4A-I boys: McPherson falls to Miege in title game, Andover Central finishes third

There was no sign that McPherson senior Drew Pyle’s three-pointer with 58 seconds remaining in the third quarter would be his last.

But Bishop Miege coach Rick Zych decided that the offensive prowess of Pyle and his brother, Ben, a sophomore, absolutely had to be contained for the Stags to upend the two-time defending Class 4A-I champions.

Zych turned to the triangle-and-two defense, which effectively shut down the Pyle brothers’ perimeter game and was a primary factor in Miege’s 69-59 victory. It was Miege’s first championship since the Stags (22-3) won the 5A title in 2010.

“They have two good players, and we couldn’t stop two of them,” Zych said.

The defensive decision took its toll on the Pyles. Miege stationed its biggest players — 6-foot-11 sophomore Bol Bol, 6-8 freshman Jeremiah Robinson-Early and 6-5 junior Joe Gleason — in a zone and then faceguarded the Pyles with a combination of Semaj Ray, Landry Weber and Dawson Downing.

“When they guard you that well, it’s really hard mentally and physically because you have to run around for the ball,” Drew Pyle said. “If you actually get an open shot and you miss it, you get, kind of, a little upset.”

Pyle’s only points of the fourth quarter came on two free throws in the first minute of the period to give McPherson a 54-51 lead. The Bullpups had taken a 52-51 lead on Marcus McDaniel’s three-pointer to end the third quarter. It was the Bullpups’ first lead since 3-2.

With 6:47 to go, though, Bol hit the team’s only three-pointer to tie the score at 54-all. On McPherson’s ensuing possession, Bol blocked a shot and then scored inside for Miege. He finished with 14 points and four blocks.

“I thought the three that Bol hit was big because he hadn’t made one all night, and then he got a little finger roll,” said McPherson coach Kurt Kinnamon, whose team finished 23-2. “… Bol Bol can be eight feet away from you and block a shot.”

McPherson struggled with Miege’s size and was outrebounded 29-14. Robinson-Early had a team-high 16 points, while Gleason had 14 points and 13 rebounds.

But the Bullpups were able to counter that with their outstanding shooting from the perimeter through the first three quarters.

Pyle finished with 22 points and had three three-pointers while hitting 7 of 15 shots. Ben Pyle scored 23 points on 7-of-13 shooting, including 5 of 8 from three.

“They went triangle and basically shut us down,” Kinnamon said. “They did a good job with it. When you don’t have to worry about helping and just try to stay in a guy’s face, you don’t have to worry about where the ball is or anything. They did a good job.

“We had to work and work and work to get shots. They got some easier shots.”

Miege didn’t give up a field goal until McDaniel’s three-pointer with 1:29 to go got McPherson within 60-57. Again, Bol came through. He scored and then got a blocked shot.

It was a frustrating end to an impressive Bullpup run — McPherson’s seniors lost three games in three seasons.

“I thought our kids showed a lot of toughness,” Kinnamon said.

Andover Central 81, Paola 70 — Andover Central overcame Paola’s huge height advantage to finish third in 4A-I.

Paola seniors Mason McDow and Alex Wilson are both 6-foot-7, and 6-5 junior Tanner Moala comes off the bench.

As for Andover Central? The Jaguars don’t have a player taller than 6-3.

Andover Central (20-5) countered with quickness from seniors Jordan Birch and Darraja Parnell, who consistently drove through and past defenders.

Parnell finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, while Birch had 16 points, six rebounds. Peyton Huslig added five rebounds and eight points.

Andover Central not only got to the rim, but managed to outrebound Paola 33-29.

“We tried to neutralize some of their size, had to do a lot of full fronting,” Birch said. “Made sure that we were boxing out.… We did a pretty good job on them.”

Andover Central coach Jesse Herrmann agreed.

Juniors Cole Taylor and Isaac Anthemides added 13 and 10 points for Andover Central. Paola was led by McDow’s 26 points and 12 rebounds, while Justin Criddle had 24 points, hitting four threes.

This story was originally published March 12, 2016 at 4:08 PM with the headline "4A-I boys: McPherson falls to Miege in title game, Andover Central finishes third."