By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- For more than a half No. 5 seed Highland Park put itself in position to end Maize's Class 5A championship run Wednesday night at White Auditorium.
But the defending champs, the No. 4 seed, rallied at the end of the third quarter and the early stages of the fourth to take the lead and held off the Scots for a 53-47 victory to advance to Friday's 2 p.m. semifinal to face Seaman, a 54-43 winner over No. 1 seed Kapaun Mt. Carmel.
"We knew that they weren't going to give up,'' Highland Park coach Mike Williams said of the Eagles. "They play well, they're coached well and they were in this game for a reason as well, too.
"They made a good run on us to end the third quarter and made it tougher on us down the stretch, kind of chasing. We kind of got a little closer in the fourth, but just couldn't get over the hump.''
Highland Park senior Juan'Tario Roberts (23) drives to the hoop against Maize's Avery Johnson in Wednesday's Class 5A state quarterfinal. Roberts scored 17 points in the Scots' 53-47 loss to the Eagles. [Photo
Highland Park, which ended its season 18-5, jumped out in front 18-11 at the end of the first quarter and took a 27-22 advantage to the locker room at the half.
The Scots continued to hold a lead through much of the third stanza, but Maize rallied for a 39-38 lead at the end of the quarter and pushed its lead to eight points in the opening minutes of the fourth, putting Highland Park in a catchup mode the rest of the way.
Highland Park made it a one possession game in the late going, but was unable to get over the hump.
"They're state champions for a reason and they're defending that the right way,'' Williams said.
Senior Juan'Tario Roberts led Highland Park with 17 points while junior Bo Aldridge added 11 points.
While Wednesday's loss was a tough pill to swallow, Highland Park, which was making its second state appearance in in three seasons, returns 10 of 12 players from its state tournament roster.
"That's the silver lining right now and that is what we're trying to hold on to as a silver lining,'' Williams said. "We return a lot of guys going into next year's team, but the tough thing about it is nothing's guaranteed.
"So as much as things look bright and look well right now I just hope that throughout the offseason and as we move into next year we can keep piecing things together and keep guys buying into the program and doing what we can to try to come back and do it all over again next year.''
