Heights boys basketball edges Maize in dramatic finish after disputed late foul
The final seconds gave everyone inside Koch Arena something to argue about.
Was it a foul? Or wasn’t it?
That was the question hanging over Wichita Heights’ dramatic 56-55 win over Maize in the Class 6A boys basketball quarterfinals on Wednesday night. A whistle with 7.5 seconds left sent Falcons star Jalihn Timmons to the free-throw line for the game-tying and game-winning points.
Timmons calmly made both, then came up with one more winning play on the other end to send Wichita Heights to the semifinals against top-seeded Shawnee Mission South at 5:30 p.m. Friday at Koch Arena.
After a steal and basket gave Maize the lead with 22 seconds left, Heights never used a timeout to set up a play. Instead, the Falcons trusted the ball in the hands of Timmons, their star player.
Working out front, Timmons drove left, spun back right and attacked the lane before falling to the floor after stepping on a defender’s foot. Heights fans erupted, convinced he had been tripped. Maize fans were stunned, believing Timmons had simply lost control and that the play should have resulted in a turnover. The officials ruled otherwise, awarding Timmons two free throws with 7.5 seconds left.
With the season hanging in the balance, Timmons knocked down the first to tie the game. Maize coach Zach Bush called timeout before the second in an attempt to disrupt his rhythm. It didn’t matter. Timmons returned to the line, took a deep breath, went through his routine and buried the second free throw for the lead.
Maize still had one last chance, but that ended in more controversy. The Eagles got the ball to Myovela, who pushed across halfcourt looking for a final shot. Timmons came from behind and poked the ball loose, with Maize fans pleading for a foul, but no whistle came and the game ended in a scramble before the Eagles could even get up a shot.
As expected, the latest chapter between two Wichita-area powers turned into a tense back-and-forth battle. There were 10 lead changes in the game, including six in the fourth quarter alone, and neither team could create enough separation to ever feel safe.
After Heights controlled a slight edge for much of the night, Maize made its push midway through the fourth. A Cooper Shaw 3-pointer and a Charlie Oakman layup gave the Eagles a 47-43 lead and seemed to put the pressure squarely on Heights.
The Falcons answered immediately.
Ah’Jaylyn Walker drilled back-to-back go-ahead 3s to swing the momentum back to Heights, which carried a 55-52 lead into the final minute. But even then, the drama was only getting started.
Maize stayed patient against Heights’ zone and got exactly what it wanted when Kingston Lerma cut through the defense and found Shaw for a layup that sliced the deficit to 55-54 with 44 seconds remaining.
Then came the sequence that looked like it might send Maize to the semifinals.
Out of a Heights timeout with 29 seconds left, Maize pressured the inbounds pass and Shaw came up with a steal. The loose, frantic possession that followed ended with Brayden Myovela slithering through traffic and finishing a tough floater in the lane for a 56-55 lead with 22 seconds left.
But that only set up heartbreak for the Eagles (20-6) in how the final 10 seconds played out, as Timmons made both free throws to put the Falcons (20-5) over the top.
Myovela finished with a game-high 23 points for Maize, while Shaw added 15 and Oakman scored 11 points with seven rebounds off the bench. Heights got 14 points and six steals from Timmons, 12 points from Walker, 11 points and eight rebounds from Tyson Phillips, and seven points with six offensive rebounds from Jordan Timmons.
In another 6A quarterfinal, up in Kansas City, Derby ran into a difficult matchup and was overpowered by Olathe North in a 75-48 loss. The sixth-seeded Panthers saw their season come to an end with a 19-7 record against an Olathe North team that showcased its size and talent from the opening tip. Cam Love led Olathe North with a game-high 29 points, making 12 of his 14 shots.
Derby got 18 points from Greg Stiger, 13 from Cale Clingan and 11 from Tobin Snider, but the Panthers couldn’t keep pace against one of the top teams in the bracket.
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 7:16 AM.
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