Ottawa ? At 6-foot-8, Ottawa High senior Ross Thompson draws loads of attention from opposing teams, usually leaving the Cyclones’ guards open for three-point shots.

But this was ridiculous.

The Cyclones shot 29 threes — hitting 10 — in a 74-50 victory against Osawatomie in their Class 4A boys basketball sub-state opener Monday at OHS.

“I looked up and all of their defenders had a foot in the paint,” Ottawa coach David Grover said. “But I think we have too many shooters for you to do that.”

The Trojans’ zone defense collapsed around Thompson, leaving Ottawa’s guards wide open.

But the Cyclones (18-3) were so open, they seemed reluctant to shoot.

“We weren’t getting shots from the flow of our offense,” Grover said. “It was more like, ‘I dare you.'”

Ottawa junior Lee Baldwin hit two of his first four three-pointers, but the Cyclones were ice-cold everywhere else. The Trojans (2-19) dominated the offensive glass, which helped them stay within four points, 12-8, with less than two minutes left in the first quarter.

Then the Cyclones’ bench gave them a much-needed push.

Junior Drew Waldron hit two three-pointers at the end of the quarter, and junior Gabe Sheffield followed with three straight in the second quarter. That gave Ottawa a double-digit lead and let Grover relax — somewhat.

“If Gabe and Drew don’t come in and hit those shots, it’s a recipe for disaster,” he said. “The longer you let someone hang in the game, they just gain confidence.”

The Cyclones took a 49-31 lead midway through the third quarter when Thompson finally got some space, and Ottawa forced enough turnovers to push the tempo. The Cyclones cruised from there.

Thompson finished with 12 points, while sparkplugs Waldron and Sheffield added 13 and nine points. Baldwin led all scorers with 17 on 6-of-14 shooting, but was only 2-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Not that Baldwin’s worried about Ottawa’s shooting. Thompson is the only starter from last year’s 17-6 squad, so this year’s team is still learning.

“It’s at the end of the season where you take it and go onto the next one,” Baldwin said. “A lot of us haven’t played in big games like this. But I’ll take it.”

Ottawa, the sub-state host, will play Fort Scott Thursday.

Ottawa 74, Osawatomie 50

Osawatomie (2-19) 8 16 19 7 — 50

Ottawa (18-3) 18 20 25 11 — 74

Osawatomie — Heath Kice 6, Ryan McQuay 7, Mark Folsom 0, Chris Cook 15, Chad Jones 10, Ryan Alexander 5, Zach Madden 0, Greg Welch 2, Lance Freeman 3, Zach Clark 2.

Ottawa — Lee Baldwin 17, Jared Sigmund 3, Michael Cation 5, Ross Thompson 12, Clint Bones 6, Drew Waldron 13, Gabe Sheffield 9, Caleb Blakesley 4, Will Hendrix 5.