin and Hayden Moore of Huntington Beach were the other local players on the South team. Pipkin scored 10 points and Moore hit a three-pointer in the second half to help the South earn the victory.

Five local players also participated in the girls’ game that preceeded the boys’ contest. Huntington Beach’s Frankie Wade-Sanchez and Kaylyn Nakaji, as well as Ocean View’s Jacqueline Moss, Los Amigos’ Cheryl Caldera and Delani Guyot of Estancia all played for the South. The North won the game, 70-55, despite 12 points from the point guard Moss.

Walker, the 2016-17 Daily Pilot Dream Team Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year, made his first two shots from the field in the boys’ contest. He hit a baseline jumper and another straightaway jumper from about 20 feet. His third try, a three-pointer, just rattled out.

Later in the first half, Pipkin made back-to-back layups to give the South a four-point lead. They upped the lead to six, at 49-43, at halftime.

The South kept a single-digit lead for much of the second half, with Pipkin making back-to-back reverse layups to help the team stay in front.

“It felt great,” Walker said. “Being my last time putting on an Edison jersey, it was really meaningful. I’ll never forget this. I’ve played with a bunch of people [on this team], like Myles [Franklin of Villa Park], since I was a little kid.”

Moss had 12 points in the girls’ game, tying for game-high honors with her South teammate, Jayda Adams of Mater Dei.

Moss, the Golden West League co-Player of the Year this season for the Seahawks, made three shots from downtown.

“It was great to be back on the floor again, but it was also sad to know it was my last time playing a high school game,” Moss said. “My senior season, I would say it was just fun. It was a lot of fun to go out and give it my all, leave it all on the floor for my team and myself.”

Nakaji had nine points for the South, all coming on a trio of three-pointers. Wade-Sanchez, the Daily Pilot Dream Team Player of the Year, finished with seven points.

“When I put on my jersey and everything, I was like, ‘This is literally the last time I’m going to wear a Huntington jersey,’” Wade-Sanchez said. “It’s definitely a bittersweet moment. Obviously, it would have been nice to win my official last game, but it’s nice to end it with people who I’ve known and played with for a really long time. It’s definitely a happy memory.”

Nolan made a pair of free throws for the South and Caldera also had two points.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo

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