Collegiate streak ends at 37

EL DORADO — The shot that Wichita Collegiate senior Blake Jablonski got behind the three-point line in the waning seconds of Saturday's Bluestem Classic championship game couldn't have been much better.

But the ball bounced off the rim.

Teammate Ty Fiegel got the rebound and found Bryce Cornejo for a three-point attempt. The shot Cornejo got at the top of the key was just about perfect.

But it missed the net, the rim, everything.

And with those misses, Great Bend ensured itself of a 58-53 victory that ended Collegiate's 37-game winning streak.

"I think that Great Bend played a nearly flawless game, and we still had a chance to win that game," said Mitch Fiegel, whose team is 11-1 and ranked first in Class 3A."... We had two phenomenal looks at the end. Our chances were there."

As Great Bend senior Logan Marshall said, the Panthers (7-4) played a complete game. He wasn't exaggerating.

Great Bend shot 55.6 percent, including 14 of 23 in the first half when it had only three turnovers.

Collegiate's second half was stellar, as the Spartans were 12 of 23 from the floor, sparked by Raymond Taylor's eight third-quarter points.

"I thought we played 16 minutes like we're capable of playing," Fiegel said.

But that first half, Great Bend outplayed Collegiate. The Spartans were 6 of 19 from the floor. Fiegel called it dismal.

"I think it was a hangover from Friday night," Fiegel said of Collegiate's victory over Kapaun Mount Carmel in the semifinals."... Friday was an emotional night, playing a team we don't usually play; their proximity is one mile away."

How bad was Collegiate early?

The Spartans committed three turnovers in the first 3:18. They fell behind 33-17 when Great Bend went on a 21-7 run spanning the first and second quarters to fall behind 33-17. They failed to drive in strong to the basket consistently, missing close-range shots.

Finally, in the third period, Collegiate recovered. Taylor drove inside for a basket, then stole the ball and scored on the fastbreak. Markus Phox hit a three and then Taylor had another steal, hitting two free throws when he was fouled going inside to get Collegiate within 35-29.

By the end of the third, after another basket by Taylor inside, Collegiate was within 40-39.

"Coach told us in the locker room at halftime that we would have to withstand the run," Marshall said.

Great Bend didn't cave. The Panthers made 3 of 5 shots in the fourth and hit 12 of 16 from the free-throw line. Marshall finished with 17 points, eight in the final period.

"That group deserved to be tournament champions tonight," Fiegel said. "I thought against most teams we could claw our way out of that hole. But that's a disciplined team with an athlete who can get open and handle the ball. How many Logan Marshall's are we going to see this year? That's a heck of a player who had a heck of a performance."

Asked about the streak's end, Fiegel shrugged it off, saying going undefeated was never a goal, that he didn't even know what the streak was.

"Our goal is to be the best we can possibly be," Fiegel said. "That's why we're here.

"We played a quality 5A team, and we expect to win. I think we have a pretty special group when you think that way."

Great Bend14 19 7 18 — 58 Wichita Collegiate10 10 19 14 — 53

GREAT BEND: Marshall 17, Their 9, Zamarripa 10, Basye 11, Gray 4, Ellis 6, Casey 1. Totals 20 (3) 15-21 58.

WICHITA COLLEGIATE: LeMaster 6, Jablonski 11, Bailey 2, Fiegel 3, Cornejo 11, Clark 2, Taylor 8, Burton 2, Phox 7, Richardson 1. Totals 18 (5) 12-21 53.

Kapaun Mount Carmel 59, El Dorado 50 — Kapaun coach Bernie Pearson wasn't surprised his team struggled for 2 1/2 quarters of the third-place game. Not after Kapaun fell short against Wichita Collegiate in Friday's semifinals.

"I knew it was going to happen, I knew it was going to happen," he said. "That was the championship last night."

"It was pretty hard coming off a disappointing loss," said Kapaun senior Dyllon Knox, who had 23 points on 7-of-11 shooting. "We knew we should have been in that (championship) game."

Kapaun took a 12-4 lead early, but quickly gave it up, falling behind 25-19 midway through the second period. Adam Just had 13 points in the first half for El Dorado, scoring a game-high 24 on 9-of-13 shooting. Teammate Kutter Bookout had 14 rebounds.

"After we took that 12-4 lead, it was one pass, one pass," Pearson said. "We're shooting threes, shooting threes, not getting it inside, of course. We've got to find a balance. We're jacking it up and not getting it inside. We have to rely on each other and do a better job of a balanced attack. I'm tired of seeing the three ball go up."

El Dorado had a 46-45 lead in the first two minutes of the final period, but that's when Kapaun's Zac Rasmussen drove baseline for the basket to put Kapaun up for good. Taylor Floyd followed with an inside look, then Keaton Lewis stole the ball and Knox scored on the fastbreak for the 51-46 lead

Knox got to the rim two more times, hitting one and then getting fouled on the second as Kapaun began to pull away.

El Dorado (3-9) 12 17 13 8 — 50 Kapaun Mount Carmel (8-4) 14 13 15 17 — 59

EL DORADO: Just 9 5-8 24, Clites 1 0-2 3, Bookout 5 0-2 10, Jensen 0 3-4 3, Locke 0 0-2 0, Payne 1 1-2 3, Brown 0 3-6 3, Hastin 2 0-0 4. Totals 18 (2) 12-26 50.

KAPAUN: Martin 2 1-2 5, Reynolds 0 0-0 0, Smalls 2 0-0 4, Knox 7 8-14 23, Lewis 1 2-2 5, Boswell 0 2-2 2, Laveist 1 0-0 3, Knott 2 1-2 6, Rasmussen 1 0-1 2, Floyd 2 3-4 7, Griffith 1 0-0 2. Totals 19 (4) 17-27 59.

Campus 57, Newton 31 — Campus controlled from the start, hitting 7 of 11 shots from the field and 3 of 4 from three-point range in the first quarter to win fifth place.

Campus was led by Brett Thomas' 15 points. Teammate Orenzo Brown scored 11 and Alec Meier had 10. Campus hit 7 of 13 three-pointers and six players made threes.

Campus18 13 15 11 — 57 Newton8 8 6 9 — 31

CAMPUS: Blaha 5, Brown 11, Brundige 4, Charles 3, Schuelke 6, Meier 10, Thomas 15, Flax 3. Totals 20 (7) 10-15 57.

NEWTON: Al. Vermillion 3, Au. Vermillion 5, Denno 2, Preston 5, Harms 2, Rambo 5, Dorrell 2, Moreland 7. Totals 11 (4) 5-13 31.

Wichita Trinity 48, Circle 44 — The score was tied at 38-all midway through the final period of the seventh-place game. Trinity junior Morgan Burns gave the Knights the lead for good when he drove the baseline for a basket. He then stole the ball and outraced Circle up the floor for a basket.

Circle had a chance in the final 25 seconds after forcing a Trinity turnover with its press. But Circle missed a three and Trinity junior Austin Kessinger blocked a shot. Kessinger hit two free throws.

Wichita Trinity19 6 10 13 — 48 Circle8 14 10 12 — 44

WICHITA TRINITY: Billings 2, Brewer 3, Dohm 7, Kempin 4, Netherton 5, Ziesch 3, Kessinger 8, Burns 16. Totals 18 (4) 8-13 48.

CIRCLE: Shepard 12, Kinder 3, Gardinier 9, Phillips 20. Totals 18 (1) 7-18 44.