Wichita ? Veritas Christian’s boys basketball team fell to the Wichita Defenders, 65-59, on Friday night in the semifinals of the KCAA state tournament.

“It was very exciting to make it to semifinals,” Veritas coach Gary Hammer said. “We have a chance to get third place, which would be a real big honor. Even though we didn’t win (Friday), we played well. The guys have nothing to hang their heads about. We just ran into a real good team tonight.”

Free throws were a major difference. The Defenders converted 24 of 29 from the charity stripe, while the Eagles made just three of eight.

Elijah Penny led Veritas with 22 points. Ethan Kay had 13, while Nate Scott pitched in 12.

Veritas (13-11) will face St. Mary’s at 4:30 p.m. today in the third-place game.