Sub-state recap: This team was losing by 7 with 25 seconds left and made it to state
As usual, sub-state basketball had its mayhem in the first night of championship games.
The storylines from across the Wichita area, as seven teams won their way to the state tournaments, were remarkable. Here is a recap of each state qualifier from Friday night:
Andover Central gives Bishop Carroll its first and only loss
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There might not have been a bigger ticket in all of Kansas.
With players and coaches from at least eight high schools as far as McPherson and even an appearance from Wichita State sophomore Dexter Dennis, the sub-state championship between the past two Class 5A champions meant so much to so many who had little to no rooting interest.
Andover Central vs. Bishop Carroll was a game most hoped for in last year’s state championship game, but it didn’t happen. And when the first opportunity to see the matchup came Dec. 13 at Koch Arena, it didn’t fit the hype.
Friday was much different.
No. 8 Andover Central beat No. 1 Bishop Carroll 61-59 on the road as Jaguar senior Jerome Washington hit the biggest shot of his life, a straight away 3-pointer to give his team the lead with 1.6 seconds to go. Carroll had a chance at the buzzer, but Central senior Trey Degarmo blocked Eagles senior Tanner mans to give Carroll its first and only loss of the season and second since last year’s 14-point fourth quarter meltdown against Basehor-Linwood in the state semifinals.
There was another epic comeback in this one.
Andover Central was down seven points with about 25 seconds left and won. After Carroll senior Tanner Mans hit a pair of free throws and Central called a timeout, Jaguar senior Xavier Bell ran the ball down the floor and hit a pull-up 3-pointer.
After a foul and a missed one-and-one free throw, Central senior Matt Macy grabbed an offensive rebound and earned an and-1 bucket to make it a one-point game. Central fouled on the ensuing inbounds pass, but Carroll junior Enrique Lankford missed the first one-and-one free throw, the Eagles’ second in under 20 seconds.
With under 10 seconds left, Bell brought the ball up the court, drew two defenders and hit senior Jerome Washington for an open 3-pointer.
“I felt rushed before I caught it, but when it hit my hands, I calmed down,” Washington said. “And I knew I could hit it.”
Andover Central had been pegged by many as a, “One-man team.” With Bell pledged to play Division I basketball at Drexel and coming off a Top 5 selection last year, Central leans on his offensive production heavily. He scored 30 Friday night, but when the Jaguars needed a shot to keep their season alive, “It wasn’t me,” Bell said.
“I’ve heard everything said about this team,” Bell said. “Me being in the gym every day with these guys and knowing what they bring to the table, I know it’s not a one-man team. It doesn’t affect me. I try to stay in my circle, and stay with my guys. We came through in the end.”
Washington finished with 18 points in the victory. He averaged 12.2 coming into the night.
“It reminded me of a heavyweight boxing match,” Carroll coach Mike Domnick said. “I don’t know what the shooting percentage was for both teams, but it was unbelievable. We knew we had to guard Washington and Bell. We worked all day in practice. ... When those two guys are on like they were tonight, they’re hard to beat.”
Central entered the season as the No. 1 team in Class 5A, according to the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. After a 3-5 start and a loss to Valley Center, the Jaguars dropped out of the top 10. But they have rattled off 11 wins in 14 games. They have played three undefeated teams in that stretch, and they got their first win against one Friday.
With the win, Central moves onto its fifth straight boys basketball state tournament. The Jaguars, unofficially, will enter the 5A tournament as the No. 7 seed and will face Basehor-Linwood in the quarterfinal round, the team they beat 58-47 in the title game last season.
Earlier in the season, Carroll beat Central 68-46 in the AVCTL/GWAL Challenge. The Jaguars were fresh off a run to the 4A football state championship game and had four basketball practices under their belts before that game.
“Anybody that saw the two games between these teams saw a very different team tonight,” Central coach Jesse Herrmann said. “Even if we don’t win, even if we don’t pull off that comeback at the end, I was so proud of how far our guys have come.”
Andover’s undefeated season continues with state bid
For the second time in school history, the Andover boys basketball team is headed to the state tournament in Emporia with an undefeated record.
Andover improved its perfect season to 22-0 and clinched the No. 1 seed in next week’s Class 5A tournament following a 49-45 home victory over Emporia on Friday night in a sub-state championship game. The top-seeded Trojans will play No. 8 seed Blue Valley Southwest (9-13) in Wednesday’s quarterfinals.
Andover is known for its high-powered offense that routinely cracks 70 points. On Friday, the Trojans proved they can still win without shooting a high percentage and putting up a lot of points.
“When somebody takes something away from us, we stepped up and found a different way to win,” Andover coach Martin Shetlar said. “Some of the guys that usually score a lot for us were taken away, so we had some other guys step up tonight. They’ve played their role all year and when we needed a big shot, they stepped up and delivered.”
After upsetting McPherson in the Roundhouse earlier this week, Emporia nearly pulled off a second straight stunner behind a game-high 26 points from 6-foot-5 junior Charles Snyder. Emporia was deliberate with its offense and patient enough to take Andover out of its typical high-tempo kind of game.
Emporia led 19-16 at halftime, thanks to holding Andover stars Jackson, Harper Jonas and Isaiah Maikori to one combined field goal in the first half. With Andover in need of a spark, it was a senior role player who delivered in Jaxson Hurt, who drilled a pair of momentum-swinging three-pointers and scored all eight of his points in the third quarter that Andover won 16-9 to take back the lead.
“I feel like my teammates prepare me for that moment,” Hurt said. “They work me hard during practice and it really helped me. Those felt like just normal shots because in practice we’re working just as hard. Every shot is a big shot in practice.”
Andover never trailed in the fourth quarter, although Emporia did trim the deficit to 47-45 with 12 seconds remaining. That’s when the Trojans sent a deep pass to break Emporia’s press that ended with Jonas putting the exclamation on Andover’s sub-state championship with a slam dunk to ignite the home crowd.
“That one felt pretty good to get up there and dunk it,” said Jonas, who scored 11 of his team-high 13 points in the fourth quarter. “It felt like it got electric in here.”
Whether it’s in a high-tempo shootout or a grind-it-out defensive affair, Andover has proven it can win in a multitude of ways. And now the Trojans will try to reach the first state championship game in their school history next week.
“We’re not finished yet, we’re not satisfied,” Johnson said. “We’re going to keep pushing. Shetlar always puts on our practice sheets, ‘Celebrate rarely, grind daily,’ so that’s what we’ll do.”
| Emporia (12-10) | 8 | 11 | 9 | 17 | — | 45 |
| Andover (22-0) | 9 | 7 | 16 | 17 | — | 49 |
EMPORIA: Snyder 11 4-6 26, Baumgardner 3 0-0 9, Douglas 3 0-0 7, Hoyt 1 0-0 3, Kirner 0 0-0 0, Gilpin 0 0-0 0, Hines 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 (5) 4-6 45.
ANDOVER: Jonas 5 2-2 13, Johnson 3 2-2 8, Hurt 3 0-0 8, Henry 3 0-1 6, Taylor 2 1-2 6, Gaddis 2 1-3 5, Maikori 1 1-2 3. Totals 19 (4) 7-11 49.
Kapaun punches first state ticket since 2016
The Kapaun Mt. Carmel Crusaders are heading to the Class 5A state tournament after defeating Valley Center 56-38 on Friday night. The Crusaders are heading to state for the first time in four years.
The odds were in Kapaun’s favor as the school became unexpected host site for the sub-state championship game due to No. 14 Valley Center pulling off one of the biggest upsets so far this season.
The Hornets were 9-11 going into their matchup earlier in the week with No. 3 seed Eisenhower, which was 17-3. Valley Center won on a buzzer beater, defeating Eisenhower 55-52.
Although Kapaun coach John Cherne III was happy to have the homecourt advantage for the sub-state championship game on Friday, he still feared the Cinderella story that was Valley Center.
“I give credit to Ty (Unrau) and his coaching staff and his kids,” Cherne said. “They were a hot team, and I was worried about it.”
No. 6 seed Kapaun wasn’t as hot as Valley Center heading into postseason play. The Crusaders lost their final two games of the regular season but beat No. 11 Salina South 75-61 in the first round of sub-state.
Even with Valley Center coming off its biggest win of the season, the Hornets were unable to keep their momentum going from the upset and fell short of a state appearance by 18 points.
The Crusaders were able to take control of the game early, capitalizing on the Hornets’ inability to find success offensively. By the end of the first quarter, Kapaun had a 15-5 lead.
The offensive struggles of Valley Center’s first quarter also carried over into the second quarter, but this time Kapaun followed suit.
Neither team scored in the second quarter until four minutes in when both teams found their offensive rhythm.
At the end of the first half, Kapaun held down a solid 25-13 lead. Juniors Tiger Jones and Ethan Stuhlsatz were major contributors.
Kapaun continued to hold down the lead for the remainder of the game. Every time Valley Center made a run, the Crusaders had an answer.
Senior Jarius Kennedy came off of the bench and ended up being Kapaun’s main scorer of the fourth quarter. Kennedy finished with 12 points. His eight fourth-quarter points were more than all other scorers combined in the quarter.
Cherne said he has Kennedy come off the bench for a surge of energy when the team needs it.
“At the beginning of the year Jarius came off the bench because I wanted a little spark off of the bench,” Cherne said. “And that’s what he did tonight. He’s a great role player.”
Kennedy is one of only two seniors on Kapaun’s team. Despite their young roster, the Crusaders were able to find success through discipline.
“We are a young team, but we did the little things, worked hard, and that’s what got us to where we are today,” Stuhlsatz said. “I think it’s our team chemistry too, really. We are so used to playing with each other.”
The Crusaders hope to build on the momentum and win their first state title since 2012.
Unofficially, Kapaun will enter the Class 5A state tournament as the No. 5 seed and will play No. 4 play DeSoto (16-6) in the quarterfinal round in Emporia.
Hollywood Heights beats defending champs to reach state
Heights is back.
For the second straight year and after bumping up to Class 6A this season, Wichita Heights has won its girls basketball sub-state championship. The Falcons beat the defending 6A champions to do it.
Heights beat Topeka Washburn Rural 41-30 at home Friday night to make it 14 trips to the state tournament since 2000.
The Falcons took a huge step back just before the end of the regular season with sophomore All-Metro contender Zyanna Walker tore her ACL. Heights lost the following game, its only of the season, 60-49 to Bishop Carroll at home. Some wrote the Falcons’ season off.
Since then, Heights has gone 2-0 and beat one of the best teams in Kansas over the past 23 years. Washburn Rural was going for its 18th sub-state title since 1996 against the Falcons tonight, but Heights slammed the door.
Last year, Heights lost in the quarterfinal round of the 5A state tournament to eventual third-place finisher KC Schlagle. The loss came as a bit of surprise as Heights entered with a three-game superior record to Schlagle.
This year, after a successful offseason for some of the Falcons, Heights entered the season with four of its starting five holding Division I offers, something the Heights boys teams of the past never boasted. So with that amount of talent on the floor, even with Walker off it, Heights is a favorite for the 6A crown.
Heights will likely enter the state tournament as the No. 3 seed at 21-1 and will face No. 7 Olathe East (17-5) in the quarterfinals.
Title contender falls to league rival for first time in 6 years
Buhler had perhaps the upset of the night in the Wichita area.
The Crusaders entered the sub-state tournament as the No. 7 seed in Class 4A West. Feb. 27, just eight days before the teams met for a third time this season, Buhler lost to Circle by 12 points.
Buhler beat that same Circle team 45-38 Friday night.
The Crusaders haven’t been to a girls basketball state tournament since 2015 and 2005 before that. Last year, they finished 4-14 and lost in the first semifinal round of sub-state.
Buhler’s turnaround has been nothing short of incredible. The Crusaders are 14-8 after Friday’s victory. They hadn’t beaten Circle (18-4) since Feb. 7, 2014, and they had lost to the Thunderbirds by 10 seven times in that span.
Buhler will enter the 4A state tournament as the No. 8 seed and likely has to go through top-seeded Nickerson (20-2) to reach the state semifinals for the 14th time in school history.
Make it 5 straight sub-state titles for Derby
It is five straight in Derby.
The Panthers’ girls basketball team won its fifth straight Class 6A sub-state championship Friday with a 43-24 victory over Dodge City to stretch its record to 20-2 ahead of the state tournament.
Derby went through a lot of changes ahead of the 2019-20 season, including losing a high school All-American in Kennedy Brown and a two-time All-Metro selection in Tor’e Alford.
Players like senior Sydney Nilles, freshman Maryn Archer and junior Jaidyn Schomp have stepped in and steadied the ship.
Derby won its first state championship two years ago and last year was upset in the semifinal round against eventual champion Washburn Rural. The Panthers were undefeated at the time.
Heading into this year’s state tournament, Derby’s only two losses have come against Lawrence Free State in overtime at a neutral site and McPherson, a competitor for the 5A title.
Derby is projected to play Shawnee Mission Northwest in the quarterfinal round, a rematch from last year’s quarterfinals, too. The Panthers won that game 60-27.
Nickerson back to state again, continuing impressive season
Nickerson has never won a girls basketball state championship and hasn’t made back-to-back state tournament appearances since the 1995-96 seasons, until now.
The No. 1 Panthers beat No. 9 Holton 53-34 to advance to the Class 4A tournament, and they are projected as the top seed in Salina at state.
Nickerson reached the final four for the first time since 1994 last year with a win over Abilene in the state quarterfinals but couldn’t beat Baldwin in the third-place game. With headliners like senior Morgan Stout, who is signed to play volleyball at Wichita State, Nickerson is in prime position to bring home its first trophy of any variety in 26 years.
They are projected to play No. 8 Buhler in the 4A quarterfinals.
This story was originally published March 7, 2020 at 5:00 AM.