mid kansas sports magazine commemorative tournament edition

MHS Girls Take 2ndIn Mid America Classic

Hesston Girls CaptureHillsboro Championship

Bullpup Boys Rout Manhattan In

Title Game

COMMEMORATIVETOURNAMENT

EDITION

503 W Hayes St, McPherson, KS 67460 • (620) 241-2611

MID-KANSAS SPORTS MAGAZINE 3

Two weeks, 24 games and countless memories.That sums up the 51st annual McPherson Invitational and 20th annual Mid America Classic.The tournaments only reaffirmed what I and everybody else in McPherson knows —

nobody puts on better basketball tournaments.And there are a lot of people around the state in total agreement.

McPherson High Athletic Director Shane Backhus should be commended for assembling atop-notch eight-team boys field. From top-seed McPherson to No. 8 seed Hutchinson, allthe teams were competitive and there was only a couple of blowouts.The McPherson Optimist Club also should be lauded for again putting on easily the best

girls tournament in Kansas. This year was a 20-year milestone for co-directors BobBaldwin and Dave Chartier, who are passing the torch to Jerry Fithian and Kendall Shawbeginning in 2016.Here are my thoughts after sitting through the 24 games in six days:

• MCPHERSON INVITATIONAL •McPherson High’s boys had Jan. 22 marked on their calendar for a long time.That was the day the Bullpups extracted their revenge after shockingly losing in the first round of the 2014 Invitational, their

only blemish during their championship season.The Bullpups needed no reminders. They well remembered the pain of losing to Wichita North and spending the final two

days toiling in the Sunshine Bracket before near-empty crowds, something that never happens during the regular season.The Bullpups’ road to their 21st championship wasn’t an easy one. While Hutchinson entered the first round with just one

victory, it was — after all — still Hutchinson. While the teams are not in the same division of the Ark Valley Chisholm TrailLeague anymore, Hutch will forever be a rival.Once MHS slogged through that game, next up was Wichita Heights, one of the premier teams in Class 5A. That was a

game that will help the Bullpups the rest of the season as they had to overcome a 10-point deficit and some early nerves.The game turned when Heights coach Joe Auer was assessed a technical foul with 1:42 to go. Kyler Kinnamon wound up

converting two free throws for the foul and two for the technical foul and it provided MHS the spark it needed to close out theFalcons.In the finals, the Bullpups reverted to their early-season form. Shooting an astounding 74 percent from the field, they throt-

tled once-beaten and ranked 6A school Manhattan and wound up winning in a runaway, 81-58. What made this game sospecial was the Roundhouse was standing-room-only for one of the few times in recent years and the crowd noise was deaf-ening. The Bullpups fed off the energy and it totally sapped Manhattan’s will. The second half turned into a layup drill asKinnamon time and again shredded the press and dished to teammates for easy baskets.Kinnamon was an easy choice for MVP and he was joined on the All-Tournament Team by teammates Drew Pyle and

Payton Stephens. All three were more than deserving.In fact, I got a chance to vote for the team this year and all of my choices made the team. It’s not often I’m in agreement

with the coaches, but for once we were on the same page.

• MID AMERICA CLASSIC •With five ranked teams included in the eight-team field, the Mid America Classic was among the most high-profile tourna-

ments in Kansas.And it didn’t disappoint.The first round on Thursday went according to form, which set up one of the most spectacular semifinal rounds in the 20

years of the Classic.First up was a clash of Class 6A titans, Olathe South and Manhattan. The teams had met last year in the 6A State

Tournament’s third-place game, with South winning by three.Manhattan, the defending Classic champion, was especially strong early on, but consistent Olathe South charged in the

third quarter and wound up winning by four.The other semi was even more exciting. McPherson High and Andale, which had met just 10 days earlier with the Indians

winning in overtime, produced one of the most epic games in recent memory. It will be best remembered for phenomenalMHS freshman Taylor Robertson tying the tournament record with seven 3-pointers, many of them at crucial times. TheBullpups wound up prevailing 47-46 as it’s obvious there is little separation between the Class 4A Division I powers.In the championship game, the Bullpups gave 6A Olathe South all it could handle for a half, down only 19-18. But just as

they did on Friday, the Falcons exploded at the start of the third quarter by scoring the first 10 points and while Robertsoncaught fire in the fourth quarter, it wasn’t enough as the Falcons won 56-41, with that score being somewhat deceiving sincethey made a passel of free throws at the end.Robertson’s performance was remarkable. She led the tournament in scoring with 51 points and easily won the 3-point

contest. It’s going to be fun to watch her progress in the next three years along with her young teammates. All in all, it was a wonderful two weeks. McPherson showcased the legendary Roundhouse and the tournaments were wellattended. I can’t wait to do it all over again next year, which will make it 37 years and counting for this editor.

Steve Sell

midkansasonline.comSTEVE SELL, Sports Editor

Covering McPhersonSports for 36 Years

Your Fastest Sourcefor Local Sports

Credits — • The Mid Kansas Sports Magazine was

written and edited by Midkansasonline.com

Sports Editor Steve Sell.

• All McPherson Invitational photos and

Mid America Classic photos were provid-

ed by contributing photographer Kendall

Shaw, with more photos posted at his website

at www.outdoorkansas.zenfolio.com.

• The publication was designed and

printed by McPherson Business

Solutions.

• The Mid Kansas Sports Magazine is a

publication of Davies Communications, Inc.

INDEXSteve Sell’s column. . . . . .3MIT Day 3. . . . . . . . . . . . . .4MIT Day 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . .6MIT Day 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . .8MIT Leaders, Honors. . . . 10MIT Stats Pack. . . . . . . . .11MAC Day 3 . . . . . . . . . . . .12MAC Day 2 . . . . . . . . . . . .14MAC Day 1 . . . . . . . . . . . .16MAC Leaders, Honors. . . .18MAC Stats Pack. . . . . . . . 19Area Roundup. . . . . . . . . .20

From the Editor's Desk…

MID-KANSAS SPORTS MAGAZINE4

It was vintage Bullpup basketball.And because it was, the ManhattanIndians never really stood a chance.McPherson High saved its best for

last in the 51st annual McPhersonInvitational, as it jumped on theIndians from the word go and neverlooked back in an 81-58 destructionfor its 21st tourney title.All-Tourney pick Drew Pyle’s three

early 3-pointers got the motor runningand by the time the first quarter wasover, MHS was humming along witha 23-7 bulge and the Roundhousecrowd that resembled yesteryear wasblowing the roof off the grand old edifice.The coronation lasted over the next

three quarters, as the Bullpups shotan astounding 74 percent against aManhattan team that had entered thegame with only one loss and isdeservedly ranked in Class 6A.“It was a great start,” MHS coach

Kurt Kinnamon said. “I think maybeour pressure was something like theyhadn’t seen before.”The outcome was decided after

MHS pushed the lead to 38-19 by thehalf, shooting 14 of 21. But it waseven better in the second half, asManhattan took some chances ondefense and tournament MVP KylerKinnamon was able to expose thosegambles, turning the game into aBullpup layup drill. They shot 17 of 21in the second half, only two shots coming outside of the arc.Kinnamon finished as MHS’ leading scorer with 20 points, going 8 of 9

from the field. He also handed out seven assists. Pyle, who was 5 of 8from 3-point, scored 19, All-Tourney Payton Stephens added 15 andAvery Gabel gave MHS a huge boost with 14, making 6 of 7 floor shots. “It was nice to get him (Gabel) some easy baskets,” Kinnamon said. “First half I had to take him out one time because he had a wide-open

3 and he thought he needed to get closer. It was the only miss he had onthe night. It’s good to see him have that type of game.”For Stephens, playing against his old team, it started rocky with only

four first-half points, but he played with a lot verve in the second half toadd 11 to his total.Manhattan was led by All-Tourney pick Pierson McAtee, who scored 14

points and grabbed eight rebounds, showing why he’s one of the betterplayers in Class 6A. Garrett Francis furnished 13 points and All-TourneyGarrett Awbrey supplied 12. Trevor Hudgins gave Manhattan four playersin double figures with 10.The Indians were 18 of 40 from the field and 17 of 21 from the line, but

simply were overwhelmed by the Bullpups’ precision.The Bullpups certainly earned the respect of first-year Manhattan

coach Benji George.“It was unbelievable,” he said. “I looked at the stats from the last two

games and I’m thinking to myself that they just haven’t shot it very well.Without knowing a whole lot about them, maybe that’s just kind of howthey are. Obviously that changed tonight. They just hit everything fromthe start and it never changed. They rose the occasion. They’re wellcoached and they run their stuff well. They definitely made us paytonight. I told our players to play without fear and I didn’t want to start achampionship game by sitting back (in a zone). It didn’t work, but I’m notsure I would necessarily have done anything differently.”

• WICHITA HEIGHTS TAKES THIRD — The question in the third-place game

was: which team was going to surviveits scoring drought to win?Wichita Heights went 5:45 of the

fourth quarter without a point andShawnee Mission East went 5:12.In the end, it was Heights that pre-

vailed, 40-39.Heights’ Davis Bahner scored with

5:38 left in the game to make it 38-30in favor of the Falcons, but they didn’tscore again until 3.2 seconds left on apair of free throws by Davon Gill thatgave the Falcons a 3-point lead.Shawnee Mission East didn’t score

in the fourth quarter until the 2:48 markto make it 38-32 and later got as closeas 38-37.Samaj Hervey led the Falcons with

13 points and Davon Gill scored 12.Jay Guastello scored 14 for theLancers and Zeb Vermillion had hisbest game of the tournament with 10points.East Lucas Jones, who had been the

tournament’s leading scorer throughtwo nights, was held to nine points and10 rebounds.

• BLUE VALLEY WEST SNARES FIFTH —Blue Valley West closed on a 15-1

run to stun Maize 60-57 in the fifth-placegame.The Jaguars were seemingly out of

it, down 56-45.But West started to chip away and eventually took the lead for good,

58-57, on a 3-pointer by Evan Hailes.Connor Kaiser added two free throws with 7 seconds left for a 3-point

lead. Maize had a chance to tie, but Grant Bugbee’s 3-pointer went awry.This is a game Maize had to feel like it let get away. The Eagles

jumped out to a 20-7 lead, but saw the Jaguars charge back within 29-28 atthe half.Some good 3-point shooting by Matthew LeBegue allowed Maize to

open up the comfortable lead in the fourth quarter, but Blaise Gammonand his teammates refused to lose.For the second straight game, Gammon recorded 24 points and 10

rebounds to lead the Jaguars. Kaiser scored 13 points and Hailes added 10.LeBegue tallied 18 points to pace the Eagles, while Jacob Schultz and

Ky-Sean Johnson added 12 and 11 points, respectively.

• 7TH GOES TO MILL VALLEY — Mill Valley recorded its first-everMcPherson Invitational victory in the seventh-place game againstHutchinson.After a slow start, trailing 11-8 after a quarter, the Jaguars outscored

the Salthawks 33-22 over the middle two quarters to grab the game by thethroat.Kasey Conklin was in the zone for the Jaguars, scoring 27 points as he

made 7 of 11 from 3-point and was 6 of 6 at the line.As a team, the Jaguars were 17 of 35 from the field, including 8 of 20

from 3-point, and also were lights-out at the foul line by making 17 of 19. Logan Koch added 10 for Mill Valley.Hutchinson was led by Trent Webster with 24 points, including six 3-

pointers. Turner Wintz added 13.

McPherson High’s Kyler Kinnamon was named the MostValuable Player of the McPherson Invitational. Kinnamonscored 20 points and dished off for seven assists in thechampionship game.

Bullpups Rout Manhattan To Capture 21st Invitational Title


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Drew Pyle was on fire in the championship gameof the McPherson Invitational by knocking downfive 3-pointers against Manhattan to key an 81-58 rout. Pyle averaged 13 points in three gamesand was named to the All-Tournament team.

McPherson High’s Payton Stephens was namedto the McPherson Invitational All-TournamentTeam after tying for second in scoring with 47points for a 15.7 average. He also was fourth inrebounding with 22.


It took all of the famed “McPhersonmagic” to pull this one out.After a wild finish to the first semifinal

game in the McPherson Invitational thatfound Manhattan pulling out an improba-ble win, McPherson High and WichitaHeights one-upped that in the finalebefore a packed house.In one of the wildest games in

Invitational history, the Bullpups roaredback from an early 10-point deficit,appeared to be in trouble with a coupleof minutes to go, only to pull out a 58-50victory as they finished the game on a13-3 run, 11 of the points coming at thefoul line.But the Bullpups almost didn’t

advance. They found themselves down21-11 at one point in the first half beforefinishing strong to get within three at thebreak, 25-22.“I told (MHS assistant) coach (Gordon

Peck) when we were going up the stairs,I said that we’re lucky to be where we’reat,” MHS coach Kurt Kinnamon said. MHS came out strong in the second

half with an 8-2 run to take the lead andit was a grinder the rest of the way.The game’s turning point came with

1:42 to go when the Bullpups’ KylerKinnamon was fouled, which causedHeights coach Joe Auer to be assesseda technical. After four Kinnamon freethrows, MHS went from two down to two up, then paraded to the foulline the rest of the game as it 7 of 8 in the final 36 seconds. For thegame, MHS was 30 of 36 at the line, while the Falcons were only 7 of 10.“You hate to see something like that happen, you really do,”

Kinnamon said of the technical. “I don’t know. Just not much to sayabout that. Our advantage at the free throw line is going to be hugeand obviously when Joe looks at that, he’s going to say that’s a differ-ence. I thought the key was that we got killed on the glass in the firsthalf. We were down 11, so we win the second-half rebound battle.”“All I know is that a guy with his back to me reacted to something I

was saying to my kid. Period. End of discussion,” said Auer, who kepthis composure after the game when addressing reporters, but was visi-bly upset. “His comment was, well, uh... I thought I heard something.It’s the play of the game, the moment of the game. So, there’s nodoubt about it. So here’s the thing. It’s part of a 36 free-throw package.We foul less than any team in our league. We are the least-foulingteam in our league. Check the stats... I’ll be honest with you, we mighthave to go four games and have a team shoot 36 free throws againstus... it’s incredible that we were in the game. I can’t believe my kidsplayed that incredibly well to be in that game.”Payton Stephens found holes at the high post in the Falcons’ 2-3

zone and drove repeatedly to score 18 points, as he time and againwas fouled, making 10 of 14 at the line. Kinnamon and Drew Pylescored 13 apiece.“I thought Payton became really aggressive in attacking the basket,”

Kinnamon said. “There are some holes in that zone, but if you catch itthere and don’t attack, then it doesn’t do you any good.”Davon Gill scored 14 to lead the Falcons and Semaj Hervey added 10.

• LATE RALLY LIFTS MANHATTAN —A comeback for the ages sent

the Manhattan Indians into the finals of theMcPherson Invitational.Down 48-36 with 6:05 to go, the Indians'

relentless pressure defense causedShawnee Mission East to implode asManhattan rallied for a 52-50 victory.Manhattan appeared to be toast after the

Lancers scored the first five points of thefourth quarter to swell their lead to 12.But the Lancers turned cautious and got

out of their rhythm. Meanwhile, the Indianscould do no wrong as they ran off 15straight points, taking the lead for good at49-48 on a basket by Grant Munsen.East later had a chance to win it at the

buzzer, but Jack Flint's 3-pointer rimmedout.Pierson McAtee led Manhattan with 14

points, while Gabe Awbrey scored 12 andTrevor Hudgins added 10.The loss spoiled a magnificent perform-

ance by East's Lucas Jones, who scored25 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.Jones had 17 points in the first half as theLancers led 30-21.• MAIZE EASES BY HUTCH — The sec-ond meeting of the year between Maizeand Hutchinson was similar to the first.Except the Eagles were a more decisivewinner than in the first meeting, which theSalthawks kept within seven points.Maize jumped on Hutch in the first quarterfor a 15-6 lead and never was seriously

challenged as it scored a 57-42 consolation-round triumph.Maize held Hutch to just 3 of 14 from the field in the first half as the

Salthawks didn’t resemble the same team that actually pushedMcPherson. The Eagles doubled up Hutch 32-16 as Cortlin Standifertime and again got to the basket for 11 points.Standifer finished with 15 points to lead the Eagles and Matthew

LeBegue chipped in with 10. Trent Webster led the 'Hawks with 12 points. Hutch did warm up in

the second half to make 8 of 17, but still finished at 11 of 35 for 35 percent.• BLUE VALLEY WEST BOUNCES BACK — Blue Valley West'sBlaise Gammon spent most of the first round being surrounded by thecollapsing Shawnee Mission East zone.Against Mill Valley in the McPherson Invitational consolation round,

Gammon — free of the cumbersome constraints — had a field day.The sculpted 6-8 Gammon powered his way to 24 points to lead his

Jaguars to a 62-54 victory over the 3-point-happy Jaguars (yes, bothteams were the Jaguars).Gammon, who was held to 10 points on Thursday as his touches

were limited, added 10 rebounds.Blue Valley West appeared to have the game under control on sever-

al occasions, but every time it was feeling comfortable, the MV Jagswould rain a barrage of 3-pointers.West was up as many as 13 points in the second half, 47-34, but Mill

Valley pulled as close as 48-46 before the BV Jags pulled away.Connor Kaiser added 14 points for the winners, who were 23 of 45

from the field.Mill Valley was better from beyond the arc (9 of 21) than inside it (9

of 28). Kasey Conklin came off the bench to drain five 3-pointers for ateam-high 15 points

Exciting Rally Propelled McPherson HighInto Tourney Finals

Nathan Nutter had his usual solid perform-ance for McPherson High in the McPhersonInvitational. He averaged five rebounds agame and played strong defense.


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Spenser Wine gave McPherson High consistentplay despite having to give away some size ingames against Wichita Heights and Manhattan.He scored six points a game.

Avery Gabel had his best game of the year forMcPherson High in the championship game ofthe McPherson Invitational as he scored 14points in the 81-58 rout of Manhattan.


Bullpups Slogged Past Hutchinson In First Round of InvitationalFor a quarter, the demons of Wichita North

apparently were still filling the heads of theMcPherson High boys.A prohibitive favorite in their McPherson

Invitational opener against the one-winHutchinson Salthawks, the Bullpups showedsome nerves in finding themselves tied at 11-allafter 8 minutes.Of course, the Roundhouse crowd began

harkening back to last year when Wichita Northshocked MHS in the first round, the only loss theBullpups suffered during their state championshipseason.But MHS exorcised those demons with a 20-3

second quarter and that kicked-started theBullpups to a harder-than-expected 56-43 victory."I think we started out and looked nervous,

looked timid," said MHS coach Kurt Kinnamon,whose team played without the high-energyNathan Nutter as he was held out because of ill-ness though he sat on the bench. "Of course Iguess that's the ghost of Wichita North."Hutchinson came out in a zone and the

Bullpups struggled early to make shots, but final-ly started to solve the puzzle and while it wasn'tthe blowout that had been anticipated, theBullpups erased last year's memory."Hutch did a really good job. They had all of our

zone sets very well scouted," Kinnamon said."We weren't able to throw our lob against them,we weren't able to throw a couple of our KU plays."Providing a spark off the bench was Jacob Loecker, who finished with 11 points on

5-of-6 shooting."He did a good job. He did a really good job," Kinnamon said. "Pleased, because

he gave us something we needed tonight."Payton Stephens had a double-double for the Bullpups with 14 points and 10

rebounds, while Kyler Kinnamon equaled Loecker with 11 points. MHS made just 2 of14 from beyond the arc and was only 22 of 51 overall, well off its normal standards.There was a brief dust-up late in the game when Stephens was intentionally fouled,

which led to the two coaches, Kinnamon and Nathan Henry, exchanging heated ver-bal volleys."It's one of those emotion plays… coach Henry and I are fine. I think he's a good

guy and I think he feels the same," Kinnamon said. "We were both a little out of linethere… it goes back that you have to stick up for your guys. It's over and done with.We're good with each other and regrettable that both of us probably reacted the waywe did."Turner Wintz led Hutch with 13 points, while Trent Webster scored 11 and grabbed

the same number of rebounds.• SHAWNEE MISSION EAST WINS BATTLE OF KC AREA TEAMS — There are rolls.And then there are serious rolls.Shawnee Mission East, down 7-2 early, went on a 27-5 rampage over a 10-minute

span in the first half and went on to defeat Blue Valley West 60-53 in the openinggame.East made 7 of its 8 shots during an 18-6 second quarter and shot 64 percent for

the half to lead 29-16.The Jaguars, however, scored the first eight points of the third quarter and sliced to

the lead to six, 40-34.A pair of 3-pointers by Jay Guastello enabled the Lancers to push the lead back to

double digits and they were able to ride it out from there."It was tough," Shawnee Mission East coach Shawn Hair said. "(BVW coach)

Donnie (Campbell) has got a great team and he's a great coach. He's a good friend."

Hair said the Lancers' defense on Gammon wasa key, as he was held to 10 points and just eightshots."Blaise is a beast," Hair said. "We did everything

we could to limit his touches."Hair also was pleased with his team's balance,

as four players hit for double figures, led byGunnar Englund with 13 points. Lucas Jonesadded 12, along with 12 rebounds, whileGuastello and Jack Flint added 11 apiece. TheLancers were 18 of 32 from the field — including8 of 15 from 3-point — and made 16 of 18 freethrows.Connor Kaiser led the Jags with 11 points, while

Gammon and Evan Hailes added 10 apiece.• MANHATTAN GETS PAST NEWCOMER MILLVALLEY — The Manhattan Indians are rightwhere they want to be.The No. 2 seed basically controlled its

Invitational opener with tourney newbie Mill Valleyby capturing a 63-50 victory, its eighth in ninegames this year."They (Shawnee Mission East) did a good job

playing that zone defense today against BlueValley West. Blue Valley West had some troublewith it," first-year Manhattan coach Benji Georgesaid. "We're going to have to be ready for theirzone. They've got some long kids. They're longand kind of athletic, kind of like the kids we have.

It's definitely going to be a challenge and we're going to have to be ready for it. We'vetalked about it a ton. We've put ourselves on the right side of the bracket now whereit's going to be a fun experience."The Indians, spurred on by their second team that provided some early energy as

George said his starters came out tight, rocketed to a 25-10 lead before the Jaguarsadjusted to their new surroundings to shave the deficit to 33-24 by the half.Mill Valley was able to melt the advantage to two, 37-35, but the Indians closed the

third quarter with a rush to lead 47-37 and the Jaguars never applied any serious heat.Pierson McAtee and Gabe Awbrey led the Indians with 17 points apiece and

Garrett Francis scored 13, including 3 of 3 from 3-point.Clayton Holmberg had a double-double for Mill Valley with 14 points and 10

rebounds, while Logan Koch added 12 points. The Jaguars took 23 of their 48 shotsfrom 3-point and were actually quite proficient by making 11.• HEIGHTS STROLLS BY MAIZE —Wichita Heights’ stealth-quick backcourt ofChris Lowe and Semaj Hervey made life miserable for Maize in the third game of the day.Maize had no answer for the dual jets as Heights advanced with an impressive 68-43victory.Lowe and Hervey were dynamite in the open court as the Falcons used a big third

quarter to buffer their cushion. After leading 28-23 at the half, the Falcons ramped itup in the third quarter to swell the lead to 52-36 and continued to pour it on the final 8minutes.Lowe sped to 20 points and Hervey added 12, while both created havoc defensively

as they combined for eight steals. Inside, long-armed Davon Gill chipped in with 14points. With the ball in the hands of Lowe and Hervey, the Falcons committed onlyfour turnovers the entire game.“They’ve been that way for us for three years,” Heights coach Joe Auer said. “They

are veteran guards. They’re not very big. But the only choice you have when you’renot very big is to play really hard and that’s what they do.”Cortlin Standifer and Ky-Sean Johnson scored 11 and 10 points, respectively, for

the Eagles.The Falcons’ supreme athleticism and length on defense led to several runouts as

Heights opened a lot of eyes with its performance.

With McPherson High getting off to a sluggishstart against Hutchinson, Jacob Loecker providedthe Bullpups with a spark that enabled them topull away for the first-round victory.


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When starting point guard Kyler Kinnamon needed a rest,Marcus McDaniel came on to provide the Bullpups withvaluable minutes in the McPherson Invitational.

McPherson High freshman Ben Pyle has been play-ing beyond his years as he's provided the Bullpups

with some valuable minutes off the bench.


Blue Valley West’s 6-8 Blaise Gammon had anoth-er outstanding McPherson Invitational. Gammonwas the tourney’s leading scorer with 58 points(19.3) and was the second-leading rebounder with29 (9.7).

• SCORING •1. Blaise Gammon, Blue Valley West, 582. Trent Webster, Hutchinson, 473. Payton Stephens, McPherson, 474. Lucas Jones, Shawnee Mission East, 465. Pierson McAtee, Manhattan, 456. Kyler Kinnamon, McPherson, 446. Kasey Conklin, Mill Valley, 448. Gabe Awbrey, Manhattan, 419. Davon Gill, Wichita Heights, 4010. Drew Pyle, McPherson, 39

• REBOUNDING •1. Lucas Jones, Shawnee Mission East, 372. Blaise Gammon, Blue Valley West, 293. Pierson McAtee, Manhattan, 274. Payton Stephens, McPherson, 225. Clayton Holmberg, Mill Valley, 216. Nathan Wiles, Blue Valley West, 207. Matthew LeBegue, Maize, 197. Davon Gill, Wichita Heights, 197. Aaron Williams, Wichita Heights 1910. Trent Webster, Hutchinson, 18

McPherson High’s Kyler Kinnamon wasnamed the Most Valuable Player of the 51stannual McPherson Invitational.Kinnamon, who had 20 points and seven

assists in the Bullpups’ 81-58 championshipgame victory over Manhattan, was joined onthe All-Tourney Team by teammates DrewPyle and Payton Stephens.

McPherson Invitational Scoringand Rebounding Leaders

Kinnamon named McPherson Invitational’s MVPManhattan was well represented by Pierson

McAtee and Gabe Awbrey.Also on the team were Blaise Gammon and

Connor Kaiser of Blue Valley West, Lucas Jonesof Shawnee Mission East, Chris Lowe andDavon Gill of Wichita Heights and CortlinStandifer of Maize.


McPherson Invitational Stats Package

• THURSDAY’S BOXES •Shawnee Mission East (60) — Flint 1-2, 9-10, 11; Dornbusch 2-3, 0-0, 5; Englund 5-6, 2-2, 13; Guastello 4-7, 0-0, 11; Vermillion 1-2, 0-0, 2; Jones 3-9, 4-4, 12; Morrison 2-3, 1-3, 6. Totals— 18-32, 16-18, 60. 3-pointers — Guastello 3, Jones 2, Dornbusch 1, Englund 1, Morrison 1.Blue Valley West (53) — Curtis 2-5. 0-0, 4; Martin 1-6, 0-o, 3; McCauley 1-1, 0-0, 2; Kaiser 4-12, 2-3, 11; Lansford 0-1, 0-0, 0; Hailes 4-9, 0-0, 10; Chalupa 2-7, 0-0, 5, Wiles 4-7, 0-0, 8;Gammon 5-8, 0-0, 10. Totals — 23-56, 2-3, 53. 3-pointers — Hailes 2, Martin 1, Kaiser 1, Chapula 1.------Manhattan (63) — Ekart 1-5, 0-0, 3; Dillon 0-1, 0-0, 0; Francis 3-4, 4-4, 13; Hudgins 2-5, 0-2, 4; Munsen 2-2, 1-2, 5; Awbrey 5-10, 6-8, 17; McAtee 4-14, 7-9, 17; Gritton 1-2, 2-2, 4;Osterman 0-3, 0-0, 0. Totals — 18-46, 20-27, 63. 3-pointers — Francis 3, McAtee 2, Ekart 1, Awbrey 1.Mill Valley (53) — Koch 5-13, 1-1, 12; Con. Kaifes 0-1, 0-0, 0; Conklin 0-4, 2-2, 2; Coo. Kaifes 2-4, 1-2, 7; Widmer 2-8, 0-0, 6; Lane 2-3, 0-0, 5; Holmberg 5-7, 3-4, 14; Grauer 1-5, 3-3, 5;Jenkins 1-2, 0-0, 2. Totals — 18-47, 10-12, 53. 3-pointers — Coo. Kaifes 2, Widmer 2, Koch 1, Lane 1, Holmberg 1.------Heights (68) — Hervey 5-16, 1-2, 12; Lowe 8-15, 3-3, 20; Bahner 2-4, 0-0, 5; Johnson 1-3, 0-0, 3; Patrick 2-6, 0-0, 4; Williams 3-8, 0-0, 6; Gill 7-10, 0-0, 14; Ellis 1-2, 2-4, 4; Simpson 0-1, 0-0, 0. Totals — 29-65, 6-9, 68. 3-pointers — Hervey 1, Lowe 1, Bahner 1, Johnson 1.Maize (43) — Standifer 4-7, 2-4, 11; Goode 1-3, 0-0, 2; Bugbee 0-5, 0-0, 0; Johnson 4-5, 1-2, 10; Schultz 1-3, 5-6, 7; Spence 0-1, 0-0, 0; Miller 0-2, 0-1, 0; Ledbetter 3-5, 0-2, 8; LeBegue 2-5, 1-2, 5; Johnson 0-2, 0-0, 0. Totals — 15-38, 9-17, 43. 3-pointers — Ledbetter 2, Standifer 1, Johnson 1.------MHS (56) — McDaniel 0-2, 0-0, 0; Loecker 5-6, 1-2, 11; D. Pyle 2-12, 3-4, 7; B. Pyle 1-3, 0-0, 3; Kinnamon 5-14, 0-0, 11; Stephens 5-9, 4-5, 14; Wine 3-3, 2-4, 8; Gabel 1-2, 0-0, 2. Totals —22-51, 10-15, 56. 3-pointers — B. Pyle 1, Kinnamon 1.Hutch (43) — Howard 0-2, 1-2, 1; Webster 4-12, 1-1, 11; Richards 1-2, 0-0, 2; Fee 1-1, 1-2, 3; Wintz 4-13, 4-5, 13; Middleton 1-1, 1-6, 3; Stoecklien 2-5, 1-1, 6; Faucett 0-1, 2-2, 2;Maldanado 1-1, 0-0, 2. Totals — 14-38, 11-19, 43. 3-pointers — Webster 2, Wintz 1, Stoecklein 1.

• FRIDAY'S BOXES •Blue Valley West (62) — Curtis 0-1, 0-0, 0; Martin 1-5, 4-4, 7; McCauley 0-2, 0-0, 0; Kaiser 5-11, 3-4, 14; Lansford 1-2, 0-0, 2; Chapula 0-0, 2-2, 2; Hailes 1-2, 0-0, 3; Sok 2-4, 0-0, 4; Wiles3-3, 0-0, 6; Gammon 10-14, 4-6, 24. Totals — 23-45, 13-16, 62. 3-pointers — Martin 1, Kaiser 1, Hailes 1.Mill Valley (54) — Kopatich 2-3, 0-0, 5; Koch 0-1, 0-0, 0; Con. Kaifes 1-3, 0-0, 3; Conklin 5-11, 0-0, 15; Coo. Kaifes 2-10, 1-2, 6; Widmer 2-5, 2-2, 7; Lane 0-0, 2-2, 2; Holmberg 2-10, 4-5, 8;Grauer 1-3, 0-0, 2; Jenkins 3-3, 0-0, 6. Totals — 18-49, 9-11, 54. 3-pointers — Conklin 5, Kopatich 1, Con. Kaifes 1, Coo. Kaifes 1, Widmer 1.-----Maize (57) — Standifer 6-11, 2-3, 15; Goode 1-2, 0-0, 2; Bugbee 1-4, 4-4, 6; K. Johnson 3-5, 0-0, 9; Schultz 2-5, 1-2, 5; Spence 1-2, 0-0, 2; Ledbetter 1-3, 0-0, 3; LeBegue 5-0, 0-0, 10; D.Johnson 2-3, 0-0, 5. Totals — 22-45, 7-10, 57. 3-pointers — K. Johnson 3, Standifer 1, Ledbetter 1, D. Johnson 1.Hutch (42) — Howard 2-3, 1-1, 5; Webster 4-9, 3-6, 12; Richards 0-0, 0-2, 0; Fee 0-1, 4-4, 4; Wintz 1-8, 7-8, 9; Middleton 2-2, 0-0, 4; Stoecklein 0-4, 2-2, 2; Faucett 1-2, 0-2, 3; Maldanado 1-2, 1-2, 3. Totals — 11-31, 18-27, 42. 3-pointers — Webster 1, Faucett 1.------Manhattan (52) — Ekart 1-2, 0-0, 2; Dillon 0-1, 0-0, 0; Francis 2-4, 0-0, 6; Hudgins 4-13, 2-3, 10; Munsen 2-4, 0-0, 4; Awbrey 4-8, 3-5, 12; McAtee 6-12, 1-3, 14; Gritton 2-4, 0-0, 4;Ostermann 0-1, 0-0, 0. Totals — 21-49, 6-11, 52. 3-pointers — Francis 2, Awbrey 1, McAtee 1.Shawnee Mission East (50) — Flint 2-6, 1-2, 5; Dornbusch 0-2, 2-2, 2; Englund 2-4, 3-4, 8; Guastello 3-5, 0-0, 7; Jones 11-16, 3-4, 25; Morrison 1-3, 1-2, 3. Totals — 19-36, 10-14, 50. 3-pointers — Englund 1, Guastello 1.------MHS (58) — D. Pyle 3-6, 4-5, 13; B. Pyle 0-0, 2-2, 2; Kinnamon 2-5, 10-14, 13; Wine 0-2, 4-4, 4; Nutter 2-5, 0-0, 4; Stephens 4-8, 10-14, 18; Gabel 1-2, 2-2, 4. Totals — 12-29, 30-36, 58. 3-pointers — D. Pyle 3, Kinnamon 1.Heights (50) — Hervey 4-14, 0-0, 10; Lowe 3-9, 0-0, 6; Patrick 2-3, 0-0, 5; Bahner 3-5, 3-3, 9; Williams 2-3, 1-2, 5; Gill 6-11, 2-3, 14; McCray 0-0, 1-2, 1. Totals — 20-45, 7-10, 50. 3-pointers— Hervey 2, Patrick 1.

• SATURDAY'S BOXES •Mill Valley (59) — Kopatich 1-2, 0-0, 2; Koch 3-7, 3-3, 10; Con. Kaifes 1-2, 0-0, 2; Conklin 7-12, 6-6, 27; Coo. Kaifes 1-5, 1-1, 3; Widmer 2-3, 0-1, 4; Perkins 0-1, 0-0, 0; Holmberg 1-1, 7-8, 9;Grauer 1-1, 0-0, 2. Totals — 17-35, 17-19, 59. 3-pointers — Conklin 7, Koch 1.Hutch (47) — Howard 0-1, 0-0, 0; Webster 7-12, 4-4, 24; Richards 1-4, 0-0, 3; Fee 0-3, 0-0, 0; Wintz 5-12, 2-5, 13; Middleton 0-1, 2-2, 2; Stoecklein 1-4, 2-3, 5; Faucett 0-3, 0-0, 0;Maldanado 0-1, 0-0, 0. Totals — 14-41, 10-14, 47. 3-pointers — Webster 6, Wintz 1, Stoecklein 1, Richards 1.------Blue Valley West (60) — Curtis 2-4, 0-0, 4; Martin 0-3, 3-5, 3; McCauley 1-2, 0-0, 2; Kaiser 3-8, 7-9, 13; Lansford 0-2, 0-0, 0; Hailes 4-8, 0-0, 10; Wiles 1-4, 0-0, 2; Chalupa 0-0, 2-2, 2;Gammon 8-15, 8-12 24. Totals — 19-46, 20-28, 60. 3-pointers — Hailes 2.Maize (57) — Standifer 2-10, 2-3, 6; Goode 0-0, 2-2, 2; Bugbee 0-2, 0-0, 0; K. Johnson 3-9, 3-4, 11; Schultz 5-7, 0-4, 12; Spence 0-1, 0-0, 0; Miller 0-5, 2-2, 2; Ledbetter 1-2, 3-4, 6;LeBegue 7-11, 0-1, 18. Totals — 18-47, 12-22, 57. 3-pointers — LeBegue 4, K. Johnson 2, Schultz 2, Ledbetter 1.------Heights (40) — Hervey 5-16, 0-1, 13; Lowe 4-10, 0-0, 9; Patrick 0-1, 0-0, 0; Bahner 3-4, 0-0, 6; Johnson 0-2, 0-0, 0; Williams 0-1, 0-0, 0; Gill 5-7, 2-3, 12. Totals — 17-41, 2-8, 40. 3-pointers— Hervey 3, Lowe 1.East (39) — Flint 1-3, 0-0, 2; Dornbusch 1-3, 0-0, 3; Guastello 5-5, 2-2, 14; Vermillion 4-6, 2-2, 10; Jones 3-11, 3-4, 9; Morrison 0-1, 1-2, 1. Totals — 14-29, 8-10, 39. 3-pointers — Guastello2, Dornbusch 1.------MHS (81) — Loecker 1-2, 0-0, 2; D. Pyle 7-10, 0-0, 19; B. Pyle 1-1, 0-0, 2; Kinnamon 8-9, 4-6, 20; Stephens 4-7, 7-10, 15; Wine 3-3, 0-0, 6; Nutter 1-3, 1-2, 3; Gabel 6-7, 2-2, 14. Totals —31-42, 14-20, 81. 3-pointers — D. Pyle 5.Manhattan (58) — Ekart 1-1, 3-4, 5; Dillon 1-2, 2-2, 4; Francis 4-10, 2-2, 13; Hudgins 3-5, 2-2, 10; Awbrey 5-13, 2-3, 12; McAtee 4-7, 6-8, 14; Ostermann 0-2, 0-0, 0. Totals — 18-40, 17-21,58. 3-pointers — Francis 3, Hudgins 2.

• THURSDAY’S GAMES •Shawnee Mission East 60, Blue Valley West 53Manhattan 63, Mill Valley 53Wichita Heights 68, Maize 43McPherson 56, Hutchinson 41

• FRIDAY’S GAMES •Blue Valley West 62, Mill Valley 54Maize 57, Hutchinson 42Manhattan 52, Shawnee Mission East 50McPherson 58, Wichita Heights 50

• SATURDAY’S GAMES •Mill Valley 59, Hutchinson 47, 7thBlue Valley West 60, Maize 57, 5thWichita Heights 40, Shawnee Mission East 39, 3rdMcPherson 81, Manhattan 58, 1st


There’s a very real possibility that McPhersonHigh’s girls may have lost to the 2015 Class 6Astate champions in the title game of the 20thannual Mid America Classic.Precision-like Olathe South never panicked

when pushed by the upstart Bullpups, who bat-tled the three-time Classic champions within apoint for a half.But after making some halftime adjustments,

the Falcons scored the first 10 points of the sec-ond half before having to withstand a TaylorRobertson-led rally in the fourth quarter for adeceiving 56-41 victory.South, which is 12-0 all-time in the Classic as

it now numbers four championships, outscoredMHS 13-5 in the final 3 1/2 minutes, most ofthose points coming because the Bullpups hadto foul and the Falcons were gold at the line, fin-ishing the game making 21 of 27 free throws.Still, it was a valiant MHS effort, as it proved it

could give perhaps the state’s best team all itwanted.“Except for that stretch to open the (second)

half, we definitely played right with them,” MHScoach Chris Strathman said. “I probably waitedtoo long to call a timeout (in the third quarter)and switch out of our man (defense). They hadsome rhythm going and kept running the sameset and we weren’t stopping it.”The Bullpups were down only 19-18 at the

half, even with Robertson scoring just two points— those coming with 2 seconds left before thebreak.South, just as it did on Friday when it quickly erased Manhattan’s five-point lead,

turned up the heat to start the second half and in a blink of an eye the Bullpupsfound themselves down 32-19. In fact, MHS went the entire third quarter without afield goal as all the points in the period came from the line.“They gave us all we wanted. That (the start of the second half) was a big part of

the game,” Olathe South coach Steve Ingram said. “That’s probably the second-mostimportant part of a game. We had pretty good focus coming out. Basically we justwanted to execute a little better.”Down 32-22 going into the fourth, Robertson and the Bulllpups came alive. She

had a stretch where she scored nine points in less than four minutes as the Bullpupsdrew within seven. But MHS then sent Kacey Kennett to the foul line continuouslyand she responded, finishing the game making 10 of 11 and scored 19 points total.All-Tournament Dejanae Roebuck tallied 12 points.Robertson scored 14, 12 in the second half. The Falcons got very physical with

her, with Zoe Matje staying with her most of the game. MHS’ inside game dried up inthe second half and the Bullpups finished the game 11 of 33 from the field, thoughthey were solid at the line making 15 of 18 — 7 of 8 by Robertson. “She played real-ly, really well. She didn’t back down,” Strathman said.Robertson was the tournament’s high scorer with 51 points and was the Bullpups’

representative on the All-Tournament Team.Strathman had high praise for the Falcons.“They are very versatile and very difficult to defend,” Strathman said. “We knew that

going in. How many other 4A teams can say they played a 6A Top 4 team andplayed them well? We competed fine with them. There’s not very many teams thatcan say that.”The Falcons turned it over only six times, but couldn’t get MHS to turn it over,

either, as the Bullpups had just 10. Madison Hoffman had another excellent floorgame as she really stepped up in this tournament to assume command of the offense.

Ingram came away impressed with the Bullpups.“They’ve got a good future ahead of them,” he said. “Robertson is very talented — very talented.

Number 40 (Mandi Cooks) is a good-looking fresh-man. They’re going to have a great year this year. Chris does a great job coaching them. I think

they’ll be in the state tournament.”

• MANHATTAN ROLLS TO THIRD-PLACE WIN —Third-place games in the Mid America Classic havenot been kind to the Andale Indians.Andale continued its 0-for-the-history-of-the-

Classic in thirdy's, losing to Manhattan 49-36 for itssecond loss in 24 hours after starting Friday with a10-0 record. It is now 0-6 all-time in third-place games.It was a milestone night for veteran Manhattan

coach Scott Mall, who recorded his 300th victory.Manhattan, which had come so close to toppling

Classic Goliath Olathe South on Friday, came outsteaming in the first half, up by as many as 20points before settling for a 31-14 lead.There was no give-up in Andale, however, as it

pulled as close as seven in the fourth quarter.Caroline Ballard had her best game of the tour-

nament with 14 points to lead Manhattan. LaurenRowland scored 11 for Andale, whose leading scor-er Brittany Meyer was again held in check as shewas just 1 of 13 and scored seven points for thesecond straight night.

• FIFTH PLACE GOES TO DODGE CITY —Dodge City entered the Mid America Classic as theNo. 5 seed and it exited the same way.

The Red Demons, who entered the tournament as the 10th-ranked team in Class6A, overcame a slow start in the fifth-place game, but settled down for a 47-38 victo-ry over Valley Center.The Red Demons turned to their defense to erase a 12-7 opening-quarter deficit

as they allowed only two second-quarter points to lead 15-14 at the half.Dodge then turned to its offense to carry the load in the third quarter, racking up

20 points to establish some working capital. Valley Center never made a serious runthe rest of the way.Jessie Harshberger was spot-on for the Red Demons, making 5 of 7 floor shots

and 5 of 6 free throws for 15 points to lead Dodge, while Ashley Nelson scored 14off the bench, 11 of those in the first half. Nelson was 4 of 6 from the field and 6 of 6at the line.Taylor Latimer led Valley Center with 14 points.

• WICHITA SOUTHEAST PREVAILS IN OT FOR 7TH —Wichita Southeastremained undefeated in seventh-place games in the Mid America Classic.The Buffaloes outlasted Hays 57-55 in overtime in a game that at times both

teams tried to hand to the other with missed point-blank shots and shaky foul shoot-ing.Southeast is now 2-0 in seventh-place games in its two Classic appearances.This one was tight all the way once Wichita Southeast erased an early 18-10

deficit.A Natoria McCoy free throw with 2:14 left in overtime put the Buffaloes ahead for

good at 53-52, then they had to survive several Hays threats, including a missedshot at the buzzer that would have tied the game.Alex Arline scored 23 points to lead Southeast, while Jada Williams buried four 3-

pointers on her way to 13 points. Maddie Keller came off the bench to lead Hays with13 points and 10 rebounds. Audra Schmeidler scored 12 and Mattie Schlaefli scored 11.

Olathe South Fends Off Upset Bid ByMcPherson High For Fourth Classic Title

McPherson High’s Ashtyn Schieferecke battledmightily against Olathe South in the champi-onship game of the Mid America Classic, but the Bullpups fell short. Schieferecke had an 11-rebound game in the tourney.


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Senior Madison Hoffman was a big reason thatMcPherson High’s girls had an outstanding MidAmerica Classic in terms of ballhandling. The Bullpupscommitted just 18 turnovers in the final two games.

Cassidy Wedel, a senior for McPherson High,turned in a solid three-game performance to

spark the Bullpups to a second placeMid America Classic finish.


McPherson High’s girls have their sling-shots loaded.The Bullpups handed Andale its first loss

of the season in the semifinals to earn aspot in the Mid America Classic champi-onship game against mighty Olathe South,which has never lost in the history of thisevent.By virtue of their heart-stopping 47-46

nailbiter, the Bullpups took a 9-3 record intothe finale.Just when you thought MHS and Andale

couldn’t produce more excitement than thefirst meeting between the teams in Andalewhere the Indians won 45-43 in overtime,this one topped it because of several sen-sational performances.“It took that to beat a very, very good

Andale team,” MHS coach Chris Strathmansaid. “Obviously they were undefeated for areason. Outstanding team effort. I thoughtthe girls battled, they did a good job on theboards.”Bullpup freshman Taylor Robertson was

simply stunning, as she tied Tanner Hein’s2012 Classic record with seven 3-pointersand scored a career-high 26 points. Shewas 7 of 12 from beyond the arc and evenher misses looked as though they wereright on line. Her point total was one off thefreshman record of Moundridge’s LaurieKoehn, whose name was evoked on numer-ous occasions on this night as her performance was Koehn-esque. Also coming up big for MHS were Ashtyn Schieferecke (six points, 11

rebounds) and Madison Hoffman (four clutch free throws and an amazingdefensive job on Andale star Brittany Meyer, who was held to just sevenpoints on 2-of-7 shooting).Hoffman’s ballhandling also helped the Bullpups to just eight turnovers.“That’s probably a season low,” Strathman said. “Against a team that

does a pretty good job of getting up and pressuring you in the backcourt.”Robertson’s 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter tied the game at 12-all

and she had nine points in the period. An 8-0 MHS second-quarter run —with Robertson draining a pair of treys — sparked MHS to a 25-21 halftime lead.Not much changed in the third quarter as two more Robertson treys

helped MHS stay afloat at 34-31.Time and again Andale challenged, but MHS would never give up the

lead. The Bullpups made the game harder than they should have by miss-ing six free throws in the fourth quarter, but it was a pair by — who else —Robertson with 9 seconds left that gave MHS a four-point lead. Andale hit atrey at the end, but had no timeouts left and the clock ran out.Hoffman added three free throws in the final minute as Strathman said

the Bullpups made just enough to survive.Lauren Rowland scored 13 points for Andale and Rachel Friedrichs was

a load inside with 12. But the seven by Meyer was another reason for theMHS win as Hoffman and Kamryn Collins just wouldn’t give her room tooperate.“Madison is a pretty darn tough kid and she’s a competitor,” Strathman

said. “She wants to be on the floor. She’s our leader. She’s a very silentleader, but she’s definitely our leader this year and she’s been doing agreat job of it.”

• OLATHE SOUTH HOLDS OFF MANHATTAN — There were many whobelieved the two best teams of the Mid America Classic were meeting inthe first semifinal.

Ranked Class 6A powers Olathe South andManhattan, who were third and fourth at lastyear's state tourney, respectively, put their 9-2records on the line.Also at stake was South’s 10-0 all-time

Classic record as it has won championshipsin each of its previous three meetings. Not tomention Manhattan is the defending Classicchampion.The Indians fought off the Falcons as long

as they could, but South continued itsRoundhouse magic with a 54-50 victory toadvance to its fourth final in as manyattempts.A terrific third quarter by the Falcons swung

the game's momentum as they went from fivedown at the half, 27-22, to up six, 44-38 afterthree quarters. South knocked down 8 of 13shots in the quarter. Center Dajanae Roebuck scored 10 points

in the period.Manhattan could never get any closer than

four in the final periodSouth had started the game out blazing, rac-ing to a 9-2 lead before the game was 3 min-utes old. But Manhattan never panicked,outscoring the Falcons 10-0 as South did notscore the final 5:34 of the period.Manhattan continued to run its offense withprecision to take a 27-22 lead into the half.Gigi McAtee provided a spark with nine points

off the bench with three 3s. But the Indians hadsome cold stretches in the second half and the Falcons took advantage.Roebuck and Kala Holder led the winners with 16 points apiece and

Jordan Morton added 10. McAtee scored 13 and snared six rebounds forManhattan, while Kylie James scored 10.• DODGE CITY DEFEATS SOUTHEAST — Dodge City saw a 10-pointhalftime lead over Wichita Southeast whittled to two in the third quarter, butthe Red Demons found their second wind to pull away from the Buffaloes47-35 in the consolation round.Dodge City sprinted to a 13-2 first-quarter lead, but the Buffaloes man-

aged to inch closer over the next two quarters.Southeast drew as close as 28-26, but Dodge City finished the third quar-

ter on a 8-2 rip and then protected the lead from there.Tia Bradshaw led Dodge City with 19 points. Jessie Harshberger scored

eight points and pulled down 10 rebounds.Alex Arline led Southeast with 11 points and Jada Williams chipped in

with 10. Arline was perfect from 3-point by going 3-for-3.A big difference was rebounding as Dodge City pulled down 36 to just 27

for the Buffs.• VALLEY CENTER HANDLES HAYS — Hays scored the first two pointsof the fourth quarter to finally catch Valley Center in the consolation roundof the Mid America Classic, but the Hornets responded with a 13-0 TaylorLatimer-led run to pull away for a 53-36 victory.Valley Center jumped out to a 12-5 lead and maintained it until Hays

finally got it tied at 34-all in the opening minutes of the final period.The Hornets turned it up on the defensive end from there, as the Indians

managed only two points the rest the the way, going nearly 6 minutes with-out point. Latimer keyed the big run with six points and scored 18 in thegame.Kyli Webber chipped in with 13 points. Rebounding was a key as the

Hornets had a 41-34 advantage.Audra Schmeidler led Hays with 17 points and also pulled down seven

rebounds.

Bullpups Edged New Rival Andale By OnePoint In Classic Semifinals

Emerging McPherson High freshman MandiCooks proved she could hold her own against moreexperienced post players in the Mid AmericaClassic and drew praise from Olathe South coachSteve Ingram after the championship game.


McPherson High senior Bri Cooks was adefensive and rebounding mainstay duringthe Mid America Classic, as she combinedwith her sister Mandi for solid inside play.

Sophomore Kamryn Collins had a terrificdefensive tournament for McPherson Highin the Mid America Classic. Collins com-bined with Madison Hoffman to hold

Andale star Brittany Meyer to just sevenpoints in the semifinals.


After three straight games thatbarely emitted a yawn, there finallywas a close game in the finale on thefirst day of the Mid America Classic.For a half, that is.McPherson High shook loose late

in the first half to take a 23-16 leadover Dodge City, then scored the first10 points of the second half as animpetus to a 53-35 success.The Bullpups spent most of the first

half knocking off the rust of a nine-day layoff, leading only 18-16 beforescoring five quick points going intothe break."What hurt us more than anything

with that layoff was we never didhave a full squad at practice," MHScoach Chris Strathman said. "We'vebeen battling some illness andtonight we had all 11 varsity kids forthe first time since at Andale. So thatwas tough."While the MHS offense was spo-

radic, the solid defense was a con-stant as Dodge City really struggledto put points on the board."Dodge City was a good, quality

team," Strathman said. "We brokedown on some assignments and theygot where we shouldn't have letthem. But overall I thought we did agood job defensively on their team tonight."Freshman Mandi Cooks, who didn't have to have her quarters

monitored since she also plays JV during the regular season, provid-ed the Bullpups a spark off the bench as she scored 12 points.Ashtyn Schieferecke also scored 12 points.• ANDALE IMPRESSIVE IN OPENER — It was another walk in thepark for the higher-seeded team in the third game of the Mid AmericaClassic on Day One.Undefeated Andale made it three blowouts in as many games with

a 66-30 squashing of Wichita Southeast.The 10-0 Indians blazed to leads of 18-7 after a quarter and 37-10

at halftime, sinking 14 of 29 floor shots."It was hard to get a rhythm going, but we stayed aggressive and

got some easy baskets," Andale coach Mark Kerschen said. "Wewere ready to play, but were a little rusty."Four-year starting point guard Brittany Meyer set the tone with 13

first-half points and went on to finish with 15. Also in double figureswere Lauren Rowland, Rachel Friedrichs and Kadey Dreiling, all with 10.Meyer has been one of the tourney's best players for four years

and seems to light up when she steps into the Roundhouse."It's McPherson. It's the basketball capital of Kansas isn't it?"

Kerschen said, noting that she plays hard all the time, but especiallyhere.Southeast couldn’t handle Andale’s defensive pressure, turning it

over 13 times in the first half and finished with 20. Alex Arline led theBuffs with eight points.

• MANHATTAN ROUTS VALLEYCENTER — The rematch is now set.Manhattan did its part in the second

game of the Mid America Classic toearn a semifinal game against first-game winner Olathe South.The two ranked Class 6A heavy-

weights met last year in the third-placegame of the Class 6A StateTournament, with South taking a 56-53decision.Manhattan advanced to Friday’s

evening session by virtue of its 57-37triumph over Valley Center.“They’re so much different, last year

(All-Stater Kylee) Kopatich was thedominant player. Now they’re so evenlybalanced,” Manhattan coach Scott Mallsaid. “For years we never saw themand now we’ve played them threetimes in the last three years. They’re avery good team, very balanced. Theyget scoring from a lot of different people.”Manhattan grabbed command early,

jumping out to a 17-7 lead and movedit to 28-15 by half as Valley Centerstruggled from the field throughout thenight.The Indians had nice balance, as 11

of their 12 players scored and nonewere in double figures. Amara Ehie ledthe way with nine points. Valley’s

Bethany Reeves took game honors with 12.“We were a little more inconsistent than we’d like,” Mall said.

“Offensively we had a lot of turnovers (22) and we let them drive tothe basket a little too much. But we had some good spurts and goodcontributions from some people off the bench.”• OLATHE SOUTH BOUNCES HAYS — No Kylee Kopatich, noproblem for the Olathe South girls in the opening game of the tournament.Even without their potential Kansas Player of the Year candidate,

out for the season with a knee injury, the Falcons looked every bit asstrong as their three previous Classic championship teams with a 76-27 rout of Hays.The Falcons set the tone by making 10 of 14 shots in the first quar-

ter to blow out to a 24-9 lead and didn’t pump the brakes in the sec-ond quarter, extending it to 44-16 at half. If that wasn't bad enoughfor Hays, South scored the first 20 points of the second half.For South coach Steve Ingram, there were few complaints about

the opener."If you want to get picky, we didn't play as well defensively as I'd

like to start the game," Ingram said. "But other than that, we did a lotof good things offensively. We share the ball really well and they lookfor each other and play hard for each other."South was led by Kala Holder with 21 points, 16 of those coming in

the first half. The Falcons blistered it for 17 of 28 from the field.Dejanae Roebuck added 12 points and Makayla Gooch chipped in

with 11. South made 29 of 53 shots — a staggering 10 of 22 from 3-point — and committed just eight turnovers. Hays was led by Audra Schmeidler with nine points.

Emma Yowell knocked down some key 3-pointers forthe McPherson High girls during the Mid AmericaClassic.

Dodge City Gave MHS Early Push In Opener


P.O. Box 337782 Cherokee Rd.Inman, KS 67546

Phone: (620) 585-2763Fax: (620) 585-2764

Paige Schmidt played important minutes in areserve role for the McPherson High girls duringthe three-day Mid America Classic. Schmidt pro-vided some intense defense on opposing teams’guards.

Ally Ulsaker provided McPherson High withsome valuable minutes off the bench as she

helped the Bullpups to a second-place finish inthe Mid America Classic.


McPherson High freshman Taylor Robertson was namedto the All-Tournament Team of the 20th annual MidAmerica Classic.Robertson, who led the tournament in scoring with 51

points, was joined on the elite five-member team by OlatheSouth’s Kala Holder and Dejanae Roebuck, Andale’sRachel Friedrichs and Manhattan’s Gigi McAtee.

McPherson’s Robertson Named To TheAll-Tournament Team

In the semifinals against Andale, Robertson tied theClassic record with seven 3-pointers, which was set byMcPherson’s Tanner Hein. Robertson’s 26 points wereone shy of the freshman record set by Laurie Koehn ofMoundridge.Manhattan won the John Watkins Sportsmanship Award.

• SCORING •Taylor Robertson, McPherson, 51Kala Holder, Olathe South, 43Alex Arline, Wichita Southeast, 42Taylor Latimer, Valley Center, 40Dejanae Roebuck, Olathe South, 40Audra Schmeidler, Hays, 38Lauren Rowland, Andale, 34Jada Williams, Wichita Southeast, 29Jessie Harshberger, Dodge City, 29Ashley Nelson, Dodge City, 29Brittany Meyer, Andale, 29Rachel Friedrichs, Andale, 29Gigi McAtee, Manhattan, 29

• REBOUNDING •Natoria McCoy, Wichita Southeast, 22Kaylyn Maple, Dodge City, 22Kyli Webber, Valley Center, 20Rachel Friedrichs, Andale, 18Caroline Ballard, Manhattan, 18Taylor Latimer, Valley Center, 17Audra Schmeidler, Hays, 17Jessie Harshberger, Dodge City, 16Ashley Nelson, Dodge City, 15Kennedy Wilson, Manhattan, 14Gigi McAtee, Manhattan, 14Savannah Roberts, Manhattan, 14

After making a record-tying seven 3-pointers in the semifinals againstAndale, McPherson High’s Taylor Robertson was the odds-on favoriteto win the Mid America Classic’s 3-point shooting contest the followingmorning.And to the surprise of no one, she did.Robertson scored 22 out of 30 possible points in the contest. Second

place went to Brooke Russell of Hays, while Kyli Webber of ValleyCenter was third.In a somewhat amazing story in the free throw contest, injured All-

Stater Kylee Kopatich of Olathe South competed despite the fact she’sout for the year with a knee injury. But she was able to stand to shootfree throws, making 32 of 35 for the win.Andale’s Rachel Friedrichs took second after a playoff with Hays’

Audra Schmeidler.

Mid America Classic Scoring AndRebounding Leaders

3-point Shooting Contest Won ByMcPherson’s Robertson

It was quite a Mid America Classic for McPherson Highfreshman Taylor Robertson. She led the Classic in scoringwith 51 points, won the 3-point contest on the final dayand made the Classic All-Tournament Team. She also tiedthe Classic record with seven 3-pointers in the semifinalsagainst Andale.

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• THURSDAY’S BOXES •Olathe South (76) — Rehagen 3-7, 0-1, 7; Butaud 3-7, 0-0, 9; Gooch 4-7, 0-0, 11; Holder 9-13, 1-2, 21; Matje 0-2, 0-0, 0; Kennett 1-1, 2-2, 5; Duncan 2-4, 0-0, 4; Roebuck 5-6, 2-3, 12;Bartels 2-4, 2-2, 6; Morton 0-2, 1-2, 1. Totals — 29-53, 8-13, 76. 3-pointers — Butaud 3, Gooch 3, Holder 2, Rehagen 1, Kennett 1.Hays (27) — Kleweno 1-6, 0-0, 2; Smith 1-6, 0-0, 2; Schlaefli 2-6, 2-2, 7; Russell 0-3, 0-0, 0; Taylor 0-1, 0-0, 0; Dinkel 1-2, 0-0, 2; Keller 1-3, 0-0, 2; Peckham 1-3, 1-4, 3; Schmeidler 4-8,0-0, 9. Totals — 11-38, 3-6, 27. 3-pointers — Schklaefli 1, Schmeidler 1.------Manhattan (57) — McAtee 4-6, 0-0, 8; Ehie 2-3, 5-7, 9; Bammes 1-3, 0-0, 2; Fiser 1-2, 0-1, 3; Mittie 2-3, 3-4, 8; Roberts 2-5, 1-2, 5; Thaemert 1-2, 0-0, 2; Henry 0-0, 2-2, 2; Wilson 3-7,0-0, 6; Ballard 3-11, 0-0, 7; Hilgers 0-1, 0-0, 0; James 2-2, 1-2, 5. Totals — 21-46, 12-18, 57. 3-pointers — Fiser 1, Mittie 1, Ballard 1.Valley Center (37) — Boese 1-2, 0-0, 2; Weaver 3-9, 2-2, 8; Richter 0-1, 0-0, 0; Reeves 4-17, 3-4, 12; Petrakis 0-2, 0-0, 0 Lawrence 0-2, 0-0, 0; Webber 2-10, 1-2, 7; Latimer 3-7, 2-6, 8.Totals — 13-50, 8-14, 37. 3-pointers — Webber 2, Reeves 1.------Andale (66) — Reichenberger 2-3, 0-0, 4; Easter 1-1, 0-0, 2; Meyer 5-10, 3-3, 15; Dreiling 4-5, 2-3, 10; Maxwell 0-2, 1-2 1; Rowland 3-9, 4-6, 10; Chavez 0-1, 0-0, 0; Leep 2-6, 0-1, 4;Bergkamp 2-6, 0-2, 4; Friedrichs 4-7, 2-2, 10; Venjohn 2-6, 1-2, 6. Totals — 25-56, 13-21, 66. 3-pointers — Meyer 2, Venjohn 1.Southeast (30) — Sader 0-2, 0-0, 0; Joseph 3-7, 0-0, 6; McCoy 2-6, 2-4, 6; Arline 3-17, 2-2, 8; Christon 0-5, 1-2, 1; Jennings 1-4, 0-2, 2; Rentas 0-3, 1-2, 1; Williams 2-9, 0-0, 6. Totals —11-53, 6-12, 30. 3-pointers — Williams 2.------McPherson (53) — Schmidt 0-1, 0-0, 0; Wedel 1-4, 0-0, 2; Yowell 3-6, 0-0, 8; Hoffman 0-1, 0-0, 0; Collins 0-0, 2-2, 2; Schieferecke 4-9, 4-5, 12; Ulsaker 2-6, 2-2, 6; Robertson 3-7, 0-0, 9;M. Cooks 5-8, 2-2, 12; B. Cooks 1-3, 0-0, 2. Totals — 19-45, 10-11, 53. 3-pointers — Robertson 3, Yowell 2.Dodge City (35) — B. Bradshaw 4-8, 2-5, 10; T. Bradshaw 2-5, 1-2, 5; Maple 1-3, 0-0, 2; Harshberger 3-8, 0-0, 6; Shelor 1-4, 0-0, 2; Nelson 3-7, 1-2, 7; Mota 1-1, 0-0, 3. Totals — 15-36,4-9, 35. 3-pointers — Mota 1.

• FRIDAY’S BOXES • Valley Center (53) — Boese 0-3, 0-0, 0; Weaver 2-7, 2-4, 6; Richter 2-3, 2-2, 7; Reeves 2-8, 2-2, 7; Webber 3-15, 4-6, 13; Kluesner 1-1, 0-0, 2; Latimer 8-13, 2-4, 18. Totals — 18-50, 12-18, 53. 3-pointers — Webber 3, Richter 1, Reeves 1.Hays (36) — Kleweno 1-11, 0-0, 2; Smith 0-4, 0-1, 0; Schlaefli 3-9, 2-2, 9; George 3-5, 0-0, 6; Russell 0-1, 0-0, 0; Dinkel 0-1, 2-2, 2; Keller 0-1, 0-0, 0; Peckham 0-1, 0-0, 0; Schmeidler 6-16, 4-4, 17. Totals — 13-49, 8-9, 36. 3-pointers — Schlaefli 1, Schmeidler 1.------Dodge City (47) — Price 1-2, 0-0, 3; B. Bradshaw 1-4, 0-0, 2; T. Bradshaw 6-14, 5-6, 19; Maple 2-6, 3-4, 7; Harshbarger 4-11, 0-2, 8; Shelor 0-3, 0-0, 0; Nelson 3-8, 2-4, 8. Totals — 17-48, 10-16, 47. 3-pointers — T. Bradshaw 2, Price 1.Southeast (35) — Joseph 0-1, 0-0, 0; McCoy 4-7, 0-0, 8; Arline 3-9, 2-2, 11; Christon 0-4, 2-3, 2; Jennings 1-1, 0-0, 2; Rentas 1-4, 0-2, 2; Williams 4-11, 0-0, 10. Totals — 13-38, 4-7, 35.3-pointers — Arline 3, Williams 2.------Olathe South (54) — Rehagen 0-1, 0-0, 0; Holder 7-12, 2-2, 16; Matje 2-2, 0-1, 6; Kennett 1-5, 2-3, 4; Duncan 1-3, 0-2, 2; Roebuck 5-10, 6-8, 16; Morton 2-5, 5-6, 10. Totals — 18-38, 15-22, 54. 3-pointers — Matje 2, Morton 1.Manhattan (50) — McAtee 5-11, 0-0, 13; Ehie 4-8, 0-0, 8; Fiser 0-4, 0-0, 0; Roberts 2-6, 0-0, 4; Thaemert 1-2, 1-1, 3; Wilson 2-7, 2-2, 6; Ballard 2-6, 2-2, 6; James 4-6, 0-0, 10. Totals —20-53, 5-5, 50. 3-pointers — McAtee 3, James 2.------McPherson (47) — Wedel 1-4, 4-5, 6; Yowell 0-2, 0-0, 0; Collins 0-1, 0-0, 0; Hoffman 0-4, 4-7, 4; Schieferecke 2-8, 2-3, 6; Ulsaker 0-1, 0-0, 0; Robertson 8-14, 3-4, 26; M. Cooks 1-3, 1-2,3; B. Cooks 1-4, 0-2, 2. Totals — 13-41, 14-23, 47. 3-pointers — Robertson 7.Andale (46) — Easter 1-3, 2-5, 5; Meyer 2-7, 2-2, 7; Dreiling 0-1, 0-0, 0; Maxwell 4-5, 1-1, 9; Rowland 5-14, 3-5, 13; Friedrichs 5-8, 2-2, 12; Venjohn 0-1, 0-0, 0. Totals — 17-39, 10-15,46. 3-pointers — Easter 1, Meyer 1.

• SATURDAY'S BOXES •Wichita Southeast (57) — Joseph 1-2, 0-1, 2; McCoy 3-11, 1-5, 7; Arline 6-15, 9-11, 23; Christon 1-2, 1-2, 3; Chery 0-1, 0-0, 0; Rentas 4-8, 1-2, 9; Williams 4-8, 1-2, 13. Totals — 19-48,13-23, 57. 3-pointers — Williams 4, Arline 2.Hays (55) — Kleweno 3-9, 2-2, 9; Smith 0-2, 1-2, 1; Schlaefli 4-10, 1-2, 11; George 1-3, 0-0, 2; Taylor 0-1, 0-0, 0; Dinkel 1-3, 1-3, 3; Keller 5-12, 3-8, 13; Parrish 2-7, 0-0, 4; Peckham 0-1,0-0, 0; Schmeidler 5-11, 1-2, 12. Totals — 21-59, 9-19, 55. 3-pointers — Schlaefli 2, Kleweno 1, Schmeidler 1.------Dodge City (47) — Price 0-1, 0-0, 0; B. Bradshaw 1-8, 2-8, 4; T. Bradshaw 0-1, 3-5, 3; Maple 2-4, 1-2, 5; Harshberger 5-7 5-6, 15; Shelor 1-2, 2-2, 4; Nelson 4-6, 6-6, 14; Nichols 1-1, 0-0,2. Totals — 14-30, 19-29, 47. 3-pointers — None.Valley Center (38) — Boese 1-2, 2-2, 4; Weaver 2-10, 0-2, 5; Richter 2-2, 0-2, 4; Reeves 2-8, 0-0, 5; Petrakis 0-1, 0-0, 0; Lawrence 0-2, 0-1, 0; Webber 1-9, 4-4, 6; Kluesner 0-1, 0-0, 0;Latimer 5-10, 4-6, 14. Totals — 13-45, 10-17, 38. 3-pointers — Weaver 1, Reeves 1.------Manhattan (49) — McAtee 1-3, 5-6, 8; Ehie 1-4, 2-4, 4; Fiser 1-3, 0-0, 3; Mittie 2-3, 0-0, 4; Roberts 0-2, 2-3, 2; Wilson 3-5, 0-0, 6; Ballard 4-10, 5-6, 14; James 3-6, 2-2, 8. Totals — 15-36,16-21, 49. 3-pointers — McAtee 1, Fiser 1, Ballard 1.Andale (36) — Easter 2-6, 2-4, 7; Meyer 1-13, 4-4, 7; Dreiling 0-1, 0-0, 0; Maxwell 0-1, 0-0, 0; Rowland 5-11, 1-4, 11; Leep 0-1, 0-0, 0; Bergkamp 0-0, 1-2, 1; Frienrichs 1-4, 5-6, 7;Venjohn 1-3, 0-0, 3. Totals — 10-40, 13-20, 36. 3-pointers — Easter 1, Meyer 1, Venjohn 1.------MHS (41) — Schmidt 1-3, 0-0, 3; Wedel 1-2, 1-2, 4; Yowell 1-2, 0-0, 3; Collins 0-2, 4-4, 4; Hoffman 1-3, 1-2, 3; Schieferecke 2-7, 0-0, 4; Robertson 3-10, 7-8, 14; M. Cooks 2-4, 2-2, 6.Totals — 11-33, 15-18, 41. 3-pointers — Schmidt 1, Wedel 1, Robertson 1, Yowell 1.Olathe South (56) — Gooch 0-1, 0-0, 0; Holder 1-9, 4-7, 6; Matje 1-6, 0-1, 2; Kennett 4-7, 10-11, 19; Duncan 3-3, 3-3, 9; Roebuck 4-6, 4-5, 12; Morton 4-7, 0-0, 8. Totals — 17-39, 21-27,56. 3-pointers — Kennett 1.

Mid America Classic Stats Pack• THURSDAY’S GAMES • Olathe South 76, Hays 27Manhattan 57, Valley Center 37Andale 66, Wichita Southeast 30McPherson 53, Dodge City 35

• FRIDAY’S GAMES •Valley Center 53, Hays 36Dodge City 47, Wichita Southeast 35Olathe South 54, Manhattan 50McPherson 47, Andale 46

• SATURDAY’S GAMES •Wichita Southeast 57, Hays 55, OTDodge City 47, Valley Center 38, 5thManhattan 49, Andale 36, 3rdOlathe South 56, McPherson 41, 1st


The Hesston High girlserased their only disappoint-ment of the 2013-14 season.The Swathers, whose semi-

final loss in the HillsboroClassic was their only blem-ish during their championshipseason, went virtually unchal-lenged in this year’s tourna-ment as they were the onlyarea team to capture a mid-season championship,although there were plenty offinalists.After what amounted to a

walkover against the FlintHills Job Corps 78-2, theSwathers doubled up RileyCounty (54-27) and thenswamped Clay Center for thechampionship (53-31).The championship win over

the Tigers extendedHesston’s record to 13-0 andin only one game had it been played within single digits (36-30 byEmporia).Hesston had little trouble with Clay Center, bolting to a 24-10 half-

time lead. It rode the strong play of the Richardson sisters, as Cayleescored 21 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, while Cami scored13 points and snared six rebounds.Hesston also dominated two of the most important categories, nearly

doubling the Tigers in rebounds (30-16) and turning it over just 12 times.• HESSTON BOYS FALL IN FINALS — The Swather boys werehoping to make it a clean sweep of the Hillsboro titles, but an amaz-ing rally by Holcomb denied that.In the championship game, the Swathers led the Longhorns 34-32

going into the fourth quarter when the game’s complexion changedas it turned into a high-scoring affair. Holcomb scored 29 points in thefinal period for a 61-56 victory.Hesston scored 22 points of its own in the final quarter, but it was-

n’t enough. Tyler McCartney led the Swathers with 19 points, GrantRaleigh scored 12 and Garrett Roth came off the bench for 10.• LITTLE RIVER BOYS LOSE IN FINALS — It was nearly aCinderella run for the Little River boys in the Burrton Invitational.After upsetting once-beaten Central Christian in overtime in the semi-finals, the Redskins found themselves in overtime again in the cham-pionship game against longtime power Berean Academy.Little River ran out of gas in the extra period as the Warriors finally

emerged with a 61-53 victory.Chord Zeller scored 15 points in defeat for Little River. Grant

Harvey added 13 and Cordell Moore tossed in 12.• ELYRIA GIRLS 2ND IN COUGAR CLASSIC — The Eaglesappeared to be on their way to a stunner.Elyria jumped on favored Centre 13-2 in the championship game of

the Cougar Classic and still led 22-15 at halftime.But Centre would not be denied. The Cougars came roaring back

for a 40-35 victory.

Addison Fields had it goingfrom long range for the Eaglesas she led the scoring with 15points. Rachel Adamykchipped in with 12.• GREAT FINISH FOR C-GGIRLS — It had been a longtime since Canton-Galva’s girlshad played for a tournamentchampionship.They advanced to the finals

of the Sedgwick Invitationalbefore running into bigger-school Conway Springs, whichsprang a 46-26 setback onthem.Cassidy Enns kept the

Eagles afloat with 11 points.Inman’s girls won two of

three games to take thirdplace in the same tournament.• NO. 1 CENTRAL PLAINSRALLIES PASTMOUNDRIDGE GIRLS — In

maybe one of the great comebacks of any tournament in Kansasduring the two weeks, the Moundridge girls appeared to have theGreat Bend Hilltop championship trophy in their hands, only to bestunned by No. 1-ranked Central Plains.The Wildcats raced to a 17-point lead with about 6 minutes remain-

ing, but the Oilers charged back with a miracle finish.Central Plains’ Reagan Phelan tied the game at 59, then won it

with a basket with 1 second left in the game to deal the Wildcats onlytheir second loss of the year.The loss spoiled another outstanding game by Moundridge’s

Ashley Holler, who tallied 21 points.• C-G, MOUNDRIDGE, ELYRIA BOYS ALL GO 2-1 — The Canton-Galva boys recorded one of their highest finishes in recent years intheir own tournament.The Eagles needed three overtimes to outlast Sedgwick 69-59 in

the third-place game. Canton-Galva was down as many as 10 points in the third quarter

before waging a spirited comeback.Travis Unruh was sensational with 24 points and seven assists,

while Tanner Klingensmith played all 44 minutes and scored 18,while pulling down nine rebounds.At Halstead, Moundridge’s boys lost their opener, but came back

with two wins, including one of its best games of the year, a 66-64overtime victory over Class 4A Rose Hill in the fifth-place game.Colton Frazer scored 24 points to pace the Wildcats, while

Alejandro Jimenez added 16 points and Anthony Otte tallied 15.Jimenez hit the game-winner with 2 seconds left.At Lost Springs, the Elyria boys entered the Cougar Classic with an

0-10 record, but won back-to-back games to take fifth place.In that fifth-place game, the Eagles were down to host Centre 19-

11 after a quarter, but came roaring back for a 56-44 victory.Matthew Gemmer was on a roll with 19 points, while Spencer

Kaufman and Tyler Thiessen scored 11 apiece.

Hesston Girls Captured Championship of Hillsboro Classic

The Hesston girls captured the championship of theHillsboro Classic by defeating Clay Center, 53-31. TheSwathers are the defending Class 3A champions andhave been ranked No. 1 all season.


Mid America Classic co-directors Dave Chartier (left) and Bob Baldwin were honored duringceremonies on the final night of the tournament. Chartier and Baldwin have served as co-direc-tors since the inception of the event in 1996. They are handing the torch over to Jerry Fithianand Kendall Shaw for the 2016 Classic. Pictured with Chartier and Baldwin are the otherOptimist Club members who helped make this arguably the best midseason tournament inKansas.

Congratulations!


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