Baldwin City — On the brink of being blown out, the Baldwin High boys basketball team came roaring back in the fourth quarter. In the end, the Bulldogs couldn’t catch Ottawa as the Cyclones ruined the Bulldogs’ senior night, winning 55-44.
At the end of the third quarter, the Bulldogs trailed, 42-21, after Ottawa (15-3) hit five three-pointers during the period. Ottawa’s Semi Ojeleye drained four long-range shots in the third quarter.
Baldwin (7-11) still trailed by 21 early in the fourth quarter before going on an 18-5 run during a 4:42 stretch. Freshman Cornell Brown and Justin Vander Tuig combined for 14 points during the spurt.
Ojeleye led all scorers with 31 points. Vander Tuig led Baldwin with 15 points.
Boys
Paola 42, Eudora 32
Eudora — Jordan and Andrew Ballock led the Cardinals with eight points a piece in a losing cause.
Bonner Springs 52, Tonganoxie 41
Tonganoxie — On a night Tonganoxie struggled to make shots, it fell behind early and trailed throughout a home loss to Bonner Springs.
The Chieftains missed 17 of their 18 three-point tries (junior Brennen Williams hit one in the second quarter) and shot just 25 percent from the field.
The Braves, meanwhile, opened the game with back-to-back scores from behind the arc — BJ Watson and Juan Pichardo each drained one — to jump out to a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.
BSHS (12-5 overall, 6-5 Kaw Valley League) led by 15 early in the fourth quarter before THS (8-11, 3-9) made one last push.
By going 7-for-10 at the foul line in a four and a half minute span that also included baskets in the paint by Dane Erickson and Dylan Scates, Tonganoxie was able to put together an 11-2 run.
Still, after Erickson hit two free throws with 1:52 remaining to cut Bonner Springs’ lead to six, the Chieftains couldn’t get any closer.
Although the Braves missed their first three free-throw tries in the fourth quarter, they regrouped to hit seven of 10 in the final two minutes — JJ Jackson made four and Pichardo hit three.
A 12-3 run in the second quarter helped BSHS create some space between itself and Tonganoxie. Watson, Stevie Williams, Jourdain Smallwood, Jordan Jackson and Camron Callahan all scored during the run.
Tonganoxie went almost 14 minutes — from late in the first half to midway through the fourth quarter — without its starting senior point guard, Jeremy Carlisle, on the floor.
After a THS turnover with 1:03 to go in the first half, Carlisle committed a foul in the backcourt, then was whistled for a technical foul, bringing his total to four. He didn’t return until the 4:24 mark of the fourth, with his team trailing, 43-36.
Both BSHS and Tonganoxie have Tuesday road games in Kansas City, Kan. The Braves play at Bishop Ward and the Chieftains travel to Piper.
Maur Hill 63, Oskaloosa 27
Oskaloosa — Adam Bowser scored 17 points to lead the Bears.
McLouth 62, Immaculata 60
McLouth — McLouth held off Immaculata’s rally at home and improved to 8-10.
Girls
Baldwin 36, Ottawa 34
Baldwin City — Myranda Behrens waited until the perfect moment to score her last basket — with 1.3 seconds remaining — on Senior Night.
The Baldwin senior’s layup was the game-winning basket.
Behrens had a similar play earlier in the quarter, but was called for an offensive foul. On the final play of the game, she made the basket and was awarded a free throw after a blocking foul was called. She missed the foul shot, then Ottawa missed its final shot.
Baldwin’s three seniors combined to score 26 of Baldwin’s 36 points.
Oskaloosa 58, Maur Hill 27
Oskaloosa — The Bears held Maur Hill to just eight field goals.
Oskaloosa also made five three-pointers.
Jayhawk Linn 46, Wellsville 31
Wellsville — Darcy Bonzo, Shambre’ Koehn and Katie Gloshen all scored six points for Wellsville in the loss.
Immaculata 53, McLouth 29
McLouth — Immaculata led, 27-17, at halftime and then scored 20 points in the third quarter.
Bonner Springs 38, Tonganoxie 36, OT
Tonganoxie — A second-half defensive switch by Bonner Springs helped the Braves rally.
The Chieftains picked apart the BSHS defense in the first half, cruising to a 24-11 lead. However, Bonner Springs (12-5 overall, 7-4 Kaw Valley League) went to a 3-2 zone in the second half and Tonganoxie (7-11, 4-8) only made five baskets in the final 20 minutes after making 11 first-half field goals.
THS coach Randy Kraft said the zone changed his players’ approach.
“I think we got a little tight. We got tentative,” Kraft said of his team’s play in the second half. “We lost our aggressiveness.”
Tonganoxie sophomore forward Jenny Whitledge scored the first basket of overtime, just 21 seconds in, but that proved to be the home team’s only points in the period.
BSHS senior Erica Smith drove in for a tying overtime bucket with 2:50 left and the Braves scored what proved to be the winning basket with 45 seconds remaining, when Yessenia Hernandez penetrated to the paint and dished to Emily Wilson for a layup.
Haley Hoffhine scored five points for Bonner Springs in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
The Braves led, 34-32, in the final 30 seconds of the fourth, but THS point guard Hannah Kemp, who finished the game with seven assists, found Tavia Brown inside on an in-bound play with 22 seconds to go and the Chieftains forced overtime.
In the third quarter, THS scored just two points (on a Whitledge drive) and they came with 47 seconds left.
The Braves had opened the third on a 9-0 run, with the first five points coming from Smith before Anna Deegan and Hoffhine later scored transition baskets.
Both teams will travel Tuesday to Kansas City, Kan. Bonner Springs plays at Bishop Ward and the Chieftains play at Piper.
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