Basketball recap: Check midseason tournament brackets, championship game matchups
Bluestem Classic (El Dorado)
There is only one loss between them.
Trinity Academy and Campus are moving on to the Bluestem Classic championship game after impressive semifinal wins by a combined 39 points. They will meet at 6:45 p.m.
Campus got the night started with a 62-36 win over El Dorado. The Colts were sluggish in the first quarter and though their effort improved over the next two quarters, they pulled away in the fourth.
The Colts locked down defensively and got into their transition offense that helped them to a 22-5 final frame. Senior Tyler Kahmann led the way with 21 points. Sophomore Sterling Chapman had 16, and junior Thomas King added 12.
Campus is going for its first Bluestem Classic title in about three decades.
“When you play for championships like this, that sets the stage for state play,” coach Chris Davis said. “And our league is so good, it sets the stage for the second half of what’s going to be an unbelievable race to the finish.”
On the other side of the bracket, Trinity stayed undefeated and showed why in the first quarter.
The Knights couldn’t miss from anywhere on the floor, jumping out to an 18-8 lead after the first eight minutes. Senior forward Andrew Davis finished with a game-high 24 points. About 10 of those came in the first five mintues, and he didn’t miss a shot.
Friday was a rematch of last year’s Bluestem Classic final. It was the most recent regular season loss for the Knights.
“It’s just a pride factor knowing you beat them,” Andrew Davis said. “It’s our last year, so it’s kind of like the big shabang for us.”
January Jam (Valley Center)
.JPG "_MG_5703 (2).JPG")
Maize South is in, but the Mavericks won’t know who they play until about noon Saturday.
The Mavs pulled out a convincing 63-44 semifinal win over Garden City to capture their sixth straight victory. But in the nightcap, Wichita Heights and the host Valley Center made it a couple of minutes into the third quarter before inclement weather rolled into Wichita and forced a power outage in the gym.
After some of the lights came back on and 45 minutes passed, the remainder of the second semifinal was moved to 10:30 a.m. Saturday. Heights led 32-22 at the stopage.
For Maize South, coach Kip Schultz said he still wasn’t completely content with how his group played.
“We didn’t play as well as we wanted,” Schultz said. “We just got to find a better consistent effort and put more pressure on the ball, force more turnovers and get the ball down the floor.”
The title game is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Adolph Rupp Tournament (Halstead)
.JPG "_MG_5070 (2).JPG")
In the premier small-school tournament of the Wichita area, two of Kansas’ bests are into the final.
Andale and Cheney will meet for the Adolph Rupp Tournament trophy at 8 p.m. in Halstead after both cruised to the championship game. Andale topped Haven 48-33, and Cheney took care of the hosts 66-49.
Andale is seeking its fifth straight midseason tournament title, but the Cardinals will be among the toughest teams the Indians have played this season.
Cheney enters 10-2. It’s only losses were to undefeated Trinity Academy away from home and Kingman on the road by three points. Lane Grace went off Friday with a game-high 23 points. Harrison Voth and Trey Patterson added 12 and 11 respectively in the semifinal win.
For Andale, senior Easton Hunter had himself a game with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-21 shooting. No other player on the court had more than nine.
Tournament of Champions (Dodge City)
Here come the champs.
Bishop Carroll is into its second straight midseason tournament championship game after a 67-56 win over Shawnee Mission South in the semifinals. The Golden Eagles will meet Junction City who topped host Dodge City 73-58.
Carroll has gone through its downs this season. The Eagles entered as the hottest team in Kansas this season. They went undefeated after losing to McPherson in last year’s midseason tournament final in the Roundhouse. So far this season, they have lost to Wichita Southeast, East, Maize and needed a buzzer-beater at Kapaun.
But coach Mike Domnick said, like it did last year, his team is finding itself in mid-January.
“It’s very similar,” Domnick said. “The kids are bought in. We got to get them to play our style. Once they do, they see the results.”
Carroll has been unconscious from three-point range in the tournament. The Eagles shot 83 percent from distance in their first round win over Newton. They had a lower percentage from the field.
Friday they were at 46 percent. They will look to keep it alive at 5 p.m. Saturday.
McPheron Invitational Tournament
Since losing three straight to start the season, McPherson has gone 8-0 and finds itself in its midseason tournament final again.
The Pups will go for their 25th MIT title at 7 p.m. Saturday against Shawnee Mission East after knocking off Shawnee Heights 51-50. Senior Jake Alexander hit two free throws with 17 seconds left, and the Pups got one last stop defensively to seal their spot.
Shawnee Heights entered Friday with only two losses this season, but McPherson has been a different breed since its home loss to Derby Dec. 7.
McPherson enters the final with an 8-1 tournament record against the Lancers and beat them in last year’s MIT.
Alexander finished with a game-high 23 points Friday and will need to keep that hot hand alive.
Topeka Invitational Tournament
Wichita is out.
East and Southeast were bounced from the Topeka Invitational after a pair of semifinal losses. The Buffaloes dropped to Lawrence, 72-46, and the Aces fell to Topeka 56-46 to finish the night.
Lawrence hasn’t lost since its season-opener Dec. 1, and the Lions delivered Southeast just its second defeat this season and first since Jan. 4 at Heights.
East has hit a rut after dropping its AVCTL/GWAL Challenge game at Campus by 28 points, squeaking by South and losing again Friday night. In those three games, they haven’t score more than 47 points and have gone cold from the perimeter.
They will now play Southeast twice in the next four days, once in the third-place game and again in the Aces’ return to City League play at home Tuesday.
Roadrunner Classic (Chaparral)
In a lack-luster season, Drew Ellis has provided a light.
Ellis cracked Mulvane’s 63-year scoring record Friday, scoring his 1,219th point of his career in a 64-59 loss to Chaparral. The Wildcats will shoot for their third win of the season against Conway Springs in the seventh-place game.
Salina Invitational Tournament (Boys)
The Andover boys are running.
The Trojans haven’t lost since their buzzer-beating win over Derby two weeks ago and find themselves in the SIT championship game against co-host Salina Central after a 66-50 win over Salina South in the semifinals.
The Mustangs finished runners-up at last year’s Class 5A tournament but have been rocky this season with losses to Campus and Maize. Andover will look to be the third team on the list at 7:15 p.m.
Salina Invitational Tournament (Girls)
Andover started the season 0-7 but hadn’t lost to a team not named Derby in more than a month.
The Trojans’ streak and run at the SIT came to an end Friday in a 68-44 loss to co-host Salina Central. They will play the other co-host Salina South for third.
Andover is the defending AVCTL II champion but had a brutal schedule in 2018 that included McPherson, Andale, Maize South and Goddard.
Ralph Miller Classic (Chanute)
Andover Central has rebounded.
After suffering its first loss of the season in the AVCTL/GWAL Challenge at home to Wichita Southeast and pinching past Valley Center a couple of days later, the Jaguars are in a tournament final. They beat Republic (Missouri) 72-61 and will meet Class 6A power Olathe North for the trophy.
Andover Central and Olathe North enter in the top three of their respective divisions and have only two losses between them. The Eagles beat host Chanute 65-52.
Orange and Black Tournament (Colby)
Maize didn’t have the toughest field in Kansas, but the Eagles are through.
They beat Scott City 67-45 in their semifinal and will play Pine Creek (Colorado) for the trophy at 8:15 p.m. Pine Creek beat host Colby 66-51 to reach the championship game.
Maize enters as the No. 1 team in Class 5A west, the only undefeated left. Pine Creek is 12-3 this season and sits second in its league standings.
Wilson County Classic (Neodesha)
Like Maize, the Goddard girls didn’t see the teams they will face at state or even sub-state, but they are coming home with a trophy.
The Lions beat Bluestem 56-31 to claim the Wilson County Classic championship and remain undefeated at 12-0. With the tournament title, they move to No. 1 in Class 5A West ahead of league rival Maize South.
Senior Torri Vang and junior Kade Hackerott were named to the All-Tournament team.
This story was originally published January 19, 2019 at 3:24 AM.