Tonganoxie — The Tonganoxie Invitational has been anything but boring, as five of the first eight games were decided by three points or less.
For most the Tonganoxie-Eudora semifinal on Friday, the trend appeared to be continuing before the Cardinals escaped with a 53-42 victory.
The game was tied six times in the first half and Eudora led 24-22 at the break.
But the Cardinals (6-5), who have struggled recently in the third quarter, led by as many as nine in the period against the Chieftains (5-6) and maintained that spread to reach today's finals. EHS will meet Independence (Mo.) Van Horn at 7:30 tonight in a rematch of last year's final.
"I thought we played pretty well defensively," Eudora coach Scott Stein said.
Eudora, though, had trouble with Tonganoxie senior Bryan Gurss early. Gurss had eight points in the first five minutes, but the Cardinal defense improved and the offense eventually handled the Chieftains' zone.
"We played hard, they just outmuscled us," Tonganoxie coach David Walker said. "They hit a lot of their shots."
Tonganoxie shot 20 of 36 from the field against Eudora's stingy defense. The Cardinals' defense was most potent outside as the Chieftains made just one of 19 three-point attempts.
"They played great defense on the perimeter," Walker said.
Lear Bowling led Eudora with 16 points, while Wes Hinman added 13. Gurss led the Chieftains with 16.
In the other semifinal, Van Horn, a 5A school with a 4-7 record, defeated Bonner Springs, 69-66, on a last-second shot in overtime.
Michael Lang erupted for 38 points to lead Van Horn, the No. 8 seed.
"I wouldn't want to guard him," Stein said of Lang. "I don't know who I'm going to put on him."
In last year's Tonganoxie final, EHS beat Van Horn, 58-55, in overtime.
Tonganoxie will play Bonner Springs (6-3) in the third-place game at 6 p.m. today.
Eudora 53, Tonganoxie 42
TongaNoxie (42)
Bryan Gurss 8-13 0-2 16, Jordan Glenn 4-8 0-0 8, Joe Calovich 3-3 1-2 7, Shane Howard 2-3 0-0 4, Matt Alexander 1-2 0-0 3, Jacob Walker 1-6 0-0 2, Brad Reischman 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 20-36 1-4 42.
Eudora (53)
Lear Bowling 6-13 2-2 16, Wes Hinman 6-8, 1-1 13, Zac Tyler 3-11 2-4 8, Kaleb Niedens 2-5 0-1 6, Tyler Cleveland 2-6 1-2 6 Jason Burrous 1-6 0-0 2, Dustin Moyer 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 21-51 6-10 53.
Tonganoxie 12 10 10 10 42
Eudora 12 12 13 16 53
Three-point goals Tonganoxie 1-18 (Alexander 1), Eudora 5-19 (Bowling 2, Niedens 2, Cleveland 1).
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