Promising Maize team falls flat in 5A boys sub-state final

The Eagles had the deficit down to two.

Midway through the fourth quarter and after trailing all but about 30 seconds, Maize stole the ball and had leading scorer Caleb Grill open under the basket. He caught the pass with the defense closing in, took contact and missed what would have been the game-tying layup.

Maize went on to lose 40-30 at home to Salina Central in the Class 5A sub-state final.

Grill’s missed layup didn’t define the game, but it summed it up. Both teams missed uncontested shots all game, were sloppy at the free-throw line and had nonexistent help-side defense at times. Maize just missed more than Central.

“When things are going good, it doesn’t matter who you put in or what you call,” Maize coach Chris Grill said. “But in games like that, you’re still searching for the right combination of guys and what plays and sets to call.”

The Eagles were one of the most promising teams in the Wichita area in 2018, losing only twice since New Year’s Day. They beat Southeast, Heights and Bishop Miege, and Salina Central twice.

So to lose Friday night was even more disappointing.

“The hardest part is that we didn’t play our best at the end of the year in the last game of the season,” Grill said. “If we get beat playing our best basketball, great. But we just didn’t do a good job of staying patient offensively.”

Central got out to an 10-2 lead and ended the first quarter at 18-6, but Maize made adjustments defensively. For the next quarter and a half, the Eagles allowed only five points. Although the offense was still struggling mightily, the lead was cut to five.

The game stayed ugly through the end. Loose balls, traveling calls and turnovers were more common than buckets.

Salina Central senior Mark Grammer said that was OK by the Mustangs.

“It’s what you live for is these kinds of games,” he said. “We were not gonna let them beat us three times.”

In the teams’ first meeting at Maize, the Eagles won by 23. In the second, at Salina Central, Maize won again by seven, but coach Doug Finch said the game was played similarly to Friday night. The ball just bounced the Eagles’ way.

“It was not pretty, and I think that’s the way a lot of sub-state championships go,” he said. “This is our third go-around. There’s no secrets.”

Maize’s loss was its first since Feb. 2 to Derby. The Eagles had scored fewer than 50 points once this season, in the 49-42 win at Central. Friday, junior Brandle Studevan led the way with 11 points. Caleb Grill scored six.

This is the second straight season Maize has failed to qualify for the state tournament, and given the Eagles’ run coming into the sub-state final, the loss stings even further.

“We played 22 games this season, and honestly out of those 22, the guys go out and play 18 or 19 of those really well,” coach Grill said. “We had a great season with the exception of three, maybe four games.”

This story was originally published March 2, 2018 at 10:14 PM with the headline "Promising Maize team falls flat in 5A boys sub-state final."