By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Rossville boys earned a second straight trip to the state tournament by blitzing Kansas City Christian with defense and pace Saturday, winning the sub-state final at Mission Valley, 60-49.
Rossville senior Jakoby McDonnell hoists the Class 2A sub-state trophy after Saturday's 60-49 win over Kansas City Christian. [Photo by Todd Fertig]
Rossville boys basketball poses for a team picture after earning a second straight trip to the Class 2A state tournament Saturday night. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
A few seasons ago, Rossville couldn’t have been much further from a tournament team. Now this Bulldawg team will be the seventh seed in the Class 2A field, drawing a match with Berean Academy at 7:30 p.m. next Wednesday in Emporia.
Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell said getting back to state will quiet the doubters.
“There’s a stigma that this might have been a fluke last year,” McDonnell said. “You gotta repeat it in order for it not to be that fluke. Ok, so be it. We’re not afraid of that competition.
“I want the boys to know that 10 years ago, we weren’t even in this conversation. We were in the conversation three years ago. And people didn’t expect that. Then, the year after that, we won it. Well, don’t make it a fluke. Go get it again. And now we’re here.”
The Bulldawgs came out with a fullcourt press that the Panthers did not figure out until late in the third period. The strategy helped produce a 32-8 run that spanned nearly all of the second period and more than half the third period. The Panthers led 10-8 early in the second period, but when the onslaught ended, they trailed 40-18.
McDonnell said he spent time watching film of Kansas City Christian. But he admitted the press wasn’t a product of the scouting report.
“That wasn’t the film part of it,” McDonnell said. “It was that we were getting bored, sitting back waiting for things to develop and then we get antsy and then start to do something like foul when we don’t need to. So, I said to get that antsy-ness out, let’s go ahead and get into our press, let’s accelerate our feet, accelerate our hands, accelerate our minds. Let’s see if we can get something out of it. And lo and behold, we had three stops right off the jump and they had to call a timeout.
“Usually I don’t keep them in (the press) for that long, but it was working. And I don’t fix it if it’s not broke. So, we stayed in it, and it worked out for us in the end.”
McDonnell’s son, Jakoby McDonnell, said the pressure counteracted the Panthers’ plan to slow the pace.
“They were trying to walk the ball up the court and slow us down,” the coach’s son said. “We’re more of a fast-paced team. We feed off each other’s energy. If one of us is getting steals, getting touches, we’ll all feed off of him.”
Jakoby McDonnell spearheaded the press and earned several fastbreak opportunities off turnovers. Late in the game, he also drew a number of fouls from the desperate Panther defense. In the second half, he deposited nine free throws to hold off a Kansas City Christian comeback bid. The point guard finished with 21 points to lead the Bulldawgs.
“For this particular (game), my son’s a senior,” Coach McDonnell said.” It was marvelous seeing him play and see what he does well and see him get tired and see him still trying to navigate. As a dad, that was phenomenal.
“As a coach, seeing every single one of (the Bulldawgs) going out there and knowing what the goal was…this is my family away from my family. So, seeing them play and take home what’s rightfully theirs, it’s amazing.”
Jack Donovan added 15 points, followed by Cameron Miller’s 13 and Connor Bush’s eight for the Bulldawgs.
The sub-state finals at Mission Valley were played without a shot clock. Once Rossville built a 21-point lead in the fourth period, one would have expected the Bulldawgs to slow things down and spread the floor to milk the clock. But that wasn’t the route they chose.
“One thing that we knew was gonna be a little nerve-wracking was no shot clock,” Coach McDonnell said.” Slowing down the pace is something that we don’t like to do, but we have to make adjustments. There are times when they don’t listen to me. But I’ve never tried to take them away from creativity. Sometimes they see a seam and they want to go. And I’ve got to deal with what comes along with that.
“But you know, at the end of the day, we just want to be the best version of ourselves. And when we come out on the ‘W’ side, that’s always a good thing.”
Jakoby McDonnell said the returners from last year state tournament team will benefit from the experience.
“Definitely don’t underestimate the competition. (The opponent) is there to do the same thing that you’re there to do, bring home a state title. So just go out there and give it your all,” the coach’s son said. “This feels great. Even though we lost a few key pieces coming into this year, we still had the hard work and dedication to everything to repeat and go back.”
ROSSVILLE BOYS 60, KANSAS CITY CHRISTIAN 49
Kansas City Christian 8 5 14 22 -- 49
Rossville 8 16 21 15 -- 60
Kansas City Christian (16-10) – Trott 3-6 1-2 8, Rodeman 0-3 1-2 1, Billings 4-11 0-0 10, Reed 6-12 4-5 7, Bond 3-4 1-2 7, Wilson 0-2 0-0 0, Deer 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 17-39 7-12 49.
Rossville (17-7) – McDonnell 6-12 9-12 21, Donovan 5-9 4-4 15, Bush 3-6 2-2 8, Miller 5-9 2-6 13, Johnson 0-1 1-2 1, Lewis 0-1 0-0 1, Horgan 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 19-40 18-26 60.
3-point goals – Kansas City Christian 9 (Reed 5, Billings 3, Trott 1), Rossville 2 (Donovan 1, Miller 1). Total fouls – Kansas City Christian 19, Rossville 13. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
