Campus beats undefeated Trinity, wins midseason tournament for first time in 38 years
At this time a year ago, Campus had four wins.
The Colts are 10-1 after winning their first midseason high school basketball tournament since 1980 with a 57-39 victory over previously undefeated Trinity Academy on Monday in the Bluestem Classic.
They never trailed and had doubled the Knights’ score with four minutes left in the second quarter. But coach Chris Davis said though the win was important for the program, they are chasing the Class 6A state championship at Koch Arena.
“The one we want is down the road in March at 21st and Hillside (streets),” he said. “It’s a great stepping stone. We beat a good team tonight. You’re 11-0 for a reason. ... If you’re the sisters of the blind and you’re undefeated, you’re going to be good.”
Campus sophomore Sterling Chapman scored a game-high 25 points in the title game. Chapman, a 6-foot-5 point guard, plays in the offseason with Kansas Play N Pray, one of the most successful AAU programs in the state. He said he has tried to bring that winning culture to Campus.
“We’re embracing it very well,” Chapman said. “We just go to keep our head on and don’t overlook anyone.”
Chapman was chosen to the all-tournament team and most valuable player, the first Campus player to earn the honor since Justin Speer in 2004.
“Personally it means a lot, but it’s just one accolade,” he said. “I put in a lot of work, and it’s paying off.”
Chapman said there is something brewing at Campus.
Colts senior Tyler Kahmann was chosen to the tournament’s all-hustle and all-tournament teams. He scored nine points in the championship game, which was tied for second-best on the team.
Kahmann serves as a leader on a roster that has three transfer players in the starting rotation this season. He said the win, especially given who the Colts had to beat, means a lot.
But it almost didn’t happen.
After inclement weather stormed through the Wichita area Friday night after Campus clinched a spot in the championship, the final day of the Bluestem Classic was canceled as the school underwent a power outage. Soon after it was announced via Twitter, Campus athletic director Josh Godwin was on the phone.
While every other tournament in the Wichita area continued as scheduled despite the conditions, Godwin was determined to ensure his school’s shot a title wasn’t lost.
“Thank God that we have the athletic director that we have,” Davis said. “He was not going to take no for an answer. I think Josh just kind of took the bull by the horns and said, ‘We need to play.’”
After the initial cancellation was announced, Davis, Kahmann and Chapman said they were upset. To have the chance at their first Bluestem Classic in almost 40 years was meaningful, they said.
So to have the opportunity and to come through on it was even more so.
“When I was a freshman, we had like four wins,” Kahmann said. “To be 10-1 right now, win a tournament, it’s a lot of momentum.”
This story was originally published January 21, 2019 at 9:13 PM.