It took Eudora High’s boys basketball squad the entire 32 minutes to beat Belton, Mo., 47-43, in Kyle Deterding’s Cardinals coaching debut.

“I’m happy for the kids, that’s all,” Deterding said following their first-round win in the Eudora High School Invitational. “I don’t get to do anything but sit there. So, I’m just happy they went out and played hard and got after it.”

The Cardinals put away the Pirates thanks to late rebounds. Despite being outrebounded for much of the game, big boards by Guy Kirby Montgomery and Rodney Spillman in the final minutes clinched the game.

“We’ve got to have all five guys rebound because we don’t have the force that’s going to go in and get 14 boards a game,” Deterding said. “So, we’ve got to have seven or eight guys all get about three or four.”

While not 14, Montgomery came down with a team-high 11 boards to go with his four points.

But the big night came from Spillman, who pulled down 10 shots and tallied a team high 15 points, including two free throws in the final seconds.

“I just felt that it was a normal game,” Spillman said. “(You) just can’t choke under pressure just because they are up by one or something.”

Thanks to Spillman not buckling under the pressure, the Cardinals will face Frontier League foe Baldwin High in the second round of the tournament.

Baldwin got to the second round by blowing out Shawnee Maranatha, 58-40, in the earlier session.

Just like Eudora, the Bulldogs were dominant on the glass against the Eagles, but what helped Baldwin the most was a balanced scoring attack.

Senior Aaron Hannon led the team with 12 points, while senior Jeremy Wright chipped in 11.

“That’s a tell tale sign when those guys have 12 and 11,” Baldwin coach Heath Cooper said. “I think when we’re really good – and I thought we were probably average tonight – those guys are going to be about even, and (Blake) Wieden will be in there too.”

Hannon said the Bulldogs lacked focus toward the end of their game, something Cooper said would be needed for the second round.

“We’ve really got to focus on being focused next game,” the Bulldogs’ coach said. “And I think this game will help prepare us for that.”

Also, K.C. Piper pummeled Turner with three-pointers to win, 74-30, and K.C. Ward routed Paola, 70-48.

• 6Sports video: Eudora slips past Belton (12-05-05)
• 6Sports video: Pirates stomp Bears (12-05-05)

Eudora 47, Belton 43

Belton – 12 – 5 – 13 – 18 – – – 43

Eudora – 9 – 14 – 5 – 19 – – – 47

Belton – Brandon Miner 16, Dominique Dixon 12, Adam Jursch 6, Derrick Hightower 3, Shawn Holt 2, Arthur Beasley 1, Maurice Maiden 1, Matt McBride 1, Kyle Tormanen 1.

Eudora – Rodney Spillman 15, Tim DeArmond 10, Todd Roberts 7, Mark Abel 6, Guy Kirby Montgomery 4, Matthew Abel 3, Mike Ortega 2.

Baldwin 58, Maranatha 40

Maranatha – 6 – 12 – 13 – 9 – – – 40

Baldwin – 23 – 13 – 12 – 10 – – – 58

Maranatha – Carter Williams 11, Elliot Wilson 10, Brandon Wallace 8, Dustin Quick 7, Joe Rowden 2.

Baldwin – Aaron Hannon 24, Jeremy Wright 11, Drew Berg 10, Ryan Jorgensen 8, Grant Catloth 6, Sam Scott 3, Andrew Madl 2, Blake Wieden 2.

Baldwin girls 35, K.C. Turner 25

Paola – The Bulldogs jumped to a 12-3 lead and never looked back, winning in the first round of the Paola Tournament. Baldwin (2-0) continues on in the tourney, playing Eudora at 7 tonight.

Baldwin 35, Turner 25

Turner – 3 – 9 – 5 – 8 – – – 25

Baldwin – 12 – 3 – 8 – 12 – – – 35

Turner: Savala 5, Thomas 4, Knight 2, Lupardes 11, Robinson 3.

Baldwin: Garcia 1, Meinen 2, Vander Tuig 3, Craig 2, Heckathorne 1, Miles 12, Verhaeghe 11, Tucker 1, Orloff 2.