Tuesday’s high school basketball: East boys beat Carroll for 2-0 City League start
.JPG "Wichita East sophomore Daylan Jones.")
From Class 1A to the City League, East boys basketball coach Clint Kinnamon is finding that his coaching methods translate to success at whatever level.
The first-year coach for the Blue Aces has the team 2-0 and in first place in the City League standings after knocking off the defending league champions, Bishop Carroll, on Tuesday night in a 54-47 victory. East improved to 2-1 overall.
Kinnamon spent the previous 19 seasons at St. John, a 1A school in western Kansas where he won 83% of his games and led the program to four state championships. The coach said while he isn’t able to run as many offensive sets as years past, other principles he has leaned on are translating to success at East.
“We’re getting the job done as an all-around effort by the team,” Kinnamon said. “We’ve been stressing a lot about toughness, making sure you have two hands on a rebound, boxing out, getting those 50-50 balls, being tough enough to stay in a defensive stance for a long period of time.
“We’ve got a long ways to go, but the kids are buying in and we’re going forward.”
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Kinnamon was unable to host a team camp to install his offense. It wasn’t until the first day of practice this fall when the first-year coach had the opportunity to start teaching his offense to the players.
After a rash of transfers following the departure of former coach Joe Jackson to Maize South, East has just two returners from last year’s varsity team in Daylan Jones and Braxton White, who have been solid this season and combined for 18 points against Carroll. Transfer A.J. King (21 points) has been the team’s leading scorer through three games, while the Blue Aces are relying mostly on junior-varsity players from last season capitalizing on their new opportunities, like Chandler Pearson (nine points).
“I’m really happy that most of them are starting to buy in and really wanting to learn now,” said Kinnamon. “Getting wins obviously helps with buying in.
“We held a really good team to just 47 points. I’ll take that every single night. If we can do that, we’re going to have a chance to win every game we’re in.”
Carroll trimmed East’s lead to 39-36 early in the fourth quarter, but the Blue Aces turned two Carroll turnovers into easy baskets at the other end and never allowed it to become a one-possession game again.
It was the second straight loss and first in league play for Carroll (2-2), which was once again missing its best player in Alex Littlejohn. Carter Reid led the team on Tuesday in scoring with 18 points.
South boys 49, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 44 — The reason East was able to take sole control of first place in the City League was because of the upset at South. After losing by 38 points to Carroll in the season-opener, South has won two games in a row and handed Kapaun (3-1) its first loss of the season. With the score tied midway through the fourth quarter, South ended the game on a 9-4 run to win it.
Andover boys 62, Eisenhower 54 (OT) — Andover extended its winning streak to 27 games and improved to 4-0 this season, but needed overtime to survive a road thriller at Eisenhower. Eisenhower senior Cody Houser (19 points) made a game-tying three-pointer as time expired to force overtime and the Tigers had a 54-53 lead in overtime. But Andover ended the game by scoring the final nine points, as the Trojans were led by Jack Johnson’s game-high 21 points.
East girls 45, Bishop Carroll 44 — Trailing by one with less than 10 seconds remaining, East’s Aubree Dawson drove the length of the floor, drew a foul and made two free throws with 4.4 seconds remaining to lift East to a dramatic win.
Derby boys 67, Maize 59 — The Panthers won their first game of the season, while handing Maize its first loss of the season behind 38 combined points from Amari Thomas and Fontaine Williams. Avery Johnson led Maize with 21 points. Maize (4-1) took a 47-42 lead on a Johnson three-pointer late in the third quarter, but Derby (1-2) reeled off a 13-4 run to take control of the game and secure the win.
Wellington boys 62, Andale 59 — Banks Hinshaw broke a tie game in the final minute with a go-ahead three-pointer and Cope Henry made two clutch free throws to help Wellington top Andale in an AV-CTL Div. IV opener.
Cheney girls 67, Trinity Academy 57 — In a showdown of two of the top teams and players in the Central Plains League, Cheney improved to 5-0 this season behind 30 points from Kyle Scheer, an Emporia State signee. The Cardinals built a 24-point lead after the third quarter, but Trinity rallied behind 26 points from Washburn signee Austin Broadie.
McPherson boys 65, El Dorado 54 — Long-time coach Kurt Kinnamon won his 500th game at McPherson, as the Bullups improved to 2-1 this season behind 19 points from Seth Madron.
Mulvane boys 63, Rose Hill 58 — Scoring sensation Trey Abasolo scored 40 points to lead Mulvane to a 5-0 start.
Boys scores
East 54, Bishop Carroll 47
Northwest 74, North 52
South 49, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 44
Derby 67, Maize 59
Campus 69, Goddard 34
Andover 62, Eisenhower 54 (OT)
Salina South 56, Maize South 48
Valley Center 68, Andover Central 61
Arkansas City 52, Salina Central 45
McPherson 65, El Dorado 54
Augusta 76, Winfield 65
Collegiate 69, Clearwater 52
Mulvane 63, Rose Hill 58
Wellington 62, Andale 59
Belle Plaine 58, Chaparral 49
Cheney 73, Trinity Academy 70 (OT)
Douglass 64, Conway Springs 42
Garden Plain 77, Independent 54
Haven 69, Nickerson 21
Hesston 52, Smoky Valley 26
Hillsboro 85, Marion 22
Pratt 75, Russell 54
Cunningham 40, Argonia 31
Girls scores
East 45, Bishop Carroll 44
Kapaun Mt. Carmel 60, South 34
North 57, Northwest 28
Andover Central 62, Valley Center 50
Eisenhower 46, Andover 33
Goddard 33, Campus 26
Salina Central 66, Arkansas City 12
Circle 45, Buhler 28
McPherson 74, El Dorado 25
Winfield 35, Augusta 33
Clearwater 47, Collegiate 36
Rose Hill 58, Mulvane 38
Cheney 67, Trinity Academy 57
Garden Plain 60, Independent 41
Douglass 43, Conway Springs 31
Chaparral 39, Belle Plaine 18
Nickerson 47, Haven 40
Smoky Valley 44, Hesston 39
Russell 54, Pratt 50
Cunningham 47, Argonia 35
This story was originally published December 16, 2020 at 7:28 AM.
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