Maize lays thunderous statement in state quarterfinal win over St. James Academy
Off the opening tip, Maize senior Brandle Easter Jr. tossed what looked like a corkscrewing shot.
It wasn’t. Senior Caleb Grill soared in from the left corner, snared the pass and rocked it home for what coach Chris Grill called a “showtime” alley-oop. It was that kind of day for Maize, which finished with a 83-56 win over eighth-seeded St. James Academy in the quarterfinal round of the Class 5A tournament in Emporia.
Caleb Grill finished with 23 points. The Eagles lived above the rim with a barrage of dunks, including a sweeping finish at the rim from senior center Devon Koehn.
He started on the left wing, lowered his left shoulder and drove inside for the flush. He was so in the zone, he said, that he didn’t even feel the defenders around him.
“If you get a dunk, it puts the other team’s self-esteem down,” Koehn said. “Once we get a dunk, it just gives us the energy we need on both ends of the floor to go get the dub.”
This year marks Maize’s first appearance in the state tournament since 2015. The team’s seniors have never stepped foot on as big a stage, but they handled it with grace as five Eagles finished in double figures.
- Caleb Grill - 23 points
- Cade McGaugh - 14 points
- Devon Koehn - 12 points
- Chase Schreiner - 11 points
- Brandle Easter Jr. - 10 points
State-tournament basketball might be new to them, Caleb Grill said, but it doesn’t feel that way. Last season, Maize played in the Dodge City midseason Tournament of Champions and beat state-bound Wichita Heights and state champion Bishop Miege.
Chris Grill said going through those types of experiences have been vital for the No. 1 seed in Class 5A.
“It feels like a midseason tournament but a little bit bigger,” Caleb Grill said. “We just have that same energy that we had in that tournament and brought it out here.”
St. James Academy entered the 5A tournament as the No. 8 seed with eight losses, but Caleb Grill said playing in the tough Eastern Kansas League makes a lot of those losses understandable. The Thunder entered with losses to the likes of St. Thomas Aquinas, Bishop Miege and Blue Valley Northwest.
On Thursday, they shot 50 percent from three-point range, going 12-for-24. Junior Jack Moellers scored 21 points in the loss.
Maize has not cruised to the state semifinals. The Eagles have played some of the best teams in Kansas, including state qualifiers Bishop Carroll and Salina Central, Campus, Eisenhower and rival Maize South. They won those games by an average of 10 points.
Thursday was different. Their coach said the 27-point quarterfinal win might be the team’s best performance, top-to-bottom, of the season.
“We’ve played a few really good games earlier this year,” Chris Grill said. “But I think that was the best we’ve played against a really good team.”
This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 5:42 PM.