Thomas Wells spurs Kapaun’s come-from-behind win over Heights

Thomas Wells felt like he had something to prove in the season-opening game on Friday night.

His backcourt partner, Chris Meitzner, was out — suspended — and Heights, which just so happened to be ranked one spot ahead of Kapaun Mount Carmel in the VarsityKansas.com league predictions, was the opponent.

“That was a little bit of motivation to prove that we can play with anyone,” Wells said. “We’re just as good as anyone.”

Kapaun proved as much on Friday in a 66-61 victory over Heights, as Wells scored a team-high 16 points and made an even larger impact on the game with his intensity that lifted the Crusaders with a handful of momentum-scoring plays.

His high-arching three-pointers stand out, but it was plays like when Wells dove head-first to save a loose ball late in the fourth quarter to spark a Kapaun fast break that ended in a basket that proved to be the difference.

“Wells is a beast of a competitor,” Heights coach Joe Auer said. “He was the most determined kid on the floor and there was no close second in that department.”

Kapaun needed that kind of determination to escape from a 13-point hole in the second quarter when Heights rallied for nine straight points after three straight steals and layups. The Falcons were rolling, Devin Davis (game-high 20 points) had made his first four three-pointers, and their 3-2 zone was closing down the angles for Kapaun.

But Auer thought it was a looming signal when Heights became infatuated with the three-point shot and quit attacking in the lane near the end of the first half. Sure enough, the perimeter shots stopped falling in the second half and the Falcons struggled to manufacture points.

Meanwhile, Kapaun was racking up the foul count on Heights with the dividends being a 21-8 advantage from the free-throw line.

“Our goal coming into every game is to commit 12 or less fouls,” Auer said. “We had 24 fouls tonight. No chance. You’re never going to win a road game in the City League when your opponents shoot 28 free throws.”

Still, Heights maintained a cushion for the majority of the game.

It wasn’t until Wells splashed in a three-pointer from three feet behind the arc that Kapaun took its first lead, 56-54, with 3:45 remaining.

“I guess I’ve always liked taking those deep threes, it’s probably not the smartest thing,” said Wells, who made three three-pointers. “But it was a good pass and I was stepping into it, so I thought I would give it a shot. I was lucky it went in.”

From there, Kapaun’s defense clamped down on Heights and it never relinquished the lead.

After falling behind 48-39 near the end of the third quarter, Kapaun out-scored Heights 23-8 over the following nine minutes to complete the come-from-behind victory. JT Bell scored 12 of his 14 points in the second half, while Mitchell Woodward chipped in 16 points.

“We were able to finally get some stops,” Kapaun coach John Cherne said. “We gave up quite a bit of size down low and some brute strength, but when we needed to buckle down we were able to buckle down and get a stop.”

This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 10:22 PM with the headline "Thomas Wells spurs Kapaun’s come-from-behind win over Heights."