‘Unfinished business’: Campus boys basketball looking for more after sub-state title
Sterling Chapman can still remember the disbelief when he read the tweet.
The Campus boys basketball team was having its best season in decades and believed it was destined to win the Class 6A championship at Koch Arena last spring. But after the Colts won their first game at state, the Kansas High School Activities Association announced that the semifinals and championship games were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I read it like three or four times and I was like, ‘Are you sure they posted this today?’” Chapman said. “It was just a heart-dropping moment. It took our heart away, so we had to come back with a bigger heart and a bigger chip on our shoulder.”
Campus might not be the undefeated juggernaut that it was last season, but the Colts have even more motivation after coming so close to their ultimate goal last season. Campus certainly looked every bit of a title contender on Friday when it dispatched a good Derby team, 77-53, in a Class 6A sub-state championship game. The Colts advanced to Monday’s quarterfinals, where they will host Hutchinson for the chance to return to Koch Arena.
“We’ve got some unfinished business to take care of,” Campus coach Chris Davis said. “We’ve got a chance to go back and finish now and that’s the best thing you can ask for. You can’t control the circumstances that went on. So we’ve climbed back up the mountain and now we want to get that final piece of it.”
While Campus is mostly a new-look squad this season, the biggest constant is Chapman, the Tulsa signee who has become the best do-everything player in Kansas this season. The 6-foot-5 senior is averaging 19.1 points, 12.1 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals.
For Chapman, there has only been one goal this season.
“I’ve been working countless hours in the gym for this,” Chapman said. “Me and my teammates have been grinding. Coming into the season, all the accolades and all of that stuff doesn’t matter now. We’re one game away from Koch Arena and we’ve just got to take it one game at a time. Just get to the next game and get to state.”
Senior guards Stevie Strong (17.8 points) and Jayden Hall (12.8 points) have formed one of the best guard trios in the state. Freshman Andrell Burton, sophomore Zion Young and sharpshooter Aiden Sutter have also stepped into roles this season for Campus.
Hall was one of the few players who also contributed to last season’s undefeated run. While the addition of Strong, a transfer, has bolstered Campus, the Colts have also benefited from Hall becoming a two-way force for the team as a senior.
“We’ve been grinding hard ever since last season was taken away from us,” Hall said. “We just wanted to work to get back to this point because it was heartbreaking last year. We never got to show what we could do.”
After reaching the state tournament for the first time since 1996 and winning a state game for the first time since 1989, the Colts now want the one thing that’s eluded them the last two seasons: the program’s first state championship.
“There were watch parties at people’s houses tonight in Haysville,” Davis said. “This was a big-time atmosphere tonight and I’m so excited this town gets to experience this again and we get to hang up back-to-back banners. It speaks to how hard we’ve worked the last four years and how far this program has come.”
In the other local 6A sub-state championship game, Heights completed its dramatic turnaround this season with a 68-50 victory over Northwest to punch its ticket back to the state quarterfinals. After a rare losing season last year, Heights coach Joe Auer was beaming with pride for how his team responded this season after Friday’s game.
Heights (15-7) will travel to Lawrence Free State (19-3) for a 6 p.m. Monday quarterfinal. The Falcons were led by 18 points from senior Bronxon Frierson, while Aviel Palmer and T.J. Williams both scored 14 points.
“These kids have been incredibly resilient and determined,” Auer said. “For our seniors, it was a tough year last year. But we told them that they would take their lumps the right way, just stay focused on improving and now these guys are sub-state champions. I’ve been a part of a lot of state tournament teams, but this group I’ll never forget and they mean the world to me.”
In the 4A boys sub-state championships, McPherson, Augusta and Rose Hill all won Friday. McPherson beat Buhler for a third time this season in a 57-54 road victory, while Augusta topped Andale, 59-51, and Rose Hill topped Clearwater, 51-44. In Monday’s quarterfinals, the Bullpups (12-10) will travel to Abilene (13-5) and Augusta (16-5) will host Rose Hill (15-5).
In the 5A girls sub-state title games, No. 1-ranked Andover Central defeated Kapaun Mt. Carmel, 73-64, behind 26 points from Bailey Wilborn and 20 points from Brittany Harshaw. The Jaguars (22-0) will play Maize (18-2) in Monday’s quarterfinals after the Eagles suffocated rival Maize South in a 40-14 victory. Sydney Holmes scored a game-high 18 points.
Monday’s quarterfinals
Class 6A boys
Hutchinson (7-13) at Campus (19-2)
Wichita Heights (15-7) at Lawrence Free State (19-3)
Lawrence (19-1) at Blue Valley Northwest (21-1)
Shawnee Mission Northwest (14-6) at Blue Valley North (18-3)
Class 4A boys
McPherson (12-10) at Abilene (13-5)
Rose Hill (15-5) at Augusta (16-5)
Holton (14-7) at Bishop Miege (19-1)
Parsons (12-7) at Louisburg (16-6)
Class 5A girls
Topeka Seaman (8-14) at Salina Central (18-4)
Maize (18-2) at Andover Central (22-0)
St. James Academy (11-8) at St. Thomas Aquinas (17-2)
Bonner Springs (6-12) at Lansing (18-3)
Friday’s scores
Boys
Class 6A championships
Campus 77, Derby 53
Heights 68, Northwest 50
Hutchinson 67, Dodge City 43
Class 4A championships
McPherson 57, Buhler 54
Augusta 59, Andale 51
Rose Hill 51, Clearwater 44
Class 3A semifinals
Cheney 68, Eureka 36 (at Douglass)
Trinity Academy 60, Collegiate 53 (at Douglass)
Hesston 51, Southeast-Saline 40 (at Hesston)
Haven 52, Lyons 41 (at Hesston)
Class 1A-Div. I semifinals
Pratt Skyline 60, Norwich 58 (at Norwich)
St. John-Hudson 61, Pretty Prairie 58 (at Norwich)
Classical 50, Oxford 18 (at Flinthills)
Flinthills 65, Burden-Central 52 (at Flinthills)
Class 1A-Div. II semifinals
Attica 54, Stafford 38 (at Attica)
South Haven 51, Hutchinson Central Christian 50 (at Attica)
Girls
Class 5A championships
Andover Central 73, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 64
Maize 40, Maize South 14
Class 2A semifinals
Hillsboro 58, Sedgwick 34 (at Ell-Saline)
Moundridge 53, Sacred Heart 31 (at Ell-Saline)
Independent 42, Sedan 39 (at Garden Plain)
Garden Plain 60, Belle Plaine 33 (at Garden Plain)
This story was originally published March 6, 2021 at 10:36 AM.
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