Basketball recap: Last-second finishes are the theme Friday across Wichita
Not ‘Just another game’
They played it off well.
Seniors Caleb Grill and Chase Schreiner met with the media after Maize’s 65-63 victory over crosstown rival Maize South on Friday night. They didn’t seem to put too much emphasis on the win, but their reactions afterward said everything they didn’t.
Grill sprinted down the court after he closed out on Maize South junior Trey Reid, who fired a missed three-pointer seconds before the buzzer. After the Eagles went through the handshake line, Schreiner jumped around with his classmates on the Maize end of the court.
Although the game meant just another win in the column for the 14-0 Eagles, it carried a weight of city bragging rights and make another state championship-type statement against a team that came in on an eight-game win streak. The Mavericks hadn’t lost since two weeks before New Year’s Day.
“The atmosphere is of a sub-state or state-level game,” Maize coach Chris Grill said.
Caleb Grill finished with a team-high 21 points, including a pair of dagger three-pointers late in the fourth quarter. The Eagles maintained their No. 1 seed in Class 5A West with the win.
Making a Maverick path
The girls struggled to find their breath.
About 10 minutes had passed since Maize South beat rival Maize 54-47 for the first time in school history, but they couldn’t contain their excitement.
“Great win, so pumped about it,” junior Katie Wagner said between gasps. “We came into this one saying we want it, we want it more, and we showed that.”
The Mavericks trailed through three quarters but outscored the Eagles 21-13 in the fourth. Senior Lexi Snodgrass scored 11 of her 15 in the final two quarters, inclduing a pair of crucial threes in the fourth that helped get Maize South its first lead of the night.
Maize South entered Friday with almost every variable against it aside from its semi-home court advantage. With at least 1,000 Maize High fans in the gym, the atmosphere was about split. The Mavericks were also looking to finish a three-game schedule that included two one-loss teams and an undefeated one within their own league.
Somehow they came out without a loss.
Something about the Pups
Andale has lost two home games in the past two seasons.
McPherson has been the reason for both after a thrilling 42-41 win on the road. Since losing their first three games, the Bullpups have only lost once and haven’t been beaten on the road in four tries.
Andale had a chance to tie it with three seconds left. McPherson fouled Indian guard Easton Hunter, who made the first and missed the second. McPherson coach Kurt Kinnamon said with how physical Andale is, he was afraid they still might lose on an offensive rebound. But freshman Seth Madron snagged the board and passed to sophomore Max Alexander, who squeezed the win.
“They’re just so fundamentally sound,” Kinnamon said. “They’re so well-prepared, and their matchup zone (defense) is as good as any around, and I think at times, we did a good job at finding the openings in the gaps in that.”
McPherson has turned the tide since its 44-42 home loss to Derby on Dec. 7. Kinnamon said the Pups have turned up the effort, particularly on the defensive end of the floor.
“We’re more efficient offensively, butwe just had to look at ourselves and say, ‘That’s enough,’ ” he said.
Setting up camp in Salina
Over the past three meetings between Campus and Salina Central, the Colts have lost all three by an average of more than 30 points a game.
Friday night, they went on the road and won 68-65 in overtime. Junior Shawn Warrior scored a team-high 22 points, including a game-tying, and-one layup to send the game to extra basketball with 11 seconds to go.
“I just saw a fire, a burning fire that refused to lose,” coach Chris Davis said. “We needed the disease of ‘we’ tonight, not the disease of ‘me,’ and we really got it done all of us together as a team.”
Campus trailed by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter before the Colts turned it on. Warrior and junior Thomas King, who scored XX, helped carry the scoring, and senior Evan Kruse blocked Salina Central’s potential game-winner ahead of the buzzer.
The road win keeps the Colts afloat in the AVCTL I standings, still a game out from undefeated Maize, who they will host Friday.
The only AC
Entering this week, Arkansas City only had one loss; they end it with three.
Andover Central handed the Bulldogs a sweep with a thorough 68-47 win on the road. With the win, the Jaguars outscored Ark City 138-91.
Junior Xavier Bell finished with 24 points. Senior Easton Leedom had 20. And senior Braden Belt added a dozen. Andover Central coach Jesse Herrmann said his group just presents a tough cover for Ark City.
“We’re pretty athletic at all five positions,” he said. “We’re able to switch screens and do some things defensively on (Ark City senior guard) Cevin (Clark) that could be difficult for some other teams to do.”
With the win, Andover Central has virtually clinched the AVCTL II title, three games ahead of Ark City after Andover’s loss at Eisenhower on Friday.
‘I don’t remember a lot’
Emma Cunningham didn’t know how to think, she said.
“I don’t remember a lot, but i remember with about eight seconds left, I was going down to set a screen for our point guard Shanti Henry,” she said. “I remember her getting the ball and flaring up. I just see the ball getting passed to me. I don’t even know how much time is on the clock, but I know I’ve got to shoot it, so I do.
“I thought it wasn’t going to go in at first. I just kept watching and watching, and when it went in, my heart just dropped.”
Cunningham hit a buzzer-beater in Andover’s 58-57 victory at Eisenhower on Friday. It was the first of her life, she said.
“I was just at a loss for words,” Cunningham said. “I was so excited that we won because we’ve lost to that team, and this is a really, really big win for us. It was just an overwhelming feeling.”
No (Garden) Plain ol’ game
The game didn’t have a lot on the line except for those on the court.
Garden Plain beat Medicine Lodge 49-47 at the buzzer as sophomore guard Colby Haukap buried a three-pointer.
Kaukap caught the inbounds pass with 6.7 to go. After a tipped pass, he caught it and heaved it in one motion, and it dropped.
With the win, Garden Plain moves to 2-4 in Central Plains League play. Medicine Lodge drops to 0-8.
Scores
This story was originally published February 2, 2019 at 3:59 AM.