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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Cair Paravel Latin boys’ exhilarating run that included 19 straight victories came one step short of their goal: to make the school’s first trip to the state basketball tournament.

The Lions fell to St. Marys 67-47 in the Class 2A sub-state final at Mission Valley Saturday. The Lions were unable to keep pace with the efficient Bears, who hit 22-42 shots from the field and 15-19 from the foul stripe.

Cair Paravel Latin's boys basketball team poses for a team picture after Saturday's second-place Class 2A sub-state finish. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

St. Marys had scored 88 and 89 points in its previous two sub-state tournament wins. Even holding the Bears to 67 points probably wasn’t going to cut it, Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer said.

“We gave up too many points. That’s asking a lot for us to score 70. You know, that’s not really our game. So, we had to guard better,” Kueffer said. “We played OK. It was kind of our type of game the first 12 minutes, but second half they started hitting 3-pointers and then it’s tough to scratch and claw back. There are no 20-point plays.”

The Lions trailed by just three points after one period, 15-12. They slipped a bit off the pace, but recovered to cut the St. Marys lead to 30-25 early in the third period. But the Bears outscored Cair Paravel 22-12 in the decisive third quarter.

“They are an exceptional team,” Kueffer said of the Bears. “When you’ve got six or seven guys who can all shoot the three-ball, it makes it tough to guard. I felt like in the first half, we did a really good job of guarding the 3-point line, but then what did that open up? Well, there wasn’t enough help, so they got a lot of curls on shuffle picks and then slips and things like that.”

Kueffer said that when the Lions tried to adjust, St. Marys senior Ben DeVader found room to operate, and he scored 17 points, including four 3-pointers, in the second half. DeVader finished with 23.

“I certainly think we knew personnel and schematics well enough,” Kueffer said. “But if you would have given me two or three weeks, I’d have taken it because they are a tough team to get ready for.”

Lucas Marichal led the Lions with 17 points, nine of which came from the free throw line. Chase Hastert scored 10, and Blaine Durbin and Drew Fay each added eight.

“I don’t want to discredit what (the Lions) accomplished. This year was an exceptional year,” Kueffer said. “It’s one of those games that you kind of wish you could tip the ball again and restart. But life doesn’t work that way.

“It’s over now. We want to just make sure that we focus on all the good things that we did do between November and March. And it’s cool that we got to play in March. That’s a lot better than ending your year in February.”

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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

The short-handed Washburn Ichabods registered their second consecutive 30-win season with Saturday's 85-69 win over Missouri Western, advancing into the MIAA Tournament championship game in Kansas City, Mo.'s Municipal Auditorium.

Washburn improved to 30-1 despite being without injured sophomore star Dillon Claussen, who sat out the game with a leg injury.

Sophomore Tyson Ruud scored 16 points in his second career start, helping Washburn advance to the MIAA Tournament title game with an 85-69 win over Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

"That's a good team and a really good win for us, especially when you find out the morning of the game Dillon's not going to play,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard told KTPK Radio.

"The guy's really rallied around that and rallied around him. Obviously losing that caliber of player is not easy.''

The Ichabods, now 30-1, will face Rogers State in the championship game at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday after the Hillcats' 72-70 win over Missouri Southern.

The Ichabods jumped out to a 15-6 lead, starting the game 6 of 11 from the field as junior All-MIAA guard Jack Bachleor led with eight early points.

Bachelor, the Washburn Rural product, would go on to score 18 points in the first 20 minutes as the Ichabods carried a 10-point lead at 41-31 lead into the break.

Washburn continued its steady play in the second half, matching Missouri Western basket-for-basket before gradually stretching the advantage to a game-high 22 midway through the half.

The Griffons (21-11) did trim the lead to nine with 4:17 to play, but a 3-pointer from Bachelor sparked a 14-7 advantage for the Ichabods the rest of the contest as the Ichabods won their seventh in a row over the Griffons in the 16-point win.

Junior Jack Bachelor scored a career-high 27 points with seven treys in Saturday's 85-69 Washburn win over Missouri Western. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

Bachelor led the Ichabods with a career and game-high 27 points.

Bachelor connected on seven 3-pointers while also adding six assists and three boards.

"Jack Bachelor was the best player on the court again tonight,'' Ballard said. "He just loves this gym and he's really playing at a high level.''

Senior Brady Christiansen recorded the sixth double-double of his Ichabod career with 17 points and 10 rebounds, going 7 of 8 from the field and 3 of 4 from deep.

Sophomore Tyson Ruud made his second start of the season in place of Claussen and recorded 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting while adding five rebounds and a block.

"I think starting or not it's the same mentality,'' Ruud told KTPK Radio. "We're so deep. We're one of the most talented teams in the nation, so starting or not the mentality's the same.''

Junior Jeremiah Jones scored eight points, and an MIAA Tournament game record of eight steals, recording six in the first half alone.

Senior Bryson Smith added six points, four assists and two steals.

The Ichabods were efficient as a team, shooting 49 percent from the field (33 of 68) and 44 percent from 3-point range (12 of 27). 

Missouri Western was paced by former Seaman star Ty Henry, who scored 15 points to pace four Griffons in double figures.

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