Kansas high school state basketball game scores: Maize boys keep repeat hopes alive
The resolve of the Maize boys basketball team was on full display in its first game at the Class 5A state tournament.
The defending Kansas high school state champions fell in an early hole, but rallied for a dramatic, come-from-behind 53-47 victory over Topeka Highland Park on Wednesday afternoon at White Auditorium in Emporia.
Maize (19-4) kept its hopes of repeating as champions alive and will face No. 8 seed Topeka Seaman (16-7) in Friday’s 2 p.m. semifinals after the Vikings stunned the field by taking down top-ranked Kapaun Mt. Carmel in Wednesday’s first game.
Maize trailed by as many as seven points midway through the third quarter, but swung the game with a 12-4 run in the final four minutes of the quarter to take a 39-38 lead heading into the fourth.
It became an extended run when the Eagles continued to score and produce stops against a high-octane Highland Park offense, as Maize opened up a 45-39 lead with 5:26 remaining in the fourth quarter to cap an 18-5 run.
Highland Park had one last push, trimming the deficit to 49-47 in the final two minutes and even attempting a shot for the tie, but Maize was able to hold Highland Park scoreless for the rest of the game to secure the dramatic win.
Derby girls punch ticket back to 6A semifinals
The Derby girls basketball team is headed back to the state semifinals for the fifth time in the last six years.
In one of the team’s finest defensive performances of the season, Derby suffocated Shawnee Mission West in a 41-17 victory at Koch Arena on Wednesday afternoon. The Panthers improved to 22-1 this season and punched their ticket to the Class 6A semifinals to play the winner of the Blue Valley-Topeka game on Friday at. 2 p.m.
Derby, the No. 2 seed in the field, was led by star forward Addy Brown, who finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds.
It was a low-scoring affair from the start, as Derby led 4-2 at the end of the first quarter and 13-8 at halftime with neither team shooting better than 26%.
The Panthers’ defense never wavered, while their offense finally began to pick up steam in the second half to slowly pull away for the comfortable victory.
A win on Friday could give Derby its first chance at a state title since its 2018 championship, which followed an appearance in the 6A title game in 2017.
Kapaun boys go down in 5A state opener
The dream season for the Kapaun Mt. Carmel boys team came to a heartbreaking end in the first round of the Class 5A state tournament.
The top-ranked Crusaders were stunned by No. 8 seed Topeka Seaman in a 54-43 loss at White Auditorium in Emporia. It snapped a 21-game winning streak for Kapaun, which included an undefeated City League title, and ended a magical 21-2 run under first-year coach Steve Eck, the legendary coach who led a dynasty at Wichita South during the 1990s and returned to the high school sidelines for the first time this season since retiring as a Hall of Fame junior-college coach.
It was a historic upset for Seaman, which won its first game at the state tournament since 1946 and pulled off back-to-back stunning upsets after taking down another highly-ranked, one-loss team in Hays to claim the sub-state title and advance to the state tournament.
Cold shooting doomed Kapaun, which finished shooting 28% from the floor and an ice-cold 1-for-13 in the fourth quarter. Henry Thengvall led the way for the Crusaders with 19 points, nine rebounds, three blocks and a steal.
Seaman shot 62% from the field in the first half, as star player Ty Henry made all six of his shots and scored 15 points to lead the Vikings to a 30-23 halftime advantage. Henry finished with a game-high 21 points.
Kapaun was unable to put a dent in the deficit during the third quarter, then Seaman all but sealed the game with a 7-2 run to start the fourth quarter to open up a 12-point lead.
Garden Plain girls knock off undefeated team to advance to 2A semifinals
The Garden Plain girls basketball team delivered one of the biggest upsets of the first day of state tournaments, handing Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan its first loss of the season in a 39-26 win to advance to the Class 2A semifinals at Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.
The Owls led 18-17 at halftime, but pulled away in the second half by smothering Colgan to just nine second-half points. That allowed Garden Plain to expand its lead in the third quarter and comfortably pull away in the fourth against a team that had scored at least 50 points in all but four games this season.
No. 7 seed Garden Plain (18-6) will play No. 6 seed Smith Center (20-4) in Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinals with a chance to go to the state championship game on Saturday.
Hesston boys a step closer to repeating 3A title
It was a steady performance from the defending Class 3A state champions, as the Hesston boys slowly pulled away from Hugoton for a 46-34 victory at Hutchinson Sports Arena to advance to the 3A semifinals.
Hesston’s defense bottled up Hugoton to just 21 points through three quarters, allowing the Swathers to steadily expand their lead. Hesston forced Hugoton into 21 turnovers, which was a key part of the win.
Jake Proctor led Hesston with 13 points, while Cason Richardson added 12 points, eight rebounds, four assists and two steals.
Second-seeded Hesston (23-1) will play the winner of Galena-Thomas More Prep in Friday’s 6 p.m. semifinal.
Wellington girls keep undefeated season alive at 4A state
It wasn’t pretty for the Wellington girls, but the performance secured a 33-29 win over McPherson to continue its undefeated season and march to a Class 4A state championship.
Up next will be Wellington’s biggest challenge to date, as the Crusaders (23-0) will take on the defending and 22-time state champion Bishop Miege in Friday’s 2 p.m. semifinal at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Wellington, playing in its first state tournament since 2016, shot just 15% in the first half and trailed 7-2 after the first quarter, but its defense managed to keep the team in the game. Wellington finished the game shooting just 20.4% from the field, but won because it held McPherson to 21.6% shooting.
When the Crusaders rallied to take a 25-17 lead in the third quarter, the tradition-rich Bullpups had one last rally in them.
A finish inside by McPherson’s Karter Alvord tied the score at 29 with 40 seconds remaining, but Wellington’s Airalyn Frame drew a foul with 17 seconds left and made two free throws to put the Crusaders back in front, 31-29. Wellington clinched the win when Valerie Norwood, who scored a team-high 14 points, came up with a steal to end McPherson’s final possession and tacked on two more free throws for the final result. Ali Zeka chipped in with 11 points for Wellington.
Berean girls pull off double-digit comeback at 2A state
Things were looking bleak when the Berean Academy girls were trailing by 14 points in the second half against Valley Heights in their opening game in the Class 2A state tournament in Manhattan.
The Warriors used a huge second-half rally to erase the deficit and claim a 46-43 win over Valley Heights to advance to the 2A semifinals to face Heart of America rival Sterling, the undefeated No. 1-ranked team, in Friday’s 2 p.m. semifinal.
The Warriors outscored Valley Heights, 36-21, in the second half and drilled seven three-pointers in the second half alone. Lillie Veer led the way with a team-high 13 points.
Kansas high school state basketball tournament scores
Class 6A girls (Wichita)
No. 2 Derby 41, No. 7 Shawnee Mission West 17
No. 6 Blue Valley 33, No. 3 Topeka 32
No. 1 Olathe North 54, No. 8 Blue Valley North 51
No. 4 Washburn Rural 66, No. 5 Dodge City 43
Class 5A boys (Emporia)
No. 8 Topeka Seaman 54, No. 1 Kapaun Mt. Carmel 43
No. 4 Maize 53, No. 5 Highland Park 47
No. 7 St. James Academy 59, No. 2 Topeka West 51
No. 3 De Soto 50, No. 6 Blue Valley Southwest 45
Class 4A girls (Salina)
No. 1 Wellington 33, No. 8 McPherson 29
No. 4 Bishop Miege 74, No. 5 Andale 35
No. 2 Eudora 50, No. 7 Clay Center 46 (OT)
No. 3 Wamego 36, No. 6 Labette County 34
Class 3A boys (Hutchinson)
No. 1 Royal Valley 60, No. 8 Girard 56
No. 4 Southeast-Saline 62, No. 5 Osage City 53
No. 2 Hesston 46, No. 7 Hugoton 34
No. 6 Thomas More Prep 68, No. 3 Galena 67 (2 OT)
Class 2A girls (Manhattan)
No. 1 Sterling 73, No. 8 Mission Valley 52
No. 4 Berean Academy 46, No. 5 Valley Heights 43
No. 7 Garden Plain 39, No. 2 Pittsburg-St. Mary’s Colgan 26
No. 6 Smith Center 44, No. 3 Jackson Heights 37
Class 1A Division 1 boys (Dodge City)
No. 1 Olpe 51, No. 8 Troy 21
No. 5 Macksville 45, No. 4 Osborne 41
No. 7 Solomon 45, No. 2 Norwich 43
No. 3 South Gray 62, No. 6 Ness City 53
Class 1A Division 2 boys (Great Bend)
No. 2 Greeley County 63, No. 7 Pawnee Heights 34
No. 3 Northern Valley 63, No. 6 Waverly 57 (OT)
No. 1 Hanover 84, No. 8 Central Plains 43
No. 4 Bucklin 67, No. 5 Caldwell 45
Friday’s KSHSAA state semifinal schedule
Class 6A girls (Wichita)
No. 2 Derby (22-1) vs. No. 6 Blue Valley (20-3), 2
No. 1 Olathe North (23-0) vs. No. 4 Washburn Rural (20-2), 6
Class 5A boys (Emporia)
No. 8 Topeka Seaman (16-7) vs. No. 4 Maize (19-4), 2
No. 7 St. James Academy (16-7) vs. No. 3 De Soto (19-4), 6
Class 4A girls (Salina)
No. 1 Wellington (23-0) vs. No. 4 Bishop Miege (21-2), 2
No. 2 Eudora (22-1) vs. No. 3 Wamego (21-2), 6
Class 3A boys (Hutchinson)
No. 1 Royal Valley (23-1) vs. No. 4 Southeast-Saline (21-3), 2
No. 2 Hesston (23-1) vs. No. 6 Thomas More Prep (20-4), 6
Class 2A girls (Manhattan)
No. 1 Sterling (24-0) vs. No. 4 Berean Academy (23-1), 2
No. 7 Garden Plain (18-6) vs. No. 6 Smith Center (20-4), 6
Class 1A Division 1 boys (Dodge City)
No. 1 Olpe (23-1) vs. No. 5 Macksville (22-2), 2
No. 7 Solomon (17-7) vs. No. 3 South Gray (22-2), 6
Class 1A Division 2 boys (Great Bend)
No. 2 Greeley County (22-2) vs. No. 3 Northern Valley (22-2), 2
No. 1 Hanover (23-1) vs. No. 4 Bucklin (19-5), 6
This story was originally published March 9, 2022 at 5:46 PM.
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