By Brent Maycock – KSHSAA Covered
HUTCHINSON — The lumps Southeast of Saline took through a bit of a reload in the regular season sure look a whole lot like beauty marks now that the postseason is here.
Replacing virtually every key contributor off two straight third-place finishing teams at the Class 3A state tournament, the Trojans got beat up by one of the toughest schedules in Class 3A. They absorbed nine losses, eight of which came to state-tournament teams.
But Southeast never let the losses get the best of them and when the Trojans returned to the Hutchinson Sports Arena for Wednesday’s Class 3A quarterfinal game with No. 2 seed Cheney, they proved that they were much better than their 14-9 record indicated.
“We believe we belong,” Southeast coach Bryson Flax said after the Trojans handed Cheney just its third loss of the season with a hard-fought 54-51 victory. “That was an absolute battle against a very, very good basketball team. We just wanted to compete and give ourselves a chance.”
Southeast got out fast, leading 16-6 in the first quarter before Cheney’s Jackson Voth sank a 35-foot shot at the buzzer to cut the Cardinal’s deficit to 16-12. Buzzer beaters became a thing for the Cardinals in the game as Josh Burdick scored at the halftime buzzer to force a 26-26 tie and Quaid Thomas got a putback at the third-quarter buzzer that gave Cheney a 36-35 lead going into the fourth quarter.
The final period was a pair of heavyweights trading blows. Every time one would gain separation, the other would come right back. Five straight points by Gannon Jacobson gave the Trojans a 49-47 lead with two minutes left but Burdick answered with a 3-pointer 15 seconds later to put Cheney back up one.
Jacobson came up big again, hitting a 3-pointer and then 1 of 2 free throws to put Southeast of 53-50 with less than a minute left. Still down 54-51 in the closing seconds, Cheney’s buzzer magic ran out as a last-second 3-pointer missed and Southeast advanced to the semifinals for the third straight year.
Jacobson was huge all game, hitting 8 of 13 shots, including 3 of 5 3-pointers, on his way to a game-high 24 points. Owen Bailey also hit a trio of 3-pointers and added 11 points.
Cheney, which finished 21-3, was led by 15 points from Voth and also got 13 from Burdick and 11 off the bench from Colter McDaniel.
One of three teams from the tough North Central Activities Association in the 3A field, Southeast was joined in the semifinals by top-seeded Beloit, while fellow league member Ellsworth saw a tough fourth quarter end its season. Southeast (15-9) will take on Goodland (21-3) at 6 p.m. after the Cowboys raced past Riverton 68-46.
BELOIT 56, HAYDEN 42 – Even in facing one of the few sub-.500 teams at state this year in 8-15 Hayden, Beloit was wary of the Wildcats, who faced mostly 6A and 5A competition throughout the season. And when the Trojans led just 11-10 at the end of the first quarter, Hayden had their full attention.
But a huge game from Eli Johnson and defensive clinic in the second and third quarters gave Beloit all the breathing room it needed to return to the state semifinals for the first time since 2020. The Trojans held Hayden to just 11 points in the middle two quarters, outscoring the Wildcats 34-11 in that stretch to open up a 45-21 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Johnson was darn near perfect, hitting 10 of 12 shots from the floor and his only 3-point attempt to lead all scorers with 21 points. Bryce Beisner made all of his field goal attempts and free throws, finishing with 12 points on just four shot attempts. He also had 9 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 blocked shots.
Beloit (23-1) will take on Wellsville (21-3) in Friday’s 2 p.m. semifinal after the Eagles denied an all-NCAA showdown with a 48-38 win over Ellsworth.
Hayden finished 8-16 and was led by 15 points from Cooper Colboch and 13 from Dom Ridley. The Wildcats went just 9 of 28 from 3-point range and 14 of 50 overall.
WELLSVILLE 48, ELLSWORTH 38 — With scoring stars Will Cravens of Ellsworth and Willie Dorsey of Wellsville struggling to find their shot, Wednesday’s quarterfinal was left up to their supporting cast.
And while Riley Stone stepped up to have a big game for Ellsworth, Wellsville got strong performances from the duo of Kenyon Gillins and Calvin Dwyer to offset Stone’s efforts and push the Eagles into the semifinals for the first time since 2015.
Gillins scored 17 points and Dwyer added 14 points, hitting 7 of 9 shots from the field, to offset a night that saw leading scorers Dorsey and Dez Winton combine to go just 5 of 21 from the field.
That’s the exact same shooting line Ellsworth’s Cravens produced as he scored just 13 points, eight below his season average. Stone picked up the slack a little, getting 17 points and 10 rebounds, but Lane Rolfs was just 2 of 12 on 3-pointers as the Bearcats went 4 of 19 overall beyond the arc.
Despite the struggles, Ellsworth led 35-32 going into the fourth quarter. But Wellsville held the Bearcats to just three points in the fourth quarter, outscoring them 16-3 to pull away for the win.
GOODLAND 68, RIVERTON 46 – Goodland got its first state victory in nearly 40 years and made it look easy in doing it.
The Cowboys, at state for the first time since 1996, jumped all over Riverton with a 19-8 advantage in the first quarter and led for all but 33 seconds of the game. After the Rams pulled within 32-23 at halftime, Goodland outscored them 17-11 in the third quarter.
Manuel Gonzalez keyed the Cowboys’ first state win since a 68-63 win over Mulvane in the 1986 Class 4A quarterfinals, hitting 5 of 10 3-pointers on his way to a 20-point night. He led three Cowboys in double figures with Brady Brumbaugh adding 18 and Linkon Cure scoring 12.
Riverton, which finished its season 17-7, was led by 21 points from Loch North, who did most of his damage at the free throw line, making 9 of 12 at the stripe while going just 5 of 13 from the field. Terryk Richardson added 11 points.
CLASS 3A BOYS QUARTERFINAL BOXSCORES
BELOIT 56, HAYDEN 42
Hayden … 10 … 6 … 5 … 21 … — … 42
Beloit … 11 … 19 … 15 … 11 … — … 56
Hayden (8-16) – Charvat 0-4 1-4 1, Hanika 0-3 0-0 0, Colboch 5-13 0-0 15, Ridley 4-11 3-4 13, Becker 1-5 0-0 0, Mitchell 0-1 0-0 0, Kuta 2-3 1-1 5, Deister 0-6 0-0 0, Grace 1-2 0-0 3, Banks 0-0 0-0 0, Kidd 1-1 0-0 2, Zwiesler 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-50 5-9 42.
Beloit (23-1) – Eilert 3-5 0-0 6, Johnson 10-12 0-0 21, Beisner 4-4 2-2 12, Gerstner 3-10 0-0 7, Cheney 0-2 1-2 1, Lundine 1-1 0-0 3, Litton 1-2 1-2 3, L. Cheney 0-0 0-0 0, Rexroat 0-1 0-0 0, Burke 1-2 0-0 3, Laflen 0-1 0-0 0, Lechien 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 23-41 4-6 56.
3-point goals – Hayden 9-28 (Colboch 5-9, Ridley 2-5, Becker 1-6, Grace 1-2, Mitchell 0-1); Beloit 6-15 (Beisner 2-2, Johnson 1-1, Gerstner 1-6, Lundine 1-1, Burke 1-1, Eilert 0-1, J. Cheney 0-2, Laflen 0-1). Rebounds – Hayden 21 (Hanika 5), Beloit 37 (Beisner 9). Assists – Hayden 12 (Becker 3, Banks 3), Beloit 17 (Beisner 5, J. Cheney 5). Turnovers – Hayden 6, Beloit 16. Total fouls – Hayden 14, Beloit 15. Fouled out – Hayden: Colboch.
WELLSVILLE 48, ELLSWORTH 38
Ellsworth … 8 … 13 … 14 … 3 … — … 38
Wellsville … 10 … 12. … 10 … 16 … — … 48
Ellsworth (19-5) – Cravens 5-21 1-2 13, McGowan 1-1 0-0 2, Stone 6-10 4-4 16, Rolfs 2-12 0-0 6, L. Leiker 0-0 0-0 0, D. Leiker 0-0 1-2 1, Hipp 0-0 0-0 0, Goss 0-0 0-0 0, Togersen 0-0 0-0 0, Tully 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-44 6-8 38.
Wellsville (21-3) – Dorsey 3-10 0-0 6, Douglas 1-2 0-0 2, Winton 2-11 3-4 7, Gillins 6-11 3-4 17, Dwyer 7-9 0-0 14, Taylor 0-1 0-0 0, Geist 1-1 0-0 2, Lee 0-0 0-0 0, Holmes 0-0 0-0 0, Newhouse 0-0 0-0 0, Dalton 0-0 0-0 0, Stanton 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-45 6-8 48.
3-point goals – Ellsworth 4-19 (Cravens 2-7, Rolfs 2-12); Wellsville 2-15 (Gillins 2-6, Dorsey 0-4, Winton 0-4, Taylor 0-1). Rebounds – Ellsworth 27 (Stone 10); Wellsville 28 (Dorsey 5, Dwyer 5). Assists – Ellsworth 11 (Cravens 5), Wellsville 9 (Winton 4). Turnovers – Ellsworth 12, Wellsville 9. Total fouls – Ellsworth 14, Wellsville 16. Fouled out – none.
SOUTHEAST OF SALINE 54, CHENEY 51
Southeast of Saline … 16 … 10 … 9 … 19 … — … 54
Cheney … 12 … 14 … 10 … 15 … — … 51
Southeast of Saline (15-9) – Leeds 3-6 0-2 6, Jacobson 8-13 5-8 24, Bailey 4-13 0-0 11, Caselman 0-1 1-2 1, D. Kejr 2-7 1-1 5, Calzada 2-3 0-0 4, Gebhardt 0-2 0-0 0, Davis 1-1 1-1 3, I. Kejr 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 8-14 54.
Cheney (21-3) – Robertson 0-1 0-0 0, Lynch 0-4 0-0 0, Peintner 2-12 3-4 7, Voth 5-17 4-5 15, Burdick 4-11 4-5 13, McDaniel 4-8 3-4 11, Summerer 0-0 0-2 0, Thomas 1-3 1-2 3, Young 1-1 0-0 2, Ratcliff 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-57 15-22 51.
3-point goals – Southeast 6-18 (Jacobson 3-5, Bailey 3-8, Leeds 0-2, D. Kejr 0-1, Gebhardt 0-2); Cheney 2-19 (Voth 1-6, Burdick 1-5, Lynch 0-3, Peintner 0-3, Robertson 0-1, Thomas 0-1. Rebounds – Southeast 35 (Ledds 10), Cheney 34 (Peintner 9). Assists – Southeast 10 (Leeds 2, Bailey 2, D. Kejr 2), Cheney 3 (Burdick 2). Turnovers – Southeast 16, Cheney 10. Total fouls – Southeast 19, Cheney 19. Fouled out – Cheney: Robertson.
GOODLAND 68, RIVERTON 46
Riverton … 8 … 15 … 11 … 12 … — … 46
Goodland … 19 … 13 … 17 … 19 … — … 68
Riverton (17-7) – Forbes 0-6 0-0 0, North 5-13 9-12 21, Richardson 5-8 0-1 11, Harper 1-9 0-0 3, Feldkamp 0-6 7-10 7, Phillips 1-2 0-0 2, Reitz 1-3 0-0 2, Witherspoon 0-0 0-0 0, Buschman 0-0 0-0 0, Beyer 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-47 16-23 46.
Goodland (21-3) – Shinette 2-6 0-0 4, Brumbaugh 6-18 5-6 18, Cure 4-9 3-3 12, Linton 0-1 2-2 2, Gonzalez 7-13 5-10 20, Mull 2-6 0-0 6, Thorson 3-5 0-0 6, Sederstrom 0-0 0-0 0, Linin 0-1 0-0 0, Schlosser 0-0 0-0 0, Romero 0-0 0-0 0, Saucedo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 11-13 68.
3-point goals – Riverton 4-18 (North 2-7, Richardson 1-1, Harper 1-3, Feldkamp 0-2, Forbes 0-5); Goodland 9-27 (Gonzalez 5-10, Mull 2-4, Brumbaugh 1-8, Cure 1-2, Linton 0-1). Rebounds – Riverton 32 (Feldkamp 9), Goodland 38 (Cure 8). Assists – Riverton 7 (Richardson 2), Goodland 10 (Brumbaugh 2, Cure 2, Thorson 2, Sederstrom 2). Turnovers – Riverton 16, Goodland 10. Total fouls – Riverton 18, Goodland 22. Fouled out – Riverton: Phillips.
