BY JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
DODGE CITY — Central Plains outscored Frankfort 10-0 in overtime for a 54-44 quarterfinal victory in the 1A Division 1 basketball quarterfinals. Brodie Crites, Camden Stiles and Aiden Hekele combined for 10 overtime points.
"By far, that's my favorite win as a coach because Frankfort is the best team we've beaten," said Central Plains coach Michael Ryan. "Our guys stepped up and made free throws when we needed them."
Crites scored 23 points and Stiles added 16 points. Both teams scored 27 points on 3-pointers. The Oilers converted 9 of 17 on 3-pointers to match Frankfort's 9 of 24 shooting. Frankfort's Wes Anderson drilled a half-dozen 3-pointers and scored 22 points, Tyler Smith added 12 points.
Central Plains trailed 43-39 in the fourth quarter after Frankfort converted four consecutive 3-pointers. Crites scored the Oilers' final five points in regulation for a 44-44 tie after four quarters. Frankfort sparkplug Wes Anderson missed a chance for a 4-point lead on a missed free throw. Crites followed with a free throw and a rebound basket for a 44-44 tie.
"We kept our confidence. It wasn't time to panic," Ryan said.
The Oilers had maintained control until Anderson and Smith combined for five second-half 3-pointers for a 43-39 lead. The Panthers missed a chance for the game-winning shot in regulation when Carter Olson traveled.
Anderson drilled a trio of 3-pointers to spark the Panthers to a 13-3 lead after one quarter. The Oilers started 1 for 9 from the field. Crites hit a pair of 3-pointers and Stiles hit a 3-pointer and three free throws off a foul for a 22-19 halftime lead.
Ryan's Oilers played a calculated gamble playing a 2-3 zone defense that protected the rim and allowed the Panthers to fire from 3-point range. The Oilers scored 27 points from the perimeter and 27 points on free throws and 2-pointers.
"Frankfort had an athletic team that plays a physical style and attacks the rim. We wanted to protect the paint," Ryan said. "We did a good job defensively. They're good shooters, so we knew they'd make some shots. Fortunately, we made some 3-pointers of our own to match them. We were fine with that option."
Frankfort 13 6 10 15 0 — 44
Central Plains 3 19 13 9 10 — 54
FRANKFORT (18-7) (FG 3 FT TP)—Anderson 7-18 (6-15) 2-3 22, Smith 4-8 (3-5) 1-2 12, Loiseau 3-6 1-3 7, Rosquist 1-5 0-0 2, Olson 0-5 (0-3) 1-2 1, Colvin 0-3 (0-1) 0-0 0, Totals 15-45 (9-24) 5-10 44.
CENTRAL PLAINS (19-4) (FG 3 FT TP)—Crites 7-14 (4-6) 5-7 23, Stiles 3-8 (3-7) 7-7 16, Hekele 4-7 (1-2) 0-0 9, Siemsen 2-5 (1-2) 0-0 5, Dody 0-1 1-2 1, Daniels 0-2 0-0 0, Totals 16-37 (9-17) 13-16 54
Rebounds—F 29 (Rosquist 11); CP 26 (Crites 6). Assists—F 12 (Anderson 5); CP 12 (Crites 5). Steals—F 7 (Colvin 2, Anderson 2); CP 3 (Crites 2)
1A DIV. 1 BOYS 3-14—SEMIFINALS—Olpe 21-2 vs. Central Plains 18-4, 4 p.m.; South Central 21-2 vs. South Gray 19-4, 8 p.m.; FIRST ROUND—Olpe 57, Little River 53; Central Plains 54, Frankfort 44 (OT); South Central 52, Clifton Clyde 38; South Gray 66, Quinter 47
OLPE 57, LITTLE RIVER 53 — Olpe overcoming a halftime deficit to take down Little River 57-53 in a game that featured 11 ties and 10 lead changes.
Jaren Garrison hit a soft jumper from the line to give Little River a 50-49 lead – its final lead and last points until the final three-pointer. Olpe’s Brecken McGuire converted a bucket-and-one play to give the Eagles a 52-50 lead. From there, Olpe scored on five free throws to go up 57-50 before a Little River trey at the buzzer ended the game.
McGuire led the Eagles (21-2) with 24 points and Cade Whitmore 13. Jaxson Konen led the Redskins (14-8) with 14 points. Olpe outscored Little River 21-3 from the free throw line..
The first half saw seven lead changes and nine ties, with Little River taking a 26-24 lead at halftime. Olpe regained the lead when McGuire buried a three midway in the third quarter. His team went up by five late before Little River’s Logan Schubert hit a three with 22 seconds to play and cut the Olpe lead to 41-39.
SOUTH CENTRAL 52, CLIFTON CLYDE 38 — South Central rolled to a 52-38 win in the quarterfinals.
Jack Skocny led the Eagles with 13 rebounds and 18 points. Jamie Gardea led the Timberwolves with 15 points and Jack Herd added 12, plus 11 boards.
The Timberwolves made six field goals in the final period, including four straight to open up a 43-34 lead near the midpoint of the fourth. Meanwhile, the Eagles had just one field goal, that a 3-pointer early in the period by Luke Nobert. After that, they managed just four free throws the rest of the way.
The Wolves were the beneficiaries of turnovers, scoring 23 points off 19 Eagles’ miscues while Clifton-Clyde scored just one point off nine Wolves’ turnovers.
SOUTH GRAY 66, QUINTER 47 — Defending state champion South Gray dominated Quinter for a 66-47 win. South Gray has won five state titles.
Asa Briscoe led the Rebels with 23 points on 10 of 16 shooting, with three other teammates in double figures. Salyers led the Bulldogs with 12 points and Gunner Catura 11.
South Gray set the tone early with a 7-0 start, finishing the first period with a 24-14 lead, extending that to 26-14 early in the second and then to 31-19 with just under four minutes to play, when Quinter cut that to 33-26 late.
The Rebels were 13 of 29 from the floor with five 3-pointers to open a 36-26 lead before Shea Salyers hit a trey from the corner at the buzzer to cut the lead to seven at the half.
Quinter hit an early basket to cut the lead to five but went scoreless their next 14 trips down the floor while South Gray went on a 13-0 run to lead 49-31 at the end of third.
South Gray shot 51 percent from the floor (24 of 47), while Quinter finished at 17 of 53 (32 percent) but just 6 of 28 (21 percent) in the second half.
Little River … 10 … 16 … 13 … 14 … -- … 53
Olpe … 13 … 11 … 17 … 16 … -- … 57
Little River (14-8) – Raleigh 1-1 0-0 2, Renken 3-11 0-0 8, Schubert 4-7 2-2 11, Baldetti 4-6 1-3 9, Garrison 4-11 0-0 9, Konen 6-8 0-0 14. Totals 22-44 3-5 53.
Olpe (21-2) – Mcguire 8-16 7-9 24, Robinson 0-3 2-2 2, Lienemann 1-3 3-4 5, Hoelting 0-3 4-6 4, Bailey 3-6 2-2 9, Whitmore 5-8 3-8 13, Kurzen 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 17-40 21-31 57
Clifton Clyde … 14 … 12 … 15 … 7 … -- … 38
South Central … 24 … 11 … 11 … 17 … -- … 52
Clifton Clyde (16-7) – Tiemeyer 0-5, T. Koch 2-5 1-4 5, Nobert 2-5 0-0 6, Chase 1-3 2-2 4, Skocny 4–14 8-10 18, Sacco 1-4 2-4 5, B. Koch 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 10-41 13-20 38
South Central (21-2) – Gardea 5-12 3-4 15, Huck 3-5 0-0 5, Theurer 0-3 2-2 2, Thronesberry 2-4 0-0 5, Herd 5-13 2-5 12, Rutherford 5-12 2-5, Girk 0-3 2-3 2. Totals 19-52 98-14 52
Quinter … 14 … 15 … 2 … 16 … -- … 47
South Gray … 24 … 12 … 13 … 17 … -- … 66
Quinter (16-7) – Catura 3-7 4-6 11, Hargitt 1-3 0-0 3, Havlas 0-5 4-4 4, Salyers 5-17 0-0 12, Werth 2-8 1-2 5, Deaton 2-66 0-0 4, Bridges 4-7 0-1 8. Totals 17-53 9-13 47
South Gray (19-4) – G. Wahl 5-12 3-6 14, Moore 4-7 2-2 11, Z. Hendrickson 0-3 0-0 0, D. Hendrickson 0-0 2-2 2, Winfrey 3-5 3-4 12, Marquez 1-1 0-0 2, C. Wahl 1-3 0-0 2, Briscoe 10-16 2-4 23. Totals 24-47 12-18 66.
