SM South completes sweep of Firebirds
They came to see Ryan Jehle break Shawnee Mission South’s career scoring record.
Jehle lost that battle, but the Raiders won the war, 54-45, over Free State High in Sunflower League boys basketball Friday night in the Firebirds’ gym.
SM South fans outnumbered the Firebirds’ faithful, but Jehle settled for 16 points, and the 6-foot-6 senior needed 21 points to surpass Greg Gurley, a former Kansas University guard, as the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Jehle, in fact, was outscored by Free State’s Christian Ballard, a 6-foot-6, 240-pound junior who wheeled inside for a game-high 18 points.
“He’s been playing great,” Free State coach Chuck Law said of Ballard. “He was fantastic tonight. We just have to have more guys make baskets.”
No other Firebird scored more than seven points.
Free State (5-9) appeared dead in the water when SM South (7-7) went on a 19-4 run during the third quarter as the Firebirds turned the ball over on five of six possessions.
“That did us in,” Law said. “When you struggle as much as we do offensively, you’ve got to protect the ball. We get those spells, and it kills us.”
Still, despite trailing by 15 points with 1:48 remaining in the third quarter, the ‘Birds sliced the deficit to seven when the stanza ended. And they weren’t done. With five minutes remaining, the Raiders were clinging to a 44-40 advantage.
But that was Free State’s last gasp. The ‘Birds bricked 14 of their last 16 shots, and the Raiders made enough free throws to hang on. Free State shot only 32.2 percent (19 of 59) and missed eight of 13 free throws.
Free State has scored 50 or fewer points in eight of its 14 games.
“I guess we’ve got to keep our heads up high,” Ballard said. “We’re young, and we’ll keep on fighting.”
The Firebirds will travel Tuesday to SM Northwest.
SM South 47, Free State 39
Free State’s girls scored just seven points in the first half – five in the first quarter, two in the second. And the Firebirds would have been blanked in the second period if Banaka Okwuone hadn’t hit two free throws with no time on the clock.
“We practiced poorly yesterday,” Free State coach Bryan Duncan said, “and it carried over. Quite frankly, we got what we deserved.”
Jenna Brantley, the team’s leading scorer at 11.3 points a game, was late for the pregame and didn’t start. The 5-11 junior played, but scored only six points and fouled out.
The Firebirds (7-7) trailed by 18 points (36-18) late in the third quarter, yet cut the deficit to four with 1:50 remaining. The Raiders (10-3) made eight of 12 free throws, however, in the last 1:08 to ice it.
Lauren Kimball led the Firebirds with 13 points, eight in the last period. Dana Olsen, a 6-1 senior, paced the Raiders with 18 points.
Free State will travel Monday to SM Northwest.