Basketball recap: Buzzer-beaters and league title statements made across Wichita
.JPG "Central Plains’ Emily Ryan scored 34 in three quarters in the Oilers win at Haven on Friday night. (Dec. 14, 2018)")
And again in Andale
In what has turned out to be a league title decider in the past, Andale and Collegiate made Friday feel like March.
The Indians beat Collegiate 56-55 in overtime in the Varsity Kansas Game of the Week as senior guard Ethan Baalman scored a put-back with 15 seconds to go. It was a shot that carried potentially massive implications.
Andale has won the past seven AVCTL IV championships. In that span, Collegiate has come second five times, including each of the past four years. If the trend is going to stop in the 2018-19 season, the Spartans will likely have to beat Andale in the reverse matchup Feb. 13.
Andale coach Jeff Buchanan said his group didn’t have a lot of varsity experience coming into this season, but after two overtime games in the first two weeks, it does now.
“What they bring to practice is exactly what you saw tonight on the court,” he said. “It’s no lie. To get ready for their press for example, we’re throwing six, seven, eight guys out there playing defense. You have to do special things. The intensity they bring in practice, prepares them for those situations.”
Welcome to Wichita
Wichita has mostly only heard of Emily Ryan, the girl who averaged 34 points last year.
Friday, she came south, and the Wichita area got all it could handle as she matched last year’s average in just three quarters as Central Plains beat Haven on the road 57-24. Wichita State coach Keitha Adams as well as coaches from Emporia State and Hutchinson Community College were on hand to watch the Class 3A and 1A powers.
It was a game Haven coach Dwight Roper said he didn’t need to schedule but absolutely wanted to. He was the one who set it up.
“I commend (Central Plains) coach (Pat) Stiles,” Roper said before Friday’s game. “We’ve played them over the summer. He is the same way I am. We want to play good people. This is a good measuring stick for us.”
With the win, Central Plains has won 90 straight dating to 2015. The Oilers are on pace to break the Kansas record for most consecutive wins if they secure another undefeated season in 2018-19.
Caught in the Maize
AVCTL I figured to be one of the deepest leagues in Kansas, but Maize has quickly made it its own.
With state runner-up Salina Central, state semifinalist Derby, up-and-comer Campus and arguably the best player in Kansas, Ty Berry, at Newton, Maize could have easily finished fifth in the league this season. That won’t happen.
The Eagles beat Campus 61-48 on Friday. They are one of five undefeated teams left in Class 5A West after beating Eisenhower, Dodge City, Derby and the Colts.
“Anytime you can win those close ones, it keeps your spirits up,” coach Chris Grill said. “I think anytime you can finish those games that are tough fights it makes a big difference in the psyche.”
Won with :01 left
It wasn’t pretty, but Andover coach Marvin Shetlar said it was pivotal for his young group.
The Trojans pulled out a 55-54 road win over Goddard. Senior Andrew Gagnon drilled a pair of free throws with a second on the clock after Andover trailed by five with 55 seconds to go.
Sophomore standout Jack Johnson hit the first three-pointer to cut the Lions’ lead to two, and junior Jack Taylor hit another a few seconds later to give Andover the lead.
Goddard’s Jared Mocaby scored on the ensuing possession, but a foul sent Gagnon to the line where he clinched a 3-2 record and second league win.
“To be up and down all game and not really play good, they kind of took us out of our game and our offense,” Shetlar said. “To have confidence and fight back like that and win like that on the road was really good for our guys.”
Hottest team in Kansas?
Arkansas City is 5-0 with three wins over state-ranked teams.
The Bulldogs pulled out a 66-61 win over Maize South on Friday. They trailed for much of the game but, as they have many times this season already, they came alive late.
Ark City trailed at the end of the first and third quarters and led by only one at halftime. But the Bulldogs have Cevin Clark.
The senior point guard scored 40 points Friday, including 18-of-18 from the free throw line. With the win, Ark City moves to the No. 2 seed in Class 5A West behind only Wichita Heights on points per game averages.
The Bullodgs will play another undefeated AVCTL II team Tuesday when they travel to Andover Central.
Cat fight
Andover Central has had a brutal schedule to start the 2018-19 season, and it was no easier Friday.
The Jaguars traveled to Eisenhower, a place they haven’t won since Feb. 10, 2012, and won 80-71. Coach Jesse Herrmann said the dynamic trio of Xavier Bell, Braden Belt and Easton Leedom was at it again.
“As they go, we go,” Herrmann said. “They all three played well tonight.”
Central has started the season 5-0 with wins at Maize South, at McPherson, against rival Andover and now against the Tigers, the defending AVCTL II champions. The road doesn’t ease as the Jags host undefeated Ark City on Tuesday.