BY BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
LARNED — The No. 4 ranked Hesston Swathers dominated Larned 64-31 in Friday's Central Kansas League basketball game. CKL leader Hesston (12-1, 4-0 CKL) drops Larned to 5-9, 1-3 CKL.
Hesston roared to a 15-3 first-quarter lead and dominated 37-14 at halftime. The 6-6 all-stater Reed Friesen delivered three slams dunks for a commanding 37-14 halftime margin. The Swathers' defense forced Larned into 10 first-half turnovers that turned into Swather points.
Friesen scored 27 points and Drew Bartell and Gavin Larson added 10 points each. Bartell and Friesen dominated the rebounding.
Defense was the key for Hesston as they harassed the Larned offense on every possession as coach Garrett Roth rotated fresh players every few minutes. With a size advantage Hesston controlled the rebounding and converted a number of second chance baskets.
"We missed our shots early and got behind," said Larned coach Luke Steinlage. “When you dig a 15-point hole against a good team like Hesston it's difficult to come back. They took us out of our offense. When we did get the shots we wanted, we missed them.”
Displaying a good inside-outside game, Hesston made 23 of 43 field goals (53%) and 13 of 21 free throws.
Larned made 11 of 34 field goals (32%) and 4 of 6 from the charity stripe. Tristan Regan scored nine points, Carter Crosby eight and Andres Martinez made two 3-point baskets for six points.
Hesston 15 22 20 7 — 64
Larned 3 11 12 4 — 31
HESSTON (12-1, 4-0) (FG 3 FT TP)—Friesen 9 9-9 27, Bartell 5 0-0 10, Larson 4 (1) 0-0 9, Landes 0 2-4 2, Hansen 1 1-2 3, Deutschendorf 1 0-0 2, Unruh (1) 0-2 3, Haug (1) 0-0 3, Lumbreras 1 0-0 2, Hmphreys 1 1-3 3, Totals 24 (3) 13-20 64
LARNED (5-9, 1-3) (FG 3 FT TP)—Regan 3 3-4 9, Crosby 3 (2) 0-0 8, Martinez (2) 0-0 6, Greene 1 2-2 4, Shaver 1 0-0 2, Gonzalez 1 0-0 2, Totals 11 (4) 5-6 31
HESSTON GIRLS 58, LARNED 29 — The No. 1 ranked Hesston Swathers dominated all four quarters to roll past the Larned girls 58-29 in Friday's Central Kansas League basketball game.
Hesston led 7-0 at the outset and 18-10 after one quarter and 29-14 at halftime.
Led by the all-around play of All-stater Kendal Brueggen, the Swathers displayed excellent defense with a varied offense that executed their game plan well and shot the ball well to defeat Larned. The Swathers scored inside and out behind an offense directed by 5-3 Callie Yoder.
Hesston converted 19 of 39 field goals (49%) and 11 of 17 free throws.
Hesston (14-0, 4-0 CKL) was paced by Missouri State recruit Brueggen scored 24 points and teamed with Asher Deutschendorf for a 29-19 rebounding edge. Callie Yoder scored 10 points and Abby Proctor with nine.
Last year's 3A state runner-up features five returning starters from a 22-4 ballclub.
Larned (7-3, 1-3 CKL) converted 10 of 41 field goals (24%). Jadyn Crosby scored 16 points while Taeten Reynolds added eight. The Indians play Scott City Tuesday.
“Hesston is an outstanding ballclub. They’ve got all of the pieces to win a state championship," said Larned coach Jerrod Smith. "We sure could've made more of a game of it by making some shots. We shot poorly and missed some chances to score inside. Our defense was terrific. We’ve got to get more comfortable on offense.”
Hesston 18 11 15 14 — 58
Larned 10 4 5 10 — 29
HESSTON (14-0, 4-0) (FG 3 FT TP)—Brueggen 7 (4) 6-8 24, Yoder 4 (2) 0-0 10, Williams 2 1-4 5, Lehman 1 0-0 2, Abby Proctor 3 (1) 0-0 9, Mason 1 0-0 2 Grillot 0 2-2 2, Jacy Proctor 1 2-4 4, Totals 20 (7) 11-20 58
LARNED (7-7, 1-3) (FG 3 FT TP)—Crosby (5) 1-2 16, Reynolds 4 0-0 8, Wachs 1 0-1 2, Brooke Simmons 0 1-2 1, Lemuz 0 0-2 0, Upson 1 0-2 2, Totals 11 (5) 2-7 29
