Five teams who won big: Carroll basketball sweeps City League titles for first time
For the first time in school history, the Bishop Carroll boys and girls basketball teams captured City League championships in the same season.
While the boys wrapped up a successful title defense last week and completed a 15-1 league record with a dominant 51-29 victory over Heights, the girls had to wait until the final game of the regular season before winning their first league title since 2009 by sweeping Heights in a 59-51 win on Tuesday.
Even with only one player averaging double-figure scoring in senior Khloe Shuckman, the Carroll girls are a Class 5A title contender — they’re currently ranked fourth — because of the strength of their team.
“We have such a well-rounded team and any night someone could be the one to hit a big three or to score 10 points,” Carroll girls coach Taylor Dugan said. “Khloe has come through every game with big points and some great defense, but then we sprinkle in other plays and on any given night someone could step up. We just have a lot of team chemistry.”
Schuckman draws most of the attention, and rightfully so, because she averages nearly 18 points and four steals per game. But fellow senior Jadyn Allen has played the most minutes on the team and does all of the little things it needs. The sister combo of Kendall and Landon Forbes have also played key roles in Carroll’s success.
Carroll has won 14 of its last 15 games heading into the postseason, with its lone loss to top-ranked Andover Central by seven points. Sure enough, Carroll and Andover Central — two of the top-four ranked teams in 5A — are paired together in next week’s sub-state.
Regardless of what happens there, Dugan has been pleasantly surprised by how well Carroll has played together as a team this season.
“I’m just so proud of these girls,” Dugan said. “The effort that they give day in and day out of practice and in games has been one of the main reasons why we’ve been so successful this year. It’s honestly been so fun to coach this group.”
Here are five other teams that picked up key league wins this week.
Andover boys win another league title
After finishing last season undefeated, Andover may have seemed a little more vulnerable this season after dropping two games, both on the road.
That wasn’t the case in AV-CTL Div. II play, as the Trojans continued their undefeated season in league play and wrapped up the league title in dominant fashion on Tuesday with a 58-40 road win over a Valley Center team ranked No. 10 in Class 5A.
Because the Hornets entered with a 10-1 league record and were playing on their home floor for a chance to share a league title, Andover (17-2) figured it would have to absorb Valley Center’s best shot. The Trojans held Valley Center to its season-low in points.
“We really talked about stepping up our defense and trying to get stops,” Andover coach Martin Shetlar said. “We knew they were going to come out and have a lot of energy and be ready to go, so we had to match that. We did a good job of getting stops and taking away some of the things they do best with their guards.”
Andover, ranked third in Class 5A, is back in the title hunt thanks to a more balanced scoring attack this season. Senior Jack Johnson, a Dallas Baptist signee, is the star, but the Trojans have proven capable of winning in other ways this season thanks to the strong play of Kaleb Gaddis, Isaiah Maikori, Cade Gehring, Brady Strausz, B.J. Redic and Eli Shetlar. On Tuesday night, it was Strausz who stepped up and led Andover in scoring with 16 points.
But if the Trojans want to make another run at the state title, they’ll first have to survive the most difficult sub-state in 5A, which features three of the top eight teams in No. 3 Andover, No. 4 Carroll and No. 8 Kapaun Mt. Carmel. Andover can wrap up another undefeated league title and the critical No. 1 seed in sub-state with a win on Friday over Eisenhower.
“Last year there was this kind of excitement to us because we hadn’t been winning that big in the past,” Shetlar said. “This year it’s more business-as-usual for this team. We have the attitude of winning and taking care of business. We expect to win every night now. We’re not catching other people by surprise anymore. We’re the favorites and it’s because of those seniors. They just come to work and do what they do and it seems to work out in the end.”
Maize boys in wait-and-see mode after big win
In order to win a league title, the Maize boys first had to find a way to beat a Salina South team that is ranked No. 5 in Class 5A on Tuesday night.
Consider step one a success, as the Eagles dispatched Salina South in a 62-58 victory. Maize, ranked No. 2 in 5A, improved to 17-2 this season and 9-2 in AV-CTL Div. I play with its regular-season finale on Thursday at Hutchinson.
Maize has broke out this season behind the play of seniors Jacob Hanna, Winston Bing and Keegan Harrod, as well as scoring help from Kyle Grill and Avery Johnson.
“When we take advantage of easy opportunities, that’s when we’re at our best,” Maize coach Chris Grill said. “We have a really unselfish team. They pass the ball really well and we get the ball moving and it’s tough to guard us on offense. We can shoot it pretty well on the perimeter too.”
Step two will have to wait for Thursday, as Maize needs to take care of business at Hutchinson and then it will be scoreboard watching as Salina South travels to Campus (No. 4 in 6A) for another showdown that could determine the league championship.
Because Campus did not make up its first game against Salina South, the Colts (8-1) will play one fewer league game than Maize (9-2). If Campus wins against Salina South and Maize South at home this week, then the Colts clinch the league title. But if Campus falters once and Maize wins at Hutchinson, then the Eagles would win the league title based on winning percentage.
Trinity boys one step closer to another league title
After a minor blip last season, the Trinity Academy boys have returned to their reign of the Central Plains League this season.
The Knights have won all eight of their league games since the new year, including their highly anticipated rematch with Cheney (No. 3 in 3A), 54-50, earlier this month. After taking down contenders in back-to-back road games, 62-50 at Garden Plain and 57-38 at Belle Plaine, Trinity added a 74-46 win over Kingman and is now one win away — over Douglass on Thursday — from clinching a share of the CPL title with Cheney.
It would be the fourth time in the last five years Trinity has won at least a share of the league title. For a team that didn’t play until Jan. 26 after Christmas break because of COVID-19 issues, Trinity coach Brett Wiley has been impressed by his team’s resolve.
“These kids have a lot of resiliency,” Wiley said. “It starts with their attitudes facing great adversity. Even more than the wins this season, that’s something I’ve been proud of. We missed almost three weeks because of two straight quarantines. I’m so proud of these guys because they’ve never quit. We’ve probably had half of the amount of practices this year as we did at this time last year, but these guys continue to work at such a high level.”
Senior guard Christian Williams has led the way for the Knights, as he is averaging close to 20 points per game this season. He’s had help from 6-foot-7 big man Jevon Hill and Trinity has also had key contributions from freshman Teagan Charles, Bryson Perez, Rowan Gerber and Collin Rucker.
Trinity has won 10 of its last 11 games and is ranked No. 9 in 3A, but the Knights have a difficult path to state by being grouped in the same sub-state as Cheney and Collegiate. Wiley is confident Trinity is starting to peak at the right time and can beat any team in the postseason.
“Honestly, what makes us a good team is on the defensive side of the ball,” Wiley said. “We really struggled at times last year and now we’re giving up 49 points per game. When we defend and rebound well, that’s our formula for success. The way we defend and get after people has been the biggest thing for us, then on offense we just try to get out and run and score in transition.”
Augusta boys win could force three-way tie for title
Good luck trying to figure out who the best boys team is in AV-CTL Div. III.
Buhler (No. 7 in 4A) swept Augusta (No. 8 in 4A). McPherson (No. 6 in 4A) swept Buhler. And now, after Tuesday’s 40-31 victory, Augusta has swept McPherson.
Entering the final game of the regular season, all three teams are tied for first place with a 7-2 record. Buhler travels to Winfield and Augusta hosts El Dorado on Thursday, while McPherson hosts Circle on Friday. A win by all three would result in a rare three-way tie where all three teams swept each other.
“It has been basically a playoff atmosphere playing those two teams,” Augusta coach Ryan Petty said. “You look at our league and it’s just a real thin margin and it’s crazy how it’s all worked out. There’s still one game left, so anything could happen. We want to get a share of this thing, even if it is as awkward as it might be with a three-way share. We still want a piece of it.”
Augusta has gotten back to its defensive roots this season after playing for the 4A championship in 2019 and reaching the semifinals of last season’s state tournament that was ended by the coronavirus pandemic. The Orioles (13-5) have been led by three seniors in Brendan Parker, Ely Wilcox and Ryan Andrews who played key minutes during both of those postseason runs for Augusta.
That big-game experience pays off in high-stakes games like the one on Tuesday against McPherson. When they absolutely had to have it, the Orioles’ defense held McPherson to a season-low in points.
“It all starts on the defensive end for us,” Petty said. “We’ve labored all year offensively, so we’ve had to really guard well to win games and buy into the defensive end. We have a size advantage pretty much every night, so we try to play inside-out and take advantage of that.”
Tuesday’s scores
Boys
Bishop Carroll 51, Heights 29
East 72, North 46
Northwest 59, West 51
Southeast 53, South 46
Campus 60, Hutchinson 44
Derby 67, Maize South 62 (OT)
Maize 62, Salina South 58
Newton 66, Salina Central 47
Andover 58, Valley Center 40
Andover Central 64, Eisenhower 62
Arkansas City 46, Goddard 38
Augusta 40, McPherson 31
Buhler 73, El Dorado 57
Circle 76, Winfield 64
Collegiate 58, Wellington 52 (2 OT)
Mulvane 50, Clearwater 39
Rose Hill 65, Andale 49
Chaparral 64, Conway Springs 43
Cheney 64, Independent 30
Garden Plain 63, Douglass 34
Medicine Lodge 62, Belle Plaine 53
Trinity Academy 74, Kingman 46
Hesston 46, Haven 40
Hillsboro 70, Nickerson 40
Hoisington 67, Larned 35
Lyons 60, Halstead 35
Smoky Valley 55, Pratt 40
Girls
Bishop Carroll 59, Heights 51
East 65, North 15
West 34, Northwest 32
Southeast 64, South 45
Derby 38, Maize South 27
Hutchinson 51, Campus 25
Maize 53, Salina South 23
Salina Central 54, Newton 19
Andover 55, Valley Center 50
Andover Central 62, Eisenhower 37
Goddard 50, Arkansas City 17
Buhler 49, El Dorado 27
Circle 49, Winfield 39
McPherson 52, Augusta 23
Andale 44, Rose Hill 30
Clearwater 61, Mulvane 32
Wellington 45, Collegiate 42 (OT)
Belle Plaine 51, Medicine Lodge 37
Cheney 54, Independent 21
Chaparral 50, Conway Springs 15
Garden Plain 60, Douglass 20
Trinity Academy 73, Kingman 34
Halstead 65, Lyons 34
Hesston 52, Haven 40
Hoisington 60, Larned 18
Smoky Valley 48, Pratt 33
This story was originally published February 24, 2021 at 6:10 AM.
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