The Bishop Seabury Seahawks hoist the 2A sub-state trophy after defeating Maranatha 95-71, March 2.

PLEASANTON – Bishop Seabury head coach Jonathan Raney knew it was going to be a good day for the Seahawks.

He didn’t anticipate scoring 95 points.

Bishop Seabury scored the most points out of any city team all season, which was more than enough to defeat Maranatha, 95-71, and advance to the 2A state tournament Saturday afternoon at Pleasanton High School.

“We’re capable, we are capable,” Raney said. “Even early on in the season, when we were scoring, I knew we could be better. We were scoring points, but our field goal percentage wasn’t great.”

The Seahawks return to the state tournament after a trip during the 2016-17 season. It is the first such trip with Raney at the helm.

“I’m so happy for the kids, and I’m so happy for this group of boys that believed,” the second-year coach said. “They had a lot of success before I got here, so it’s not all me. These kids have been fantastic from day one, they’ve bought in. This is just a small example of what we were able to accomplish.”

Bishop Seabury senior Chris Green (23) drives the lane in its sub-state game against Maranatha, March 2. The Seahawks won, 95-71.

Sophomore Miles Branch scored 10 points in the first quarter as the Seahawks jumped out to an early 24-12 lead. By the half, sophomore Zach Bloch led the team in points with 12.

Despite being outscored in the third quarter by two, the Seahawks only sped up on offense.

All of Seabury’s starters scored in the final quarter as Branch and Bloch reached 20 points easily. Bloch scored 11 in the fourth quarter alone and was a free-throw miss earlier in the game away from scoring 30.

“The tempo has been a million miles per hour,” senior Chris Green said. “Even though we were up by a substantial margin, we didn’t let up. The tempo stayed high the entire game, from the first second of the game to the 32nd minute of the game. We didn’t slow down.”

An additional three Seahawks scored in the double figures. Sophomore Stavian Jones scored 15, Joao Carlos Ramirez had two 3-pointers for 12 points and Luke Hornberger scored 10 and held the team together on defense with several blocks. Henry Nelson came off the bench to help the Seahawks stay out of foul trouble in the second quarter.

“It feels amazing,” Bloch said. “Everybody at Seabury, all the fans and teacher, was supporting us the whole season. It feels good to get it for them and also get coach Raney back to Fort Hays. Just to be in that atmosphere, it’s what we’ve wanted this whole season.”

BISHOP SEABURY (95)

Zach Bloch 29, Miles Branch 23, Stavian Jones 15, Joao Carlos Ramirez 12, Luke Hornberger 10, Chris Green 6, Henry Nelson 0. 3-point field goals: 5 (Bloch 3, Ramirez 2). Fouled out: Hornberger.

MARANATHA (71)

Brock West 26, Andrew Fortin 12, Jax Holland 9, Jason Friesen 9, Drew Utech 6, Nate Burdette 5, Sam Martin 2, Rex Robinette 2, Andrew Fortin 0, David Breazeale 0. 3-point field goals 11 (West 4, Holland 3, Fortin 2, Utech, Burdette). Fouled out: Holland.

Seabury 24 23 20 28 – 95

Maranatha 12 11 22 26 – 71

Defending state champs return to big dance

BALDWIN CITY — Baldwin head coach Bob Martin kept looking at the scoreboard throughout the second half.

With each passing minute, Martin became more impressed with what his team was doing. The Bulldogs surrendered just 5 second-half points, two of which came in the final minute with reserves in, during a 49-18 win over Parsons Saturday afternoon at BHS.

The win helped Baldwin, the defending Class 4A-II state champs, lock up another sub-state title. BHS will head to the state tournament for the fourth time in the last five years, though this season, all of Class 4A is combined and will take place at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.

“We only gave up like 1 point through the first 12 minutes or so,” Martin said. “On the defensive, we were so good tonight. We were focused, and we did the things we had to do. I was incredibly proud of the effort we put out there tonight.”

The Baldwin girls basketball team poses with its sub-state championship plaque following a 49-18 win over Parsons Saturday afternoon at BHS on March 2, 2019.

At first, Baldwin (18-1) and Parsons (14-7) traded punches during the opening period. After leading 12-8 following the first quarter, the Bulldogs created some cushion with a 13-point effort in the second frame.

Senior Kayla Kurtz started things off with a triple from the top of the key on a kick-out pass from senior Kate Ogle. Kurtz and junior Anna Burnett then notched buckets in transition off steals, giving Baldwin a 19-8 advantage within the first two minutes of the second quarter.

“I was always hopeful we would be going back to state,” Kurtz said. “I knew we had a pretty good group of returners. We definitely have done really well this season.”

It wasn’t long before the Bulldogs led by double digits, as Burnett baffled the opposing defense with a stutter-step layup at the 4:50 mark in the second quarter. One possession later, senior Macey Frost fired a pass the length of the court to Ogle, who tallied the layup in one smooth motion.

Baldwin led by a 25-13 margin at the intermission before breaking the game open with a dominating defensive performance in the second half.

“A lot of people doubted us this year just because we lost Abby (Ogle) and all those seniors,” Frost said. “We always knew we could do it, so it is a good feeling to accomplish it.”

PARSONS (18)

Ally Hicks 5, Nena Taylor 6, Alex Johnson 4, Alix Webb 2, Dakiah Yates 1.

BALDWIN (49)

Kayla Kurtz 9, Josie Boyle 4, Anna Burnett 14, Lauren Russell 2, Kate Ogle 8, Macey Frost 8, Rian Gere 2. Paige Ellis 2.

PHS 8 5 1 4 — 18

BHS 12 13 8 16 — 49

Eudora girls earn trip to 4A state tournament

Baldwin is not the only area team heading to Salina next week.

Despite being the lower seed, the Eudora girls basketball team took down Labette County in a 36-17 road win Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals (16-5) were the fifth seed in the 4A east bracket, while the Grizzlies (17-4) were the fourth seed.

“I’m really happy for the team and for the school. Our kids did a great job,” EHS head coach Richard Ebel said. “It was pretty low-scoring, neither team could hit a shot. We decided at halftime that we could attack their legs and spread the floor on them to try and get some easy baskets.”

The halftime message worked to perfection, as Eudora got things rolling in the second half to expand on its 10-8 advantage at the intermission. The Cardinals were meticulous on offense, using nearly a minute on each possession to make sure they got a layup.

With the win, Eudora notched its first state berth since 2009.

EUDORA (36)

Harper Schreiner 13, Raegan Hiebert 10, Riley Hiebert 8, Jayla Pierce 5.

Perry-Lecompton punches ticket to 3A state tournament

PERRY — Senior Conner Morgison dribbled out the final seconds of the game clock and rushed to the Perry-Lecompton student section.

A proper celebration ensued at PLHS, as the Kaws used late-game theatrics to knock off Silver Lake by a 47-46 margin Saturday night. The win sent Perry-Lecompton to the Class 3A state tournament for the second consecutive season.

“Back-to-back years is just unbelievable, I never thought this was going to happen,” Morgison said. “We just did what we usually do, we stay collected as a team and ran our stuff. It worked out in our favor.”

But just a few moments before the student section rushed the court, Perry-Lecompton (20-2) seemed poised to drop its first game since Dec. 11. Silver Lake netted two free throws to take a 46-42 lead with 43 seconds remaining.

Rather than panic, PLHS worked the ball around against the zone defense until it found its shot. Morgison did the honors of burying a triple from the corner in front of his own bench to pull within 1 point. After a missed free throw, junior Blake Farmer connected on a go-ahead turnaround with 5.2 seconds remaining.

Perry-Lecompton is headed to the 3A state tournament following a 47-46 win over Silver Lake. Junior Blake Farmer hit the game-winning bucket with 5.2 seconds remaining. pic.twitter.com/y9qT89zEpq

— Journal-World HS (@LJWpreps) March 3, 2019

“When I dropped it, and I was fumbling it, I was probably the most scared person in the gym,” Farmer said. “I didn’t want to end up losing that for us. When it went in, it was just pure joy and happiness.”

Farmer’s bucket served as the game-winning shot, as PLHS immediately stole the inbound pass.

Farmer led the Kaws with 11 points, though he was one of three players to reach double figures in the win. Morgison and senior Colton Mallonee each scored 10 points.

“These kids, just like last year’s group, have worked so hard and they earned it,” PLHS head coach Jared Swafford said. “Early in the year, there were some people outside of our community that were doubting how good we were. Just to see it all come to this, it is awesome. I’m so proud of our kids.”

PERRY-LECOMPTON (47)

Benjamin Stone 8, Conner Morgison 10, Dawson Williams 1, Colton Ketron 3, Colton Mallonee 10, Connor Anderson 4, Blake Farmer 11.