Andover Central’s big three combine for 67 points to reach fourth straight state semifinal

When Andover Central’s big three heard how many points it combined for Thursday, each one of them smiled and started laughing.

Junior Xavier Bell and seniors Easton Leedom and Braden Belt totaled 67 points in the Jaguars’ 78-61 quarterfinals win over Pittsburg in the Kansas Class 5A state basketball tournament. They will be rewarded with the No. 1 team in the tournament, Maize.

Bell, Belt and Leedom were 25 of 49, including 11 of 25 from three-point range. Together, they said they have helped build a brand, reaching their fourth straight state semifinal in their fourth straight state tournament appearance.

“I’ve been playing with (Belt) since third grade,” Leedom said. “It’s just cool to see all the work we’ve put in since that time is finally coming together. Being here really means a lot to me.”

Andover Central coach Jesse Herrmann has watched his big three develop from a group of wide-eyed freshman who struggled to string wins together into one of the most dominant trios in Kansas. He said it never gets old to watch them combine with some of Central’s role players like Shomari Parnell, Jerome Goosen and Ty Herrmann.

“Those three can obviously score the ball, but our other guys do so many things to fit in and make this team go,” Jesse Herrmann said. “When you don’t have players that are constantly getting theirs and can share the ball, and when you have guys that are willing to go do the dirty work, that results in a good team.”

Andover Central jumped on Pittsburg early and finished the first quarter with a 19-11 lead, capped with a threaded pass into the paint from Leedom to Herrmann.

Feeding off a packed student section, the Jaguars rained three-pointers in the second quarter and finished the half 6 of 12, including 3 of 4 from Belt. The floor opened up, and the pace increased, and though Pittsburg finished almost 40 percent from three, the Dragons couldn’t keep up.

“This is just fun; we’re just having fun,” Belt said. “We just love to go out and hoop.”

Thursday marked Central’s first state tournament win in Class 5A. Since moving up from 4A-Division I, the Jags have proven capable of hanging. The quarterfinals win showed they are apt to win it all, Bell said.

“We are capable of competing with anybody on any level,” he said. “We’re a small 5A school, and it just shows that we are putting in the work, maybe even more than anybody else and that we deserve to be here just as much as anybody else.”

During the past four years, Andover Central hasn’t made it past the round it faces Friday. Leedom said if the Jaguars make it through Maize, he will probably start to cry.

“That would definitely be the greatest moment of my life,” he said.

This story was originally published March 7, 2019 at 7:01 PM.