Wichita ? A lead at halftime didn’t fool Veritas Christian boys basketball coach Doug Bennett.

“We did not play well tonight,” Bennett said. “We had a seven-point lead at halftime and hadn’t even played that well, but we played even worse in the second half.”

It caught up with the Eagles on Thursday in a 62-49 loss to Wichita Christian in the first round of the KCAA 2A state tournament.

The loss dropped the Eagles (13-9) into the consolation bracket, where they will play St. Mary’s Academy at 5:30 p.m. today.

Veritas led 28-21 at halftime but scored just scored just six points in the third quarter and trailed 36-34 entering the fourth.

“It’s very disappointing because we really thought we were a better team,” Benness said. “We really struggled in the third quarter. We had a goal of winning a state championship. They’re taking it pretty hard.”

Mark Randtke led the Eagles with 17 points, and Marcus Holman followed with 15 points. Casey Woods added eight points.

The Eagles are guaranteed two more games in the tournament.

“I just would like us to play well,” Bennett said, “and this gives us another opportunity to finish by playing the game well.”

Cair Paravel 58,

Veritas girls 26

Wichita – Veritas Christian shot just 22 percent and fell in first round Thursday at the KCAA Class 2A girls state basketball tournament.

Topeka Cair Paravel’s victory sent the Eagles into the consolation bracket. Veritas (10-11) will play Wichita Word of Life at 4 p.m. today.

“When we don’t shoot well from the field, we have trouble. We just had trouble playing real consistent,” Veritas coach Kevin Shelton said. “We shot the ball poorly, and we were overmatched by size. Cair Paravel is a very aggressive, tall team.”

Kristie Tiegreen led Veritas with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Adi Willems added seven points.

Veritas will play consolation-bracket games both today and Saturday.