BY RICK PETERSON, JR.
KSHSAA COVERED
Lebo junior Grayson Shoemaker has spent much of the last year working his way back from a torn ACL in hopes of shining in moments like Thursday’s state quarterfinal.
Shoemaker took full advantage of that opportunity, pouring in 30 points as Lebo cruised into the semifinals with a 67-45 victory over Beloit-St. John’s/Tipton in the Class 1A Division 2 state tournament at Barton Community College.
Shoemaker suffered the knee injury in last year’s sub-state semifinal game against Hartford before the Wolves fell without him in the sub-state final against Waverly.
“There was a lot of motivation from that, trying to come back and prove that I’m still able to play at (the level) I was before I tore it,” Shoemaker said. “Just proving to people that I can play basketball at a high level.
“Throughout the whole process I had a really good physical therapist so he helped me stay confident so I never really got down on myself. I knew I was going to be able to come back strong. I knew I had my family and my friends and the Lebo community supporting me through the whole process. I think that helped, too.”
The Lebo boys joined the school's undefeated girls' team in the state semis. The boys play at 8 p.m. Friday against Axtell, following the girls’ 6 p.m. matchup with Bucklin.
Shoemaker got in the zone early, scoring 15 points before halftime to help the Wolves take a 27-21 lead into the break. Lebo dominated the second half as the Blujays struggled to handle the Wolves’ pressure, outscoring St. John’s 40-24 after the break.
Shoemaker finished 13 of 16 from the field, adding 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals and 2 blocks.
“I came out, made shots. My teammates got me the ball and worked the offense and kept on giving it to the guys who were hot,” Shoemaker said. “We just played really good team ball, which I think helped me score and other people score.”
Lebo coach Dennis Becker said Shoemaker, who entered the tournament averaging a little over 16 point per games, got more comfortable as the season progressed.
“Early on, you have to kind of see how much you trust that knee,” Becker said. “As he got more and more trust, we’ve just kind of seen him come to a different level."
Lebo jumped out to a 9-2 lead before St. John’s answered with an 8-2 spurt to close the first quarter. The Blujays and Wolves went back and forth for much of the second quarter before Lebo gained slight separation with an 8-0 run.
Lebo stayed in firm control throughout the second half. The Wolves finished 58% from the field for the game while holding St. John’s to 31%.
“Teams can’t really simulate the type of pressure that we want to play,” Becker said. “It makes it tough on opponents when we get to these games. We took our lumps early, but we have great teams in the Lyon County League. We play 2A Lyndon, we play 3A Osage City. Those games made us better and made us who we want to be.”
Landon Grimmett scored 18 points for Lebo, going 5 of 12 from the field and 7 of 8 from the foul line.
Lebo is 16-7 with three of its losses coming to two-time defending Class 1A Division I champion Olpe.
The Wolves are back in the state semis for the first time since 2005, when they finished runner-up.
“It’s amazing,” Shoemaker said. “It was really fun to play in this kind of atmosphere here.”
St. John’s finished 18-6. Daniel Eilert led the Blujays with 16 while Edward Horinek added 10.
GREELEY COUNTY 56, SOUTHERN CLOUD 33 – The reigning champs jumped out to a 23-4 lead by the end of the first quarter en route to the 26-point tournament-opening win.
Greeley County senior standout Jaxson Brandl filled up the stat sheet with 23 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block. He scored 14 points in the first quarter to propel the Jackrabbits early.
Brandl finished 10 of 14 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range. Lincoln Shafer and Titus Sherer added seven points apiece for the top-seeded Jackrabbits (22-1), who will meet South Central in Friday’s 4 p.m. semifinal.
Southern Cloud (11-12), a co-op of Miltonvale and Glasco, settled in during the second half, outscoring the Jackrabbits 23-15 after halftime. It was the first state appearance for the program. Glasco made it to state in 1988.
Greeley County forced the Warriors into 25 turnovers. Southern Cloud was led by Trenton’s Welch 12 points.
SOUTH CENTRAL 61, STAFFORD 47 — A massive third quarter propelled the Timberwolves into the state semis for the second time in program history. South Central led 24-21 at halftime but outscored Stafford 19-6 in the third period to take a 43-27 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Timberwolves will play defending champion Greeley County in Friday’s 4 p.m. semifinal.
Stafford, making its first state tournament appearance since 1947, didn’t go quietly. The Trojans turned up the pressure and cut the deficit to eight twice in the fourth but could get no closer.
Freshman Jack Herd was a big reason why the Timberwolves kept the Trojans’ arm’s length, scoring 10 of his game-high 18 points in the final frame. Herd was 7 of 9 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds. Heath Howell flirted with a triple-double for South Central, recording 14 points, 9 rebounds and 7 blocks. Gavin Uhl added 12 points.
The sizable Stafford crowd had plenty to cheer about at times for the Trojans, who finished its breakthrough season at 17-6. Dakota Rodriguez led Stafford with 15 points while Colson Minks added 14.
South Central made the semifinals in 2020 but saw their tournament run end prematurely after the rest of the tournament was canceled because of COVID-19.
AXTELL 59, BUCKLIN 44 – The Eagles took a 16-point lead into halftime after a buzzer-beating 3 from Eli Broxterman and stayed in command in their first state tournament appearance since 2018. Senior Isaac Detweiler recorded 13 points, 7 assists, 6 steals and 6 rebounds for the Eagles (20-4). Grady Buessing had 13 points and nine rebounds while Brandon Schmelzle added 11 points.
Axtell shot 52 percent (25 of 48) from the floor while Bucklin was 25 of 48. Bucklin, which took fourth at state a year ago, finished 14-10. Andrew Bowman led the Red Aces with 11 points.
The Eagles, state champions in 2013, will be making their third trip to the semifinals. Axtell is led by the same players who helped the football team win two straight Eight-Player Division II championships.
Axtell will meet Lebo at 8 p.m. Friday.
GREELEY COUNTY 56, SOUTHERN CLOUD 33
Southern Cloud … 4 … 6 … 12 … 11 … – … 33
Greeley County … 23 … 18 … 10 … 5 … – … 56
Southern Cloud (11-12) – Cool 1-10 4-5 6, Rice 1-2 0-0 3, Chase 3-9 0-2 6, Welch 4-8 2-2 12, Schmidt 2-4 0-1 4, Peterson 0-1 0-0 0, Haley 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 12-35 6-10 33.
Greeley County (22-1) – Shafer 3-8 0-1 7, T. Sherer 3-5 0-7 7, Schneider 2-5 1-2 5, Villalobos 1-2 0-0 3, Brandl 10-14 0-0 23, Bjorklund 0-0 0-0 0, Felty 0-1 0-1 0, Yanez 3-7 0-0 6, Chanez 0-1 1-2 1, Luebbers 1-2 0-0 2, Harris 0-0 0-0 0, E. Sherer 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 24-47 2-7 56.
3-pointers – Southern Cloud 3-12 (Welch 2-4, Rice 1-1, Cool 0-6, Schmidt 0-1), Greeley County 6-22 (Brandl 3-5, Shafer 1-5, Sherer 1-3, Villalobos 1-2, Schneider 0-2, Felty 0-1, Yanez 0-1, Chanez 0-1, Luebbers 0-1, Sherer 0-1). Rebounds – Southern Cloud 28 (Chase 6), Greeley County 24 (Brandl 8). Assists – Southern Cloud 5 (Rice 2), Greeley County 16 (Brandl 6). Turnovers – Southern Cloud 25, Greeley County 11. Total fouls – Southern Cloud 16, Greeley County 10. Fouled out – none.
SOUTH CENTRAL 61, STAFFORD 47
South Central … 11 … 13 … 19 … 18 … — … 61
Stafford … 11 … 10 … 6 … 20 … — … 47
South Central (17-7) – Sarmiento 3-7 2-3 9, J.T. Prusa 1-2 1-2 3, Herd 7-9 4-4 18, Uhl 4-6 4-4 12, Howell 6-9 2-4 14, Yoder 0-1 0-0 0, Rutherford 0-2 0-0 0, Jellison 2-3 1-2 5. Totals 23-39 14-19 61.
Stafford (17-6) – Minks 5-17 0-0 14, Oleson 0-5 2-3 2, Rodriguez 3-10 6-6 15, Kerschenske 4-6 1-2 9, Hildebrand 2-4 1-6 5, Gantz 1-5 0-0 2, Harter 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 15-49 10-17 47.
3-pointers–SC 1-4 (Sarmiento 1-2, Howell 0-1, Yoder 0-1). Stafford 7-25 (Minks 4-14, Rodriguez 3-5, Oleson 0-3, Gantz 0-1, Harter 0-2). Rebounds – 32 (Howell 9), Stafford 27 (Kerschenske 6, Hildebrand 6). Assists–SC 10 (Howell 3), Stafford 10 (Rodriguez 4). Turnovers – SC 12, Stafford 8.
AXTELL 59, BUCKLIN 44
Bucklin … 8 … 8 … 12 … 16 … – … 44
Axtell … 16 … 16 .. 15 … 12 … – … 59
Bucklin (14-10) – Tilley 3-6 2-3 9, Stimpert 2-7 0-0 5, Bowman 5-10 1-2 11, Lindsay 4-6 1-2 9, Kirk 1-5 1-2 3, Pearce 0-1 0-0 0, Yancey 0-0 0-0 0, Cook 2-5 0-0 5, Feikert 0-0 0-0 0, McKinsey 0-0 0-0 0, Amaro 0-1 0-0 2. Totals 18-41 5-9 44.
Axtell (20-4) – Grad. Buessing 6-9 1-1 13, Broxterman 2-10 0-0 5, Detweiler 5-8 3-5 13, C. Shaughnessy 3-5 0-0 9, Schmelzle 5-8 0-0 11, Schmitz 3-5 0-0 6, G. Shaughnessy 0-0 0-0 0, E. Buessing 0-0 0-0 0, B. Buessing 0-0 0-0 0, Heinen 0-0 0-0 0, Talbot 0-0 0-0 0, Gran. Buessing 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 25-48 4-6 59.
3-pointers – Bucklin 3-14 (Tilley 1-1, Stimpert 1-3, Cook 1-4, Bowman 0-3, Kirk 0-2, Pearce 0-1), Axtell 5-13 (Shaughnessy 3-5, Broxterman 1-5, Schmelzle 1-2, Grad. Buessing 0-1). Rebounds – Bucklin 20 (Lindsay 8), Axtell 28 (Buessing 9). Assists – Bucklin 7 (Bowman 3), Axtell (Detweiler 7). Turnovers – Bucklin 21, Axtell 21. Fouls – Bucklin 12, Axtell 9.
LEBO 67, ST. JOHN’S/TIPTON 45
Lebo … 11 … 16 … 20 … 20 … – … 67
St. John’s/Tipton … 10 … 11 … 13 … 11 … – … 45
Lebo (16-7) – Grimmett 5-12 7-8 18, Davies 0-4 0-0 0, Shoemaker 13-16 3-5 30, Bailey 2-4 1-4 5, Oswald 4-7 1-1 9, Smith 1-1 0-0 2, Hasenclever 0-0 0-0 0, Risner 1-1 0-0 3, Durst 0-0 0-0 0, Kelly 0-0 0-0 0, Hopkins 0-0 0-0 0, Konrade 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-45 12-18 67.
St. John’s/Tipton (19-6) – Towner 0-7 0-0 0, Schroeder 1-4 0-0 2, Bates 1-4 2-4 4, Greenwood 0-1 0-0 0, Eilert 7-15 2-3 16, Leners 0-0 0-0 0, Horinek 4-13 0-0 10, LaRocque 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Gates 1-8 2-2 4, Winkler 4-6 0-1 9. Totals 18-58 6-10 45.
3-pointers–Lebo 3-6 (Grimmett 1-4, Shoemaker 1-1, Risner 1-1). St. John’s/Tipton 3-24 (Horinek 2-9, Winkler 1-2, Towner 0-3, Schroeder 0-2, Bates 0-1, Eilert 0-2, Gates 0-5). Rebounds – Lebo 35 (Oswald 10), BSJ 27 (Eilert 7). Assists–Lebo 12 (Grimmett 4, Shoemaker 4). BSJ 6 (Eilert 3). Turnovers–Lebo 16, BSJ 15.
