Improbable rally lifts East past Hays; Heights, Maize also win in Dodge City

Turns out, one more chance was all Elijah Kelly needed.

Pulled from the game for lackadaisical defense in the fourth quarter of what looked like a blowout loss to Hays on Thursday night, East coach Joe Jackson decided to give Kelly, a junior guard, one more run with just over two minutes left.

“And he played his tail off,” Jackson said. “He knocked down two big shots ... definitely haven’t seen anything like what happened tonight on the varsity level.”

East, somehow, rallied from a 61-50 deficit with 1:30 left in the game for a 63-61 win over Hays, with Kelly hitting the game-winning three-pointer from the top of the arc with five seconds left in the opening round of the Dodge City Tournament of Champions.

Kelly also hit another three-pointer with 46 seconds left — part of a 13-0 run to end the game for East (7-3).

“I didn’t have a good first quarter … I didn’t have a good first half,” Kelly said. “So I had to do something, had to make it when it counts. That was just crazy, intense at the end … (Jackson) said to just keep pushing. He kept saying ‘Don’t give up, don’t give up,’ over and over.”

East heeded Jackson’s advice and turned into a frenzied, pressing machine at the end of the game, forcing three straight turnovers to finish the game after Hays controlled the tempo from the opening tip.

Xavier Kelly, Elijah’s older brother, started the run with a basket. Point guard Michael McKinney scored the other five points in the run, on a floater in the lane and a three-point play on a drive to the hoop.

James Caldwell led East with 16 points. Xavier Kelly and McKinney added 12 points each for the defending Class 6A state champion. Elijah Kelly finished with eight points.

Shane Berens led Hays (7-2) with 19 points.

“We turned our focus to defense, got a couple of turnovers and that turned the game around,” McKinney said. “The first (three by Kelly), he kind of hesitated and it went in. The second one, I knew it was going in, because once he hits a shot he catches fire.”

Heights 68, Leavenworth 42 — Heights forward Marquis McCray was spot-on with a couple of key elements to a blowout win over Leavenworth.

First, McCray nailed what he had to do on the court, coming off the bench for the first time this season and scoring a season-high 17 points.

“It was really comfortable, no pressure on myself,” McCray said. “Got to the rim, ripped through and finished with a couple of and-ones.”

Then, McCray nailed his response to Heights coach Joe Auer tying Carl Taylor as the City League’s winningest coach with his 318th career win.

“He’s really competitive, and we want him on top,” McCray said. “And to stay competitive, you’ve gotta win games.”

Auer, who has won five state championships in 21 seasons, was predictably understated about tying the record.

“It means a lot because Carl was a friend of mine, and a great competitor,” Auer said. “In that regard, and being part of the Heights community, it means a lot. But we came here to try and win a tournament, so we’re not talking about (the record).”

Heights never trailed and led 31-12 at halftime. Tyrell Andrews added 10 points for Heights and hit two three-pointers in the first quarter.

“It was a good effort, especially defensively,” Auer said. “To get out of the vans after a 2 1/2-hour drive, defend our tails off and only give up 12 points in the first half was a great start.”

The Falcons play Maize in Friday night’s semifinals in a rematch of an overtime win by Heights in last week’s City League vs. AV-CTL basketball challenge.

Maize 70, Dodge City 62 — Maize held off host Dodge City behind 27 points from junior guard Grant Bugbee, who hit 10 of 17 shots.

Maize trailed 23-20 at halftime before reeling off 50 points in the second half. Dalyn Johnson added 15 points for Maize (8-1).

“I wasn’t shooting great in the first half, wasn’t hitting on threes,” Bugbee said. “(Maize coach Chris Grill) told me to put it on the floor, one dribble and start knocking down 15-footers and things started to click after that.

“I think we’re all looking forward to playing (Heights) again. I think the last game left us with a bad taste in our mouth.” 　

This story was originally published January 21, 2016 at 7:35 PM with the headline "Improbable rally lifts East past Hays; Heights, Maize also win in Dodge City."