Catching Fire: Veritas rolls past KC East with big fourth quarter

Veritas junior forward Tucker Flory is fouled on a shot in the paint against Kansas City East on Tuesday at Haskell Indian Nations University.

For the first three quarters Tuesday, Veritas Christian’s boys basketball team couldn’t shake Kansas City (Mo.) East Christian. Make a few shots and KC East would answer right back.

Then the fourth quarter arrived and the Eagles finished with a knockout blow.

Veritas made seven straight shots to open the final period through a barrage of jumpers, which only fueled the team’s defense in a 63-47 victory at Haskell Indian Nation University’s Coffin Complex.

Leading by six points after the third quarter, the Eagles (3-1) scored 13 straight points to turn a potential nail biter into a blowout. It didn’t matter who was shooting, they couldn’t miss. Five different players scored in the decisive 17-3 run.

Junior forward Tucker Flory, who had a game-high 17 points and seven rebounds, started the spurt with a layup. Junior guards Trey Huslig (16 points) and Jackson Rau (eight points) followed with a pair of baskets.

“Honestly, it just took one shot and we caught fire,” Flory said. “That’s what triggered the run.”

Veritas coach Carl Huslig praised his team’s defense, which rebounded well despite a four-guard lineup for most of the night. Trey Huslig and junior Kammal Dowdell, both listed at 5-foot-10, had six rebounds apiece.

The Lions (2-8) shot 35 percent from the field, connecting on 7 of 22 attempts from behind the 3-point line.

“Kammal had his best game that he’s had as a Veritas player,” Carl Huslig said of Dowdell, who had 15 points and four steals. “I thought he rebounded unbelievable. I thought he was the key to our rebounding all game long.”

Throughout the second half, the Eagles had an added emphasis on passing the ball inside to the 6-3 Flory. From there, Flory made strong post moves to draw fouls or he passed back out to the perimeter for open looks at the 3-point line.

As the Eagles started to make a few shots in a row, it only sped them up. Racing down the floor, Trey Huslig, Flory and Dowdell all converted on a layup-and-the-foul buckets.

“Last few games I haven’t been doing so well,” Dowdell said. “(Coach) was like, ‘Give your passion, give it your all this game, and I promise you it’ll work out.’ That’s what I did.”

Throughout the first half, Carl Huslig thought his team was playing without passion. He prefers to see the Eagles running-and-gunning instead of moving slowly on offense — “That’s our game. That’s what we like to do,” Flory said.

The switch flipped in the second half when the Eagles scored on their first three possessions of the third quarter, all points from Flory. KC East continued to keep the score close with a few 3-pointers, but Veritas players said they could feel their energy changing.

The Eagles are a confident group after winning a Kansas Christian Athletic Association state championship last season, returning a talented group of guards and plenty of depth.

“When we get on a roll like that, we’re just unstoppable,” Dowdell said. “The crowd gets into it. When we play as a team and not selfish ball, we just get going and get on those rolls and put teams down.”

Veritas will travel to Maur Hill Academy at 6:30 p.m. Friday.

KC East (47)

Max Titus 4-14 0-0 10, Samuel Burkart 2-8 1-2 7, Callen Dye 7-11 0-1 16, Caleb Ross 2-8 0-0 4, Paul McDowell 1-2 1-2 3, Luke Spencer 1-4 2-2 4, Jackson Mohn 1-4 0-0 3, Isaac Koppang 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-51 4-7 63.

Veritas (63)

Quinton Donhoe 0-3 2-2 2, Trey Huslig 5-12 4-4 16, Jackson Rau 3-4 0-0 8, Kammal Dowdell 5-8 4-6 15, Tucker Flory 6-7 5-7 17, Grant Schuck 1-4 0-0 3, Kyle Weinhold 0-1 0-0 0, Scott Weinhold 0-0 0-0 0, Will Rau 1-1 0-0 2, Rondre Diederich 0-1 0-0 0, Luke Campbell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-41 15-19 63.

KC East 10 14 13 10 — 47

Veritas 12 16 15 20 — 63

Three-point goals: KC East 7-22 (Titus 2, Burkart 2, Dye 2, Mohn); Veritas 6-15 (Huslig 2, J. Rau 2, Dowdell, Shuck). Fouled out: Spencer. Turnovers: KC East 14, Veritas 15.