Wichita Southeast uses trust to stun Heights in Kansas high school basketball upset win

Trust is the foundation of the culture coach Karl Brown is trying to instill in the Southeast boys basketball team.

Brown proved he practices what he preaches on Friday night in a City League tilt against undefeated and top-ranked Heights, opting not to call a timeout in the final seconds with the time running out and the score tied.

“I tell the kids every day that I trust in them and I believe in them,” Brown said. “That’s the culture we’re trying to build around here. So at that moment, I trusted our kids were going to make the right play.”

That belief was rewarded with a stunning upset in Kansas high school basketball, as Preston Dinh drove the length of the floor, drew a foul and made the game-winning free throw with 1.2 seconds left to lift Southeast to a 59-58 home victory over Heights.

It capped an improbable 19-8 run to end the game by the Golden Buffaloes (10-7) with 15 of those points coming in the final 2 minutes, 20 seconds to hand Heights (15-1) its first loss of the season. It also snapped a 37-game winning streak against City League public schools for the Falcons, a stretch that dated back to Feb. 17, 2021 when they lost 51-49 in double overtime to Southeast.

“Our foundation and our motto is trust,” Brown said. “We say it every day in practice and we say it every time before games. The key word is ‘trust.’ As long as we trust ourselves and trust our teammates, we’ll be fine in every game. These kids truly love each other and it all shows on the court.”

After falling behind by as many as 12 points in the second half, Southeast made a late push behind free throws from Anthony Granger (17 points) and D.J. Brown (13 points) to cut the deficit to 50-48 with 1:52 remaining.

But just seconds later, chances of a comeback seemed bleak when Heights star T.J. Williams, a Wichita State signee who scored a game-high 20 points, flushed home a two-handed dunk in traffic while being fouled to swing momentum back Heights’ way.

That all changed in the aftermath of the dunk, however, as Heights’ bench was assessed a technical foul.

Williams missed his bonus free throw, then Brown made two free throws at the other end for Southeast. On the ensuing possession, Jamarkus Robinson scored inside to tie the game at 52 with 1:25 left.

Williams put the Falcons back in front by splitting a pair of free throws with 1:02 remaining, but Southeast surged in front on a deep 3-pointer by Brown, as the shot bounced off the front of the rim and rolled in to give Southeast a 55-53 lead with 45 seconds left.

Williams was again fouled on a drive, but this time missed both free throws and Brown made a pair at the other end for a 57-53 lead with 25 seconds left. Jahlin Timmons kept Heights alive with an offensive rebound put-back while being fouled, then completed the three-point play to trim the deficit to 57-56 with 16.7 seconds left.

Brown split a pair of free throws for Southeast for a two-point lead with 15.9 seconds left, then Heights thought it forced overtime when K’Mari Holt swished a long jumper in the left corner with 9.3 seconds left.

Instead of calling Southeast’s last timeout to allow both coaches to organize their chess pieces for a final play, Brown rolled the dice that his players could make something happen in the chaos of the final scramble.

Dinh (13 points) took off coast to coast with 5.2 seconds left and sure enough, drew a foul attacking the basket with 1.2 seconds left.

If that sequence wasn’t dramatic enough, Dinh’s first free throw clanged off the back rim and Heights coach Joe Auer called his final timeout to try to ice the shooter.

After returning from the break, Dinh stayed true to his routine — one dribble, two dribbles, three dribbles, a slight bend of the knees, a flick and a release — and this time, his shot hit the back rim and went straight down through the net for the game-winner.

Afterward, Brown gave credit to his assistant coaches Caylin Loggins, Stacy Bias and Jason Boarman for helping the team register its sixth straight win.

“It was such a surreal feeling beating a Joe Auer-coached team,” Brown said. “I’ve watched him win every single one of his state championships. He’s such a class act and honestly, I’ve stolen some of the things with the way he runs his program because he runs it with class and dignity. I’m very excited that our boys stepped up to the challenge and there’s no way we win this game without our assistant coaches being locked in and all of the work they put into this. It really was a total team effort tonight.”

KSHSAA high school basketball game scores

Boys

Andale 70, Clearwater 39

Andover 86, Goddard 66

Arkansas City 63, Valley Center 60

Buhler 60, Augusta 59

Campus 65, Salina South 39

Circle 65, Mulvane 59

Collegiate 53, Rose Hill 42

Conway Springs 62, Belle Plaine 40

Derby 71, Newton 35

Eisenhower 59, Salina Central 53 (OT)

Hillsboro 58, Halstead 46

Kapaun Mt. Carmel 73, Bishop Carroll 59

Lyons 61, Nickerson 45

Maize 49, Hutchinson 40

Maize South 66, Andover Central 47

McPherson 73, Winfield 32

Wellington 67, El Dorado 60

Wichita Northwest 47, Wichita East 45

Wichita Southeast 59, Wichita Heights 58

Girls

Andover 51, Goddard 14

Buhler 50, Augusta 25

Circle 48, Mulvane 32

Clearwater 40, Andale 28

Collegiate 28, Rose Hill 23

Conway Springs 56, Belle Plaine 40

Derby 70, Newton 32

Garden Plain 51, Kingman 33

Hesston 53, Larned 41

Hillsboro 33, Halstead 31

Hutchinson 40, Maize 23

Kapaun Mt. Carmel 51, Bishop Carroll 42

Maize South 51, Andover Central 32

McPherson 59, Winfield 28

Nickerson 41, Pratt 40

Salina Central 38, Eisenhower 33

Salina South 54, Campus 28

Smoky Valley 39, Haven 31

Valley Center 45, Arkansas City 31

Wellington 71, El Dorado 13

Wichita East 53, Wichita Northwest 45

Wichita Heights 66, Wichita Southeast 23

Wichita high school basketball standings

City League

AV-CTL Division 1

AV-CTL Division 2

AV-CTL Division 3

AV-CTL Division 4

This story was originally published February 10, 2024 at 5:07 AM.

Taylor Eldridge

The Wichita Eagle

316-268-6270

Wichita State athletics beat reporter. Bringing you closer to the Shockers you love and inside the sports you love to watch.