By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Piper overcame a 14-point halftime deficit to claim a matchup of two of the state’s top Class 5A boys teams at Shawnee Heights, 59-56.
The game turned into an experiment to see which team would win despite a six-point quarter. Piper was limited to just six points in the second period. Shawnee Heights managed just six in the third period.
Senior Jaret Sanchez scored 13 points for Shawnee Heights in Tuesday's 59-56 UKC loss to Piper. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The T-Birds watched their lead dwindle during a nearly three-minute scoreless stretch to start the third period. By the end of the quarter, their 34-20 advantage had been whittled to 40-37.
The Pirates claimed the lead for the first time since the first period with 4:40 remaining on a dunk by junior Cooper Crawford. Back-to-back 3-pointers by T-Bird sophomore Camron Ross seemed to stem the bleeding, but Piper junior Derrick Jackson took over the final minute of the game. His bucket with four seconds remaining put Piper in front for good. He scored seven of his 12 points in the final 52 seconds.
“We’re not more talented, but we’re a better team than they are, and we let it get away,” Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting said. “We had three or four or five opportunities every quarter that, if you make one of those, you win the game. If you don’t, you lose the game.”
Senior Deacon Pomeroy puts up a shot in Shawnee Heights' 59-56 UKC home loss to Piper. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Darting found plenty to like from individual players, but said the T-Birds need to play better as a unit.
“We are not talented enough individually to beat great teams,” Darting said. “We can do that against every-day teams, but to beat great teams, we have to play together. We have to get shots for each other. We have to rebound.”
Shawnee Heights senior Jaret Sanchez scored 11 points in the first half, but was held to just one field goal attempt in the second half.
“We were getting Jaret picks, and if you get Jaret a little room, he’s dangerous,” Darting said, noting Piper took many of those opportunities away after halftime.
Lee led the T-Birds with 15 points. Sanchez finished with 13.
Piper had four players score in double figures, led by senior PJ Moore with 16.
Darting summed up his message to the team following the game:
“‘When we walk out those doors, it’s over. We’ll go home and start preparing for Lansing next Tuesday.’”
Darting lamented that the loss allowed Piper to improve to 2-0 in what will be an intense battle in the United Kansas Conference. But he said he prefers playing in a league where every game counts.
We’ve got five of the top eight teams in 5A in our league,” Darting said. “I like that. I want to do that. But we’ve got to go play every night.”
PIPER BOYS 59, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 56
Piper 14 6 17 22 -- 59
Shawnee Heights 13 21 6 16 -- 56
Piper (2-0, 2-0) – Moore 5-12 4-9 16, Walton 3-12 0-0 7, Vogel 0-1 2-2 2, Crawford 4-11 2-4 10, Jackson 4-10 4-5 12, Labot 0-0 0-2 0, Sayles 1-3 0-0 2, Brooks 5-9 0-0 10. Totals: 22-56 12-22 59.
Shawnee Heights (1-1, 1-1) – Cook 4-5 0-0 9, Pomeroy 2-6 0-0 5, Sanchez 4-9 4-6 13, Ross 5-10 3-4 15, Lee 2-3 0-0 4, Emmot 2-6 0-0 4, Alston 2-4 2-3 6, Parker 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 21-43 9-13 56.
3-point goals – Piper 3 (Moore 2, Walton 1), Shawnee Heights 5 (Ross 2, Sanchez 1, Cook 1, Pomeroy 1). Total fouls – Piper 19, Shawnee Heights 15. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
