photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Leo Schoenberger goes for a layup in Baldwin's substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

The Baldwin boys basketball team entered halftime down 27-16 to Paola in Saturday’s substate championship game. For a team with eight seniors, this wasn’t going to cut it.

The Bulldogs powered their way back into the game, taking a lead late in the fourth quarter and completing the comeback to win 46-44.

“All these four years, we’ve been putting in a ton of work,” senior Ethan Smasal said. “There was some pressure on us to do it again and go four-for-four, but it was just a sigh of relief to get it done.”

Baldwin had a rough start shooting the ball. Smasal hit a 3-pointer on the first possession of the game, but the Bulldogs were quiet offensively after that. Shots were often short, bouncing off the front of the rim.

Paola’s frontcourt includes two 6-foot-8 seniors, Hoyt and Lane Hoffine. Their size and ability to defend in the paint forced Baldwin to take more midrange and 3-point shots, which weren’t falling in the first half.

“We knew they were going to be tough, that they were going to clog the lane on us,” Baldwin coach Don Blanchat said. “I told them at half, that was our worst offensive half of basketball.”

Still, the Bulldogs were aggressive in getting offensive rebounds, which limited the number of possessions for Paola. The Panthers hit a 3-pointer three minutes into the game to start a 12-2 run. Baldwin sophomore Jackson Wheeler scored after securing an offensive rebound on a fast-break chance for Baldwin’s only other points of the quarter.

Senior Cooper Carr got his first points of the game at the start of the second quarter with a free throw. But the Panthers responded with a 3-pointer and a layup and continued to extend their lead by up to 15 late in the quarter.

Carr finished the quarter scoring six points on three layups as the Bulldogs cut the lead to 11 points at halftime.

“We knew that wasn’t our best, and we knew we had to go out there and find it,” Smasal said. “It was now or never. It was a mental reset.”

A senior-heavy team is hard to beat, and the Bulldogs went into the second half with a renewed mindset, ready to win the game.

“We were playing a little soft in the first half,” Carr said. “At halftime, coach said you have to put your head down sometimes and get a bucket. That’s what a few of us did in the second half, and just said, ‘We’re not losing this game.'”

Paola started the second half with a bucket, but the Bulldogs heated up with senior Leo Schoenberger getting to the rim and Carr continuing to find ways to maneuver in the paint. Smasal hit his second field goal to make it a 10-point game, and Schoenberger scored four-straight points. Carr was the only Bulldog to score over the final 4:42 of the third quarter, as he finished with seven points in the stretch.

“Cooper and Leo are three, four year players,” Blanchat said. “It was more a mentality and a will and a determination (for the duo to score in the paint in the second half).”

While the offense found some space in the paint to attack, the Baldwin defense remained tight. The Bulldogs only allowed three field goals and seven points in the entire third quarter while cutting the lead to just four points.

“(Defense) is what kept us in the game,” Smasal said. “It’s what led us to winning it. We were able to slowly crawl back — we didn’t go on one run that won us the game. We crawled our way back and the defense got stop after stop.”

Wheeler’s layup cut the Paola lead to two on the first possession of the fourth quarter, but the Panthers pushed the lead back up to four. Senior Colton Collum and Wheeler scored back-to-back buckets to tie the game, and the contest remained close for the remainder of the quarter.

The Panthers regained the lead before Carr got Baldwin its first lead since the opening quarter after a free throw gave Baldwin a 39-38 lead. Paola hit a 3-pointer before Schoenberger finished through contact and Wheeler got a second-chance bucket to give the Bulldogs the lead back.

Paola took the lead for the final time with around two minutes left with a game-tying field goal and a free throw to lead 44-43. Carr scored and hit a free throw with 12.9 seconds remaining to give the Bulldogs a two-point lead. The Panthers moved the ball down the court, but a final midrange jumpshot was short, and Baldwin secured its spot in the 4A quarterfinal.

“Any championship game is tough, and we knew that,” Carr said. “We got punched in the mouth early, but that’s just been our year. Hitting that (game-winning shot) is huge for me, but for this community, that means everything. They’ve been behind our senior group all four years, and to win our last game here, there’s no words for that.”

Carr finished with 22 points, followed by 10 points from Wheeler. Schoenberger had seven and Smasal finished with five.

The Bulldogs will face Pratt in the quarterfinal on Wednesday, with a time and location yet to be announced. Over the last three years, the Bulldogs have played in five state tournament games, giving the team a wealth of experience to turn to. Last year’s first-round loss to McPherson on a last-second shot in overtime still fuels the Bulldogs.

“It’ll definitely play in our favor,” Blanchat said. “This will be the sixth (state tournament game) in four years. Big time players show up in big time moments. I’m ready for those guys to have that opportunity again.”

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin sophomore Jackson Wheeler defends a ball handler in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Cooper Carr throws an inbound pass in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Colton Collum sets a screen in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Leo Schoenberger looks to drive in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Leo Schoenberger dribbles the ball in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Colton Collum passes the ball in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Ethan Smasal shoots the ball in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Devyn Wadel looks to pass the ball in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin junior Kreyton Frost dribbles the ball in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin sophomore Jackson Wheeler shoots a free throw in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Leo Schoenberger dribbles the ball in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Cooper Carr goes for a layup after the whistle in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.

photo by: David Rodish/Journal-World

Baldwin senior Ethan Smasal shoots a 3-pointer in Baldwin’s substate championship win over Paola on Saturday, March 7, 2026, in Baldwin.