Baldwin — Oh, the ignominy of being forced to wear your road uniforms on your home floor.
"Coach said it was a disgrace we had to wear purple," Baldwin's Joe Gipp said after scoring 19 points to help the Bulldogs jar Jefferson West, 74-56, in the first round of the Baldwin Invitational boys basketball tournament on Tuesday night.
Jeff West came in with a 7-2 record and was the No. 4 tourney seed while Baldwin was No. 5 at 4-6. The higher seed wore home uniforms.
"Yeah, we talked about that a little bit," Baldwin coach Jeff Haas said, smiling about the uniform angle. "We had a little extra motivation, too. We would have had to play in the gym where we practice."
Friday's consolation games will be played in the smaller high school gym while the semifinals will be in the larger junior high gym where the 'Dogs play their home games.
"We didn't want to play where we practice," Gipp said. "That gym is too small for our fans and our band anyway."
Gipp, a 5-foot-11 junior, and backcourt mate Andy Hannon, a 6-0 sophomore, combined for 43 points. Hannon had 24, including 11 of 13 at the free-throw line.
Gipp, son of Haskell Indian Nations University men's coach Al Gipp, drilled four three-pointers.
With Hannon and Gipp sparkling and with Hugh Murphy adding 13 points inside, the Bulldogs hardly looked like a team that had lost four straight and hadn't defeated a team with a winning record.
"We've been waiting for that to happen," Haas said. "Hannon and Gipp are young, talented basketball players. They're still learning how to get things going together."
Baldwin (5-6), which bowed to Ottawa in last year's tourney championship game, will face top-seed Augusta at 6 p.m. Friday in the semifinals.
Augusta (8-2) destroyed Anderson County, 102-58, in Tuesday's other first-round game in the junior high gym.
"They're a good team, to say the least," Haas said of the Orioles, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A.
Baldwin 74, Jefferson West 56
BALDWIN (74)
Eric Black 0 0-0 0, Hugh Murphy 5 3-4 13, Eric Brown 1 3-3 5, Andy Hannon 6 11-13 24, Joe Gipp 8 1-3 19, Richards 1 1-1 3, Brian Lauridsen 1 2-2 4, Brett Myrick 0 1-2 1, Micah Mason 0 1-4 1, Chapin Deel 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 23-32 74.
JEFFERSON WEST (56)
Chris Harper 3 0-0 7, Adam Petesch 6 0-0 12, Dusty Hothan 0 3-4 3, Josh Bickel 3 1-3 7, Dave Jensen 5 0-1 10, Andrew Cherry 3 0-0 6, Dustin Sutton 2 0-0 6, Bo Henderson 2 1-12 5. Totals 24 5-10 56.
Baldwin 13 15 18 28 74
Jefferson West 13 10 10 23 56
Three-point goals: Gipp 4, Sutton 2, Harper, Hannon. Total fouls: Baldwin 15, Jefferson West 22. Fouled out: Jensen.
Santa Fe Trail 72,
KC Turner 65
The Chargers (7-3) led 35-18 at halftime and 58-31 after three quarters before Turner scored 34 points in the final eight minutes. Senior Ben Fawl scored 15 points to lead the Chargers' balanced attack. Brian Kral added 14 and Justin Ramsdell 12. Shane Miles and Cameron Babb scored nine points apiece.
Ottawa (7-3) and SFT will meet at 7:30 p.m. in Friday's second semifinal.
Santa Fe Trail 72, KC Turner 65
KC Turner 9 9 13 34 65
Santa Fe Trail 17 18 23 1472
KC Turner Smith 19, Berry 16, Davis 10, Irwin 10, Robinson 7, Williams 3.
Santa Fe Trail Ben Fawl 15, Brian Kral 14, Justin Ramsdell 12, Shane Miles 9, Cameron Babb 9, Ryan Hulings 6, Petr Solar 5, Jay Shively 2.
Ottawa 63, Wellsville 47
Ross Thompson, a 6-7 junior, was too much for the Eagles, scoring a game-high 20 points.
"He was a big difference," Ottawa coach David Grover said. "He's scored at least 20 points in eight of our nine games, so that's consistent."
Thompson was just a spot player last season.
"It didn't hurt," Grover said with a smile, "that he put on three inches and 30 pounds since last season."
Ottawa 63, Wellsville 47
Wellsville 4 9 17 1747
Ottawa 14 12 15 22 63
Wellsville Bowen 11, Lawyer 5, Leecy 2, Jamison 4, Wright 5, Fisher 1, B. Oshel 6, Samsel 3, Roecker 10.
Ottawa Hermreck 10, Spratt 6, Hull 2, Drumright 14, Cation 3, Templeton 2, Bones 6, Thompson 20.
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