6A boys: Free State eliminates Wichita South
Through the course of a nip-and-tuck first half Wednesday, South boys coach Chuck Gunter believed he was watching a team finally capable of breaking through at the Class 6A tournament.
The Titans, playing in the state quarterfinals for the third consecutive year, were by no means dominating Free State. But they were holding their own and even led by one point after Malcolm Tate hit a step-back three-pointer just before halftime.
But South fell behind when Free State’s Shannon Cordes made two free throws for the first points of the second half. The rest of the Titans’ season was a frustrating pursuit of their opponent, as Free State held on for a 48-42 victory at Koch Arena.
“The first half, we showed it,” said Gunter, whose team finished 16-7 after advancing to state with a thrilling overtime victory over Northwest. “The second half, we just didn’t play our best basketball.
“I would’ve thought this group could be the one to at least be playing in that third-place game or maybe get to a championship.”
Instead, South was left searching for its first state tournament victory since 1998, when it defeated Shawnee Mission North and Dodge City to finish third.
Junior Garrett Luinstra scored 16 points and Cordes added 12 – all in the second half – as Free State (17-6) advanced to the semifinals for the first time in nine years. The Firebirds made 20 of 24 free throws and outscored South by 16 points from the line.
“We settled for too many jump shots,” Gunter said. “They did a better job of driving to the basket and that’s why they had 24 free throws compared to our seven.”
Free State outrebounded South 37-21. But the Firebirds, who will play No. 1 seed Blue Valley Northwest in Friday’s semifinals, struggled to put the Titans away because of 15 turnovers.
“We like to make it entertaining,” Free State coach Sam Stroh said. “We like to keep you here and excite the crowd.”
South had two chances to take the lead in the third quarter, but didn’t score on either possession. The Firebirds countered with seven unanswered points, fueled by 6-foot-7 Cameron Clark and burly 6-4 reserve Jalen Robinson.
The Titans, who shot 35 percent (17 of 48), got within three points four times in the final quarter. The last came at 42-39 on D’Andre Adkism’s drive with 1:06 remaining. But Free State made 6 of 7 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
Tate and Remy Lemovou each scored 12 points for South, although Tate was limited to one point after the break.
The loss left the City League without a 6A semifinalist for the first time in four years. Free State joined its crosstown rival, Lawrence, which will play Blue Valley North in Friday’s other semifinal.
“We were able to make several little runs,” Gunter said. “We just couldn’t capture the lead.
“It was a bad night for us to have a bad game. Three years in a row, it’s very heartbreaking.”
This story was originally published March 8, 2017 at 11:16 PM with the headline "6A boys: Free State eliminates Wichita South."