6A boys: East’s comeback bid falls short

The opportunity for another comeback, as East had done so many times this season, was right there.

And down 46-31 with 6:08 left in Thursday’s Class 6A quarterfinal against Shawnee Mission North, the Aces began their charge.

Only this time, there was no buzzer-beating shot. No string of crazy plays that would lift East from defeat. There was just the opposing team, celebrating wildly with its fans after Shawnee Mission North held on for a 55-52 win over the defending Class 6A champion.

Shawnee Mission North (19-4) will face Blue Valley Northwest (19-4) in one of Friday’s semifinals.

“I’m proud of every one of our guys for battling as hard as they did,” East coach Joe Jackson said. “We had a few mistakes that were pretty costly, and even early on we weren’t doing a great job executing. They did as good a job of slowing down Xavier (Kelly) as any team we’ve faced this year.”

Shawnee Mission North got another huge game from its twin stars Michael Weathers (24 points, four steals) and Marcus Weathers (21 points, seven rebounds).

Kelly, the star of last year’s state championship win over Lawrence, finished with eight points and 13 rebounds.

“These guys, this team has been through every situation you can think of this year,” Shawnee Mission North coach Steve Stitzer said. “We’ve played an incredibly tough schedule so a game like this is something we’re prepared for.”

East rallied and cut Shawnee Mission North’s lead to 53-51 with 50 seconds left and the ball, but Elijah Kelly missed an off-balance shot and Michael Weathers hit two free throws on the other end. East had another chance to tie, but a Michael McKinney three-point attempt after an offensive rebound was just off.

“It’s tough, because you want to win for the seniors,” said McKinney, a junior who led East with 20 points. “We had a couple of opportunities at the end, we just couldn’t finish it out the way we wanted.”

Wichita Southeast 78, Olathe East 61 — Southeast senior guard Jerrick Harding scored 42 points and sophomore guard Israel Barnes added 20 points as the Buffaloes cruised to an easy win in the quarterfinals.

Southeast (19-4) will face last year’s 6A runner-up, Lawrence (21-2), in Friday’s semifinals at 4:45 p.m.

“Just do what we do, stick to our game plan like we’ve done all season,” Southeast coach Melvin Herring said. “If you want to win, you’ll go out there and do the things necessary to just grind it out. Work hard and play hard.”

Harding started his night by taking the opening tip from Barnes and hitting a three-pointer 10 seconds into the game. Olathe East took the lead once, 28-27 with 2 minutes left in the second quarter, but Barnes and Harding both converted three-point plays in the final minute for a 35-30 halftime lead.

Harding capped the third quarter with the game’s highlight play, a steal and a two-handed dunk in traffic for a 52-40 lead. Harding, 6-foot, had a technical foul waved off after the play when referees reviewed the dunk on the monitor and determined he only hung on the rim to avoid falling on the Olathe East players below him.

“I’m not surprised by the (42 points),” Southeast guard D’Andre Franklin said. “That’s what Jerrick’s been doing all year. When he starts to score, he can really light it up.”

Olathe East (18-5) was led by 6-8 center Josiah Talbert’s 20 points and 12 rebounds.

Blue Valley Northwest 70, Wichita South 51 — South lost in the 6A quarterfinals for the second straight season as Blue Valley Northwest had four players score in double figures.

“Defense was where we really came up short,” South coach Chuck Gunter said. “We haven’t had a lot of trouble coming up with offense this year, but if you’re going to give up over 50 points you’re not going to be in great shape.”

Joseph Pleasant led Northwest (19-4) with 16 points, while Jamichael Morgan and Darien Jackson added 15 points each. Dawson Gunter led South (13-10) with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

This story was originally published March 10, 2016 at 11:11 PM with the headline "6A boys: East’s comeback bid falls short."