SM East boys beat Olathe East at 6A state tournament

Wednesday March 11, 2009 6:30 PM
Team (Record)	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	Total
Olathe East (18 - 4)	12	11	12	16	51
Shawnee Mission East (18 - 7)	8	17	15	14	54

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Source: The Star

ALLISON LONG | The Kansas City Star

Winn Clark of SM East successfully grabbed this loose ball near the lane against Olathe East at the 6A state tournament. SM East defeated Olathe East 54-51.

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EMPORIA, Kan. | In the regular season, the Shawnee Mission East and Olathe East boys played to a one-point decision and ultimately finished as co-champions of the Sunflower League.

Their meeting in the first round of the Kansas 6A state tournament Wednesday was destined to be closely contested, as well.

Olathe East’s Ben Schmitz, after making a clutch three-pointer with 15.3 seconds left had a chance to tie the game with another long-range shot in the final seconds. It bounced off the rim, and SM East held on for a 54-51 victory at White Auditorium.

“I was expecting a battle tonight for sure,” SM East senior Winn Clark said.

Clark was SM East’s top offensive weapon Wednesday, scoring a game-high 26 points, while connecting on seven of 10 shots and 12 of 16 free throws.

“Winn played phenomenal,” SM East coach Shawn Hair said. “It was unbelievable, best performance he’s had all year.”

The Lancers, 17-6, return to the state semifinals for the second time in four seasons. They will play Wichita Southeast at 8:15 p.m. Friday.

Olathe East, the No. 2 seed in the tournament, finished its season 19-4 — with two losses to the Lancers.

Senior Bruce Reed led the Hawks with 16 points, 12 rebounds and seven blocks. He sparked Olathe East to an early 10-3 lead.

It was close most of the contest. SM East closed the third quarter on a 6-0 run, took a 40-35 lead and never trailed again.

SM Northwest 54, Goddard 44Shawnee Mission Northwest coach Ben Meseke didn’t reveal any stirring halftime speech from the Cougars’ Kansas 6A state tournament opener Wednesday. He didn’t need one, he said.

The Cougars, usually a stout defensive team, had uncharacteristically allowed 31 first-half points and trailed by three at halftime. But they would make up for it.

SM Northwest quickly erased its deficit after halftime and held a seven-point lead after the third quarter on its way to the win.

“They had 31 points on the board, and that’s not us. I knew it. They knew it. I didn’t have to yell at them,” Meseke said of halftime. “… The second half was more like us.”

A.J. Spencer led the Cougars, 19-4, with 16 points and nine rebounds. He scored eight during the team’s pivotal third quarter run. Ryan Arel finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, and Steve Carver added 14 points.

SM Northwest advances to the state semifinals — the first time since 2001, Meseke said. The Cougars face 22-1 Wichita Heights at 4:45 p.m. Friday.

Wichita Southeast 82, Olathe South 78The Olathe South boys nearly overcame a 13-point halftime deficit against the defending Kansas 6A state champs, but their spirited rally fell a little short and their season ended Wednesday.

“We played pretty bad the first half, and we just got composed at halftime and came out leaving it all on the court,” said Olathe South senior Marlon Addison. “We weren’t going to go out without a fight. We knew we could beat them. We had our shot. It just didn’t work out right tonight.”

Addison and senior Rustin Dowd each had 20 points for the Falcons, who finish 17-6.

With Olathe South trailing 79-74 with less than a minute to play, Addison scored four straight points. He hit one of two free throws with 16.3 seconds remaining to draw the Falcons within a point.

Wichita Southeast’s Cecil Shaw (game-high 23 points) then hit two free throws, and Olathe South’s Joe McBride missed an off-balance three-pointer that landed out of bounds.

submitted by RYAN YOUNG - 2009-03-11 23:49:04