Class 4A-II boys tournament preview
At White Auditorium, Emporia
Wednesday’s quarterfinals
3 P.M.: SMOKY VALLEY vs. HOLCOMB
No. 7 Smoky Valley (15-7) – The Vikings, top-seeded in the Concordia sub-state, beat host Concordia 63-50 and bring a much better record than last year’s 10-12 into the state tournament. Smoky Valley is powered by three juniors – 5-10 guard Nick Reinert (16.7 points), Brett Heitschmidt (11.5 points, team-leading 5.9 rebounds) and 6-4 Jacob Adams (9.0 points, 5.5 rebounds).
No. 2 Holcomb (21-1) – The Longhorns dropped their opener to Liberal and have been riding a 21-game winning streak. Holcomb is led in scoring by senior Conner Vancleave, who has used his 6-7 frame to lead in scoring (17.9) and rebounding (13.8). Junior guard Trey Gilbert is the second-leading scorer at 11.4 points, and 6-8 junior Kobe Dickson averages 9.2 points and 6.4 rebounds.
4:45 P.M.: TOPEKA HAYDEN vs. ROCK CREEK
No. 6 Topeka Hayden (16-6) – The Wildcats cruised to victory in the Santa Fe Trail sub-state by beating Osawatomie 73-43. Sophomore Zach Harvey, a 6-4 guard who is already drawing college attention, led the Wildcats with 25 points. Hayden wasn’t challenged much at sub-state, winning its opener over host Santa Fe Trail 86-48.
No. 3 Rock Creek (18-4) – The Mustangs, who took third in last year’s state tournament, are back and again find themselves as the third seed. They fell to runner-up Hugoton last year, but rebounded to take third with an 85-74 victory over Girard. Junior Martin Vogts (6-3) leads Rock Creek in scoring (23.2) and in rebounding (6.6).
6:30 P.M.: FRONTENAC vs. WICHITA COLLEGIATE
No. 8 Frontenac (14-8) – Frontenac, which dispatched the top seed in its sub-state by 27 points to get to state, now finds itself facing the top seed at state and defending champion. The Raiders are led by 6-1 senior Isaac Bicknell, who is averaging team-highs in points (16.8) and rebounds (6.3). After that, Frontenac is more balanced in scoring, but 6-4, 230-pound Broc Ginavan also averages 6.3 rebounds.
No. 1 Wichita Collegiate (21-1) – The Spartans cruised through the regular season, losing only to Andale at home. But they gained their revenge at sub-state in the rubber match between the teams with a 47-41 victory. In the sub-state championship, seven Collegiate players scored, led by 11 points from sophomore Gabe Fisher and 10 from senior Keandre Ashley. Junior Cody McNerney averages 17.7 points.
8:15 P.M.: PRATT vs. BURLINGTON
No. 5 Pratt (17-5) – Pratt is returning to state, but once again finds itself on the same side of the bracket as Collegiate. But this time, it is a potential second-round matchup, not the opener, which Collegiate won last year 83-55. The Greenbacks topped Nickerson 54-46 in the sub-state final, led by 23 points from senior Samson Kohman, who was injured during last year’s state tournament.
No. 4 Burlington (17-5) – The Wildcats escaped the Parsons sub-state with a 70-66 triumph over the sub-state host. Senior guard Brogan Nordstedt paced Burlington with 26 points in the foul-plagued game, getting 13 of his total from the free-throw line. Sophomore guard Jace Watkins finished with 15, and sophomore Brannon Nordstedt and 6-4 junior Garrison Fiedler had 10 points apiece.
Friday’s semifinals
Topeka Hayden-Rock Creek winner vs. Smoky Valley-Holcomb winner, 4:45 p.m.
Pratt-Burlington winner vs. Frontenac-Wichita Collegiate winner, 8:15
Saturday’s finals
Third-place game, 2 p.m.
Championship, 6:15
Taylor Eldridge’s pick
Wichita Collegiate over Holcomb
This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Class 4A-II boys tournament preview."