Basketball recap: Wichita brings heat despite cancellations because of cold
Few teams from the Wichita area will finish the season with 20 games under their belts.
Almost every game was called off Tuesday night because of the inclement weather that hit the area. But for those that played, they made up for those that didn’t. Here is a recap of the action:
All but clinched
Heights might have cleared its tallest City League hurdle left.
The Falcons trailed at halftime to Kapaun, the No. 2 team in the league, but came out with a 60-43 road win Tuesday night.
Heights coach Ken Palmer said when he walked into the locker room, he saw an unfocused group of girls.
“They’re giggling, playing around,” he said. “I said, ‘Girls, I bet you Kapaun is over there talking about here they’re fixing to kick our butts, and we’re in here like it’s going to be easy.’ They came out and punched us in the mouth real hard.”
Palmer said he got onto his players at halftime and was impressed with how they responded. Heights outscored Kapaun 22-7 in the third quarter and 43-22 for the second half.
Sophomore Laniah Randle had a game-high 21 points, including 13 in the second half. Junior Taylor Jameson and junior Ashton Conley each added 12 to stretch the Falcons’ City League lead to three games with six league tests to go.
“They’re relentless, a lot of heart,” Palmer said. “The fight within them to win and get back into the game - it don’t feel good to lose, and it don’t feel good to be behind.”
Avoiding the sting
Valley Center entered the night 5-6 with three of its losses coming by six combined points.
The Hornets hadn’t won a game decided by fewer than five points. They got one Tuesday with a 70-69 win over Andover.
Valley Center led by four with six seconds to play, but Andover’s Jack Taylor drilled a three to cut it one. Sophomore point guard Eli Isaacs was fouled on the inbounds pass and went to the free throw line.
His missed both shots, which left the door open for the Trojans to win it until Isaacs shut it with a steal. It was his sixth of the game, and he dribbled out the clock.
“I watched when Andover beat Goddard on the road in the same situation where they dribble down, get fouled and hit two free throws to win by one, so that’s just going through my mind,” coach Ty Unrau said. “But he steals it. Just being a player there.”
With the win, Valley Center keeps pace in the middle of a loaded 5A West. They play another of those teams Tuesday at Eisenhower.
“Last year we had five wins,” Unrau said. “We really want to get over the seven-win hump. We got seven my first year and seven my second year. This year we go real deep. We have 9-10 guys, not just one to go to.”
What momentum?
Bishop Carroll was looking dangerous as it did after last year’s midseason tournament season, but Wichita South was having none of it.
The Titans earned a 58-53 road win over the Golden Eagles, who had won seven of their past eight, including the Dodge City Tournament of Champions title. South coach Chuck Gunter said his group had to establish itself early.
“Against Carroll, you can’t have too many mistakes,” he said. “We were very cautious with the ball. We slowed down our offense and sped it up at times to try to dictate the tempo. You almost have to play the game to perfection, and it ended up paying off for us and were the better team tonight.”
The Titans committed only three turnovers in the first half and got production from the back end of its bench, including sophomores Romao Towns and Darryon Frierson. They helped keep the pressure off senior standout Keenan Miller.
Miller is one of the Wichita area’s top scorers this season and dropped 34 on the defending 5A champions.
“This gives us the confidence that if we play a complete game, we can play with pretty much anybody,” Gunter said. “We can’t have multiple error and get out-rebounded and think we’re going to beat the best teams like Bishop Carroll or Heights or Southeast. Against Southeast, we lost by three but had 25 turnovers. Those are games we should win.”
Twice in 4 days
The rivalry belongs to Southeast in 2018-19.
The Golden Buffaloes pulled out their third win over East this season, and Tuesday’s victory was the largest yet. Southeast topped the Aces 55-44 on the road. It was the second time the teams have met in the past four days.
Southeast beat East 82-80 in the third place game of the Topeka Invitational on Saturday. Coach Joe Mitchell said Tuesday was a complete team effort.
Sophomore Jackie Johnson led in scoring. Senior Johnny Murdock added big buckets. Junior Micah Jacques, senior Averill Yarbrough and senior Breelyn Wright were big on the boards, Mitchell said.
“I just try to tell our boys to stay focused,” Mitchell said. “There are a lot of distractions, especially when playing East, from outside noise. The players all know each other, and with social media these days, you don’t know what they’re saying.”
This story was originally published January 23, 2019 at 12:35 AM.