The HOPL boys were busy with tournament play in week seven but no team managed to claim a title. The Norwich girls made it through another week with a perfect record.
Norwich
The No. 5 Lady Eagles remain unbeaten with a 53-23 win against Central Christian on Friday. Norwich (9-0) dominated early on to lead 18-6 after one quarter, and 32-8 by halftime. Senior Kenzie Klaver led all scorers with 15 points. Haley Poljansek had the second-best night with 15 points.
The Eagle boys posted a 1-2 record at the 54 Classic in Cunningham to double their win total on the year. Tuesday, the squad dropped a 52-35 contest to host Cunningham. After beating Pratt Skyline 61-55 on Friday, the Eagles fell to the Wichita North sophomores 50-36. Norwich trailed Skyline 29-27 at the half but used a 13-10 third quarter to pull away from the T-Birds. Freshman Jacob Norris led the team with 15 points and nine rebounds. Tristian Wallace and Caleb Bartel each scored 14 points, and Jackson Coleman finished with nine points.
South Barber
The Chieftain boys traveled to Cunningham for the 54 Classic last week and left with a third-place finish. South Barber (7-5) cruised to a 78-35 win against Class 6A’s Wichita North sophomore team on Tuesday. In Friday’s semifinal, the Chieftains lost to the eventual champions from Kinsley 56-51. They rebounded to beat the host Wildcats 48-44 in Saturday’s consolation match.
In Tuesday’s game, the three-ball flew freely for the Chieftains, who hit eight triples in the win. South Barber won the middle quarters 49-17 to end up with a 66-23 lead. Junior Kale Girdy made half of those threes en route to a 24-point game. Logan Hitchcock added 12 points, Payton Yandel 11 points, and Dylan Allison scored 10 points.
Cunningham
The Wildcat boys hosted the 54 Classic last week, coming up just short in a 48-44 loss to South Barber in the consolation game. After handling Norwich 52-35 in Tuesday’s opener, the Cunningham (6-7) fell to Attica 45-39 in Friday’s semifinal game.
In their one win on the week, the Wildcats outscored Norwich 22-12 in the first and third quarters combined, and added five points to their lead in the final eight minutes of play. The brothers Huhman each scored 14 points. Nick hit three three-pointers, and Cody swished two shots from beyond the arc. Devin Cannon also reached double-figures with 10 points.
Central Christian
While the Cougar boys were off in Burrton competing in an invitational, the Lady Cougars had to face-off against unbeaten Norwich on Friday. The boys picked up two wins in their tournament to finish fifth. The Lady Cougars ended their win-streak at one game with a 53-23 loss. Central Christian fell behind 32-8 by halftime and 43-14 after three quarters in that loss. Sarah Hagen was the lone Lady Cougar to reach double-figures with 14 points.
The boys lost to eventual champion Inman 60-48 on Tuesday, then rattled off a 50-42 win against Fairfield, and a 60-40 win against Goessel to move to 7-3 on the year. The Cougars led Goessel just 14-12 after one quarter before using a big second quarter to take a 31-19 lead into the half. Kyle Patrick is already getting strong with 17 points and nine rebounds in the win. Jared Starkey added 12 points and Ben Krehbiel 11 points for the Cougars.
Attica
The Bulldogs nearly made their way through the 54 Classic tournament in Cunningham last week. Attica (8-6) tipped-off the week with a 68-61 win against Skyline, then defeated the host Wildcats 45-39 in Friday’s semifinal. Saturday, the Bulldogs came up just short in a 42-39 loss to Kinsley.
The second half doomed Attica on Saturday. The Bulldogs led 11-8 after one quarter, and 20-16 at the half. Kinsley took over from there, stealing a one-point lead heading into the final quarter where they outlasted the Bulldogs 14-12 for the tournament title. Vince Ramirez and Daymon Howell each scored nine points. Austin Newberry added eight points, and Jack Deviney hit two threes to finish with six points.
Burrton
The Chargers played host to seven other teams in a tournament last week. Unfortunately, the team failed to pick up a win, falling to 2-9 on the year with an 0-3 showing. Little River downed the Chargers 59-44 on Monday. Thursday, Burrton outscored Goessel in the final three quarters but a poor first quarter resulted in a 56-50 loss. In the seventh-place game on Saturday, the Chargers fell to Fairfield 59-53.
In Monday’s loss, Burrton led No. 9 Little River (2A) 16-12 after one quarter. The Redskins took over from there, outscoring the Chargers 47-28 the rest of the way. Trae Lane led all scorers with 23 points, and Kris Lane finished with nine points.
Fairfield
The Falcon boys were also in action at the Burrton Invitational last week. Fairfield dropped its first two games before bouncing back to defeat Burrton 59-53 in Saturday’s seventh-place match. The Falcons are now 8-5 on the year after falling to Pretty Prairie 64-53, and losing to Central Christian 50-42.
John Dealy led the team with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the Central Christian loss. Trace Basye added 15 points and nine rebounds. Pretty Prairie outscored the Falcons 34-20 in the second half on Tuesday. Basye scored 13 in that contest, followed by 12 points from Dealy, and 10 points from Brennyn Pankratz. Eric Schoenecker and Ryan Ewy rounded-out a balanced scoring night with nine points each.
Pretty Prairie
The Bulldogs were yet another team competing at the Burrton Invitational in week seven of action. Pretty Prairie was unable to surpass the .500 mark on the year, falling to 6-6 overall with a 1-2 showing in Burrton. Tuesday, the boys picked up their one win in a 64-53 game against Fairfield. The Bulldogs then fell to a hot Inman team 45-31 in the semifinals, and lost to No. 9 Little River (2A) 60-42 in Saturday’s consolation match.
In their win on Tuesday, the Bulldogs led 18-16 after one quarter, but trailed 33-30 at the half. Pretty Prairie doubled-up the Falcons 20-10 in the third quarter to regain the lead for good. Stetson Broce paced a pack of high-scorers with 15 points. Jacob Welker added 14 points, Justin Haflich 12 points, Nick Lampe 11 points, and Trey Tallant 10 points in the win.
Pratt Skyline
A losing record anywhere is not usually a positive, but the T-Bird boys will take it. Skyline went 1-2 at the 54 Classic in Cunningham last week, but that one win as the team’s first of the year. And they did it in dramatic fashion. Tied at 49 against Stafford in Saturday’s seventh-place game, freshman Kasey Gilpin was fouled with just one second left on the clock. The youngster showed his cool by converting both free throws for his only two points of the game. Stafford had led 17-10 after one quarter. Skyline battled back to lead 24-21 at the half, but never could pull away from the Trojans. Cole Patterson paced the T-Birds with 18 points. Brandon Abbott added 10 points.
Skyline (1-11) opened the tournament with a 68-61 loss to Attica on Tuesday, then fell to Norwich 61-55 on Friday to set up the Stafford game.
