By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's been three years since Wichita West came to Washburn Rural and took a 42-40 upset win over the heavily-favored Junior Blues in the opening round of Class 6A boys sub-state competition
For a brief time Tuesday night it appeared as if Campus might pull off a similar stunner, but after the Junior Blues saw a 17-point lead turn into a one-point deficit at the start of the fourth quarter, Washburn Rural responded with a clutch performance over the final eight minutes to advance to a sub-state final with a 60-51 victory over the Colts.
Senior Jack Bachelor led Washburn Rural with 14 points in Tuesday's 60-51 Class 6A sub-state semifinal win over Campus. [File photo/TSN]
Alex Hutchins' Washburn Rural boys will play for a Class 6A sub-state title on Friday after taking control down the stretch for a 60-51 win over Campus Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Now 15-5 on the season, Rural advanced to host 15-6 Derby, a 69-52 winner over Wichita West, in Friday's sub-state final.
Senior Jack Bachelor, who paced a balanced Rural scoring attack against Campus with 14 points, remembered the 2020 loss to Wichita West well.
"It was my freshman year and they got us first round,'' Bachelor said. "No game in the playoffs is easy. I knew that and I was like, 'We're taking one game at a time.' People were asking me about Friday and I said, 'We're worried about Tuesday. We've got to prep for Campus and get ready,' because I still had that bad taste in my mouth from freshman year. I knew we had to be ready.''
Rural coach Alex Hutchins, in his first season with the Junior Blues, didn't bring up the loss to Wichita West, but like Bachelor, knew his team better be prepared.
"We just talked about the need for defensive intensity and that in the postseason you're going to win getting stops,'' Hutchins said. "I thought we did a really good job of that early and I thought we did a good job of that late. In the middle not so much.''
Washburn Rural looked to have Tuesday's sub-state semifinal well in hand after roaring out to an 18-4 first-quarter advantage and a 25-8 lead at the 3:33 mark of the second quarter on a three-point play from Bachelor.
Rural was still in front by a 34-22 margin at the half, but Campus, which finished its season 7-14, outscored the Junior Blues 19-6 in the third quarter, taking a 41-40 lead on a 3-pointer from 6-foot-6 junior Andrell Burton Jr. to end the period.
The Junior Blues quickly regained control, however, scoring the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 47-41 lead.
Campus got back within two points after Burton's third 3-pointer of the night, but Bachelor converted a three-point play and sophomore Amare Jones made it a 5-0 run to put Rural back in front by seven (52-45) with 3:12 remaining.
The Colts got no closer the rest of the way while Washburn Rural led by as many as nine on three occasions, including the final margin.
"I would have loved to have put a stanglehold on things and just taken care of business, but at the same time, I don't think it's all bad for us to kind of feel that postseason pressure and kind of be in that moment and respond and fight back,'' Hutchins said.
While Rural had to sweat out some anxious moments, the Junior Blues turned in a solid performance overall, shooting 53.5 percent from the field while going 10 of 11 at the free throw line.
Bachelor led five double-figure scorers for the Junior Blues, who got 10 points apiece from Jones, sophomore Kaden Ballard, senior Wyatt Conklin and junior JC Heim.
Heim also grabbed seven rebounds while Conklin had six boards and Bachelor and Jones five apiece.
Burton led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds while senior Kaason Thomas had 12 points for the Colts.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 60, CAMPUS 51
Campus 4 18 19 10 -- 51
Washburn Rural 18 16 6 20 -- 60
Campus (7-14) -- Rardin 2-5 0-2 6, Thomas 6-14 0-1 12, Brown 0-5 0-0 0, McPherson3-6 0-0 6, Burton Jr. 7-21 4-5 21, Webber 2-5 0-0 6, Schroeder 0-0 0-0 0, Bowen 0-0 0-0 0, Caballero 0-0 0-0 0, Vulgamore 0-1 0-0 0, Warkins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-57 4-8 51.
Washburn Rural (15-5) -- Jones 3-8 4-4 10, Hirschi 0-3 0-0 0, Bachelor 5-5 4-5 14, Conklin 4-8 0-0 10, Heim 4-4 2-2 10, Ballard 4-7 0-0 10, Morris 1-3 0-0 2, Durst 0-3 0-0 0, M. Bettis 2-2 0-0 4. Totals 23-43 10-11 60.
3-point goals -- Campus 7 (Burton Jr. 3, Webber 2, Rardin 2), Washburn Rural 4 (Ballard 2, Conklin 2). Total fouls -- Campus 16, Washburn Rural 7. Fouled out – Brown. Technical fouls -- none.
