By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights boys didn’t have the start that they wanted Friday night at Hayden when they went down 2-0 before the clock started due to a pregame technical foul.
The situation looked even worse when they faced a 12-point deficit in the first quarter. But from that point on the Thunderbirds were able to swing the game around by 19 points, winning 58-51 on the road at Class 4A No. 10 Hayden.
Shawnee Heights junior Brennon Dodge drives against Hayden senior Jake Muller in Friday's 58-51 T-Bird win at Hayden. Dodge led Heights with 14 points. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
“It was the intensity,” said Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting. “It was an effort thing, it wasn't a structural thing. We came out and didn’t want to give full effort and they forced us to give it.”
In the first four minutes of action it was all Wildcats, led by senior Joe Otting and junior Jacob Padilla. The two combined for 13 of Hayden’s 18 first-quarter points, tying what Shawnee Heights would get as a team in the period.
The T-Birds were kept in the game early by two 3-pointers from junior Dylan Sanchez. The rest of the starters joined in late, going on a 7-0 run to close the first quarter.
Shawnee Heights maintained the momentum into the second quarter, going on a 10-0 run to take a lead. Five players scored in the quarter for the T-Birds but the run was started on the defensive end where they held Hayden to just six points in the quarter, and only two from the Wildcats’ starting lineup to lead 27-24 at the break.
“Jayden Holly and Jaye Jones were the MVPs of the game and neither of them hardly took a shot, they made the difference on both ends,” Darting said. “Once Jayden came in in the first half we totally turned it around.”
Hayden wasn’t going away after a slow second quarter. The lead was cut down to just one point after a 3-pointer by senior Jake Muller. Back-to-back layups by senior Q Stovall pushed Shawnee Heights’ lead back up to as many as six and it would be a five-point game heading into the fourth.
There was no lack of offense in the final period for either team, but the difference in the game stayed between five and nine the entire fourth quarter. Otting, Padilla and Muller scored all but one of the Wildcats’ points in the final quarter but turnovers were the difference down the stretch.
The T-Birds were able to escape pressure from Hayden to get easy baskets and not turn the ball over. Juniors Brennon Dodge and Holly each had consecutive scoring stretches for Shawnee Heights in the final five minutes to help secure the 58-51 victory.
“We preach every day about, just do what you can do … and our team is pretty good at that, and it was very evident tonight,” Darting said. “We didn’t turn it over, we got layups from back-cuts, we made free throws … I was very pleased with how they handled it (down the stretch).”
Hayden senior Joe Otting, who scored 14 points, takes the ball inside against Shawnee Heights' Deacon Pomeroy Friday night at Hayden. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
Otting and Padilla each had 14 points to lead the Wildcats, who fell to 6-6 with the loss. The pair combined to go 12 of 12 from the free thow line. Muller had 11 points in the game, all in the second half.
Shawnee Heights got contributions all around, moving to 9-4 on the year. Dodge paced the Thunderbirds with 14 points, Stovall had 10 on five of seven shooting and Jaret Sanchez also had 10 points. Holly added eight off the bench.
Hayden will stay at home for the next two games, beginning with Manhattan next Friday. Shawnee Heights stays on the road, going next to Basehor-Linwood on Tuesday.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS BOYS 58, HAYDEN 51
Shawnee Heights 13 14 14 17 -- 58
Hayden 18 6 12 15 -- 51
Shawnee Heights (9-4) – Jones 0-0 4-4 4, Dodge 6-18 2-5 14, Kendrick 1-5 0-0 2, Holly 4-6 0-1 8, J. Sanchez 2-8 5-7 10, Pomeroy 2-3 0-2 4, D. Sanchez 2-3 0-0 6, Malcom 0-1 0-0 0, Stovall 5-7 0-0 10. Totals 22-51 11-19 58.
Hayden (6-6) – Padilla 3-9 6-6 14, Muller 4-9 1-2 11, Cameron 1-2 1-2 3, McGibboney 2-4 0-0 5, Ham 1-3 0-0 2, Charvat 1-1 0-0 2, Ridley 0-0 0-0 0, Otting 4-11 6-6 14. Totals 16-39 14-16 51.
3-point goals – Shawnee Heights 3 (D. Sanchez 2, J. Sanchez 1), Hayden 5 (Padilla 2, Muller 2, McGibboney 1). Total fouls – Shawnee Heights 13, Hayden 16. Technical fouls – Shawnee Heights (Kendrick 2, D. Sanchez (pregame)). Fouled out – None.
