By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- The beginning and end of the first half set the stage for the biggest win in Seaman's boys basketball history Friday afternoon at White Auditorium.
Seeking their first-ever berth in a boys state championship game, the Vikings put defending Class 5A champ Maize in a hole with a 12-0 start and got a huge 35-foot 3-pointer from junior Kaeden Bonner to end the half, riding that first-half momentum to a 66-54 victory over the Eagles.
"It was a great start to the game,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "Our guys were ready to go and knocked down shots, and our defense was outstanding.''
Junior Kaeden Bonner hit six 3-pointers to finish with a team-high 18 points as Seaman advanced to its first-ever boys state championship game with a 66-54 semifinal win over Maize Friday in Emporia. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The 17-7 Vikings, who posted their 10th straight victory, will play for the state championship at 4 p.m. Saturday against the winner of the second boys semifinal between St. James Academy and De Soto.
Two days after dispatching top seed Kapaun Mt. Carmel in the first round, Seaman got off to another hot start Friday, riding two early 3-pointers from Bonner, who hit six 3s on the day, to build its lead to 12-0 at the 3:11 mark of the opening quarter.
That was the start of a wire-to-wire win for the Vikings against the 19-5 Eagles, who never got any closer than three the rest of the first half and no closer than five in the second half after Bonner's buzzer-beater to end the half put Seaman in command by a 31-18 margin.
"That was big,'' Bonner said. "I was confident because I had made some 3s before that. It was from deep but I just pulled it with confidence and it just felt good.''
Maize cut into Seaman's double-digit lead with a 19-13 third quarter, cutting its deficit to 44-37 on a hoop from Kyle Grill to end the quarter.
Maize's Jaden Gustafson opened the fourth with a basket to get the Eagles within five, but Bonner answered with a 3-pointer to help the Vikings regain the momentum.
"In the second half I knew they're well-coached and that they would make some adjustments,'' Cox said. "They got the ball in deep on us and made their run, but but we hit enough shots to keep them at arm's length and make the free throws that we needed down the stretch.
"They didn't have any fear. I saw in their eyes that they were confident and I felt like that they were going to get the job done.''
The Eagles threatened again with less than two minutes remaining, cutting Seaman's lead to 55-50 with 1:25 remaining on back-to-back 3-pointers from Grill, but Seaman put the game away with a 9-0 run.
Seven of those points came at the free throw line, including four straight from senior Ty Henry to give Seaman a 64-50 lead with 24.1 seconds left, as the Vikings canned 19 of 23 charities on the day.
Seaman senior Mateo Hyman (10), celebrating a Viking bucket Friday, scored 17 points in Seaman's 66-54 Class 5A semifinal win over Maize. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Bonner, who scored all of his points on 3-pointers, led Seaman with 18 points while senior Mateo Hyman was right behind with 17 points, going 6 of 6 from the field and 5 of 7 from the free throw line.
Henry was the third Viking in double figures with 10 points while junior Aron Davis had nine points and senior Gavin Wilhelm six, with all six coming in the final 1:42.
Wilhelm also grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds while Bonner led the Vikings with five assists.
"We all just stepped up and did our part,'' Bonner said.
Now Seaman will try to end its historic run with a state title.
"We've got a lot of momentum right now, a lot of confidence and we're excited about tomorrow,'' Cox said.
Senior Jaden Gustafson led Maize with a game-high 21 points while Grill added 15 points and junior Avery Johnson 13 points.
SEAMAN BOYS 66, MAIZE 54
Maize 5 13 19 17 -- 54
Seaman 12 19 13 22 -- 66
Maize (19-5) -- K. Grill 5-11 3-4 15, Johnson 5-10 1-2 13, Belcher 2-7 0-0 5, Gustafson 9-16 3-6 21, Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0, A. Grill 0-0 0-0 0, Hanna 0-0 0-0 0, Booth 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Stover 0-0 0-0 0, Reyes 0-1 0-0 0, Sharp 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 7-12 54.
Seaman(17-7) -- Hyman 6-6 5-7 17, Henry 3-7 4-4 10, Bonner 6-15 0-0 18, Wilhelm 1-5 4-5 6, Davis 3-4 2-3 9, Freeman 0-0 0-0 0, Griess 1-3 2-2 4, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Phillips 0-0 0-0 0, Chapman 0-0 0-0 0, Barta 0-0 2-2 0. Totals 20-40 19-23 66.
3-point shots -- Maize 5-15 (K. Grill 2-6, Johnson 2-6, Belcher 1-3), Seaman 7-20 (Bonner 6-12, Davis 1-1, Wilhelm 0-4, Henry 0-2, Griess 0-1). Total fouls -- Maize 21, Seaman 13. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
