BY BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
ST. JOHN – Trailing 27-18, the Nickerson Panthers went on a 20-2 scoring burst to grab control for a 57-42 win over Larned’s boys in semifinal action at the St.John Midwinter Classic Friday.
Leading 18-14 at the end of the first quarter, Larned picked apart the Nickerson man-to-man defense and had increased their lead to 27-18.
Nickerson’s coach Parker Bruce called a timeout and switched to a 1-3-1 zone defense called “Lonnie” after legendary Haven basketball coach Lonnie Paramore. Larned struggled to solve the defense and scored four points in the third quarter and fell behind 43-31 at the third quarter mark.
Larned went to a full-court defense in the fourth quarter, but crisp passing by Nickerson broke down the defense time after time, benefitting 6-2 sophomore Riley Brawner who scored easy baskets off good passes from Nickerson's guards. Nickerson spread their offense in the fourth clock, eating time off of the clock and allowing the Panther guards to attack the paint and produce easy baskets.
With easy baskets after breaking Larned’s press, Nickerson made 11 of 21 shots in the second half to finish the game 22 of 45 for 49%. Riley Brawner led the Panthers with 15 points. Alex King chipped in 10 points. Jay Hearon and Taylor Engelland each scored nine in a well-balanced attack. Engelland converted 3-pointers to end the third and fourth quarters.
Nickerson (2-7) will move on to the championship game Saturday at 7:30 against Wichita Sunrise.
“That darn zone. When Nickerson switched to that 1-3-1 zone, we acted like we didn’t know what to do, said Larned coach Luke Steinlage. “We didn’t see the open lanes. Give Nickerson credit, they took away our open looks, looks we were getting in the first half. We never recovered.”
Larned was turnover prone in the second half and finished the game with 21 which stifled any comeback attempts. Nickerson’s zone defense forced the Indians to outside shots in the second half and Larned made just 5 of 20 to finish the night 15 of 40 for just 37%. The Indians were just 8 of 15 from the charity stripe.
Carson Shaver led Larned in scoring with 14 points, all in the first half when Larned was in control. Cade Colglazier added 10 and Talon Reynolds 8.
Larned (2-8) will play for third place against Central Plains at 4:30 Saturday afternoon.
Nickerson 14 14 15 14 – 57
Larned 18 9 14 11 – 42
NICKERSON (2-7)—Brawner 7-12 0-0 15, King 5-10 0-0 10, Engelland 3-4 0-2 9, Hearon 3-5 1-2 9, Riley Linn 0-1 2-2 2, Wakefield 2-5 1-2 6, Crossman 2 0-1 4, Walker 0-1 2-2 2, Totals 22-45 6-10 57.
LARNED (2-8)—Shaver 5 2-5 14, Colglazier 3 4-6 10, Reynolds 3 1-2 8, Smith 1 0-0 2, Martinez 1 0-0 3, Martin 0 1-2 1, Totals 15-40 8-15 42.
3-pointers—N 7 (Engelland 3, Hearon 2, Brawner 1, Wakefield 1); L 4 (Shaver 2, Martinez 1, Reynolds 1)
WICHITA SUNRISE 60, CENTRAL PLAINS 40 – Central Plains Oiler Brodie Crites scored 18 points and Peyton Ryan added 15 points in a 60-40 semifinal loss to Wichita Sunrise in the St. John Midwinter Classic.
The Oiler boys faced with a tough matchup against a Sunrise Christian lineup that features a 6-9 and 6-7 player. Sunrise (8-4) placed Conaan McElroy (13), Montez Davis (12) and Big Ben Oyewole (10) in double figures.
The Oilers were down by 19 at half, but continued to fight.
“This is great experience for us,” said Oiler coach Michael Ryan. “I doubt we’ll play anyone with that kind of size again this season. With that being said it’s good to play in a physical matchup like this to prepare us for tough games down the road.”
Central Plains 10 3 14 13 – 40
Wichita Sunrise 18 14 13 15 – 60
CENTRAL PLAINS (7-2)—Crites 7 4-4 18, Peyton Ryan 3 7-10 15, Hekele 1 1-2 3, Hurley 0 2-2 2, Daniels 1 0-0 2, Totals 12 14-16 40.
SUNRISE (8-4)—McElroy 3 2-2 13, Davis 6 0-0 12, Oyewole 4 2-3 10, Graham 2 0-0 4, Kobari 1 0-0 3, Linsted 2 0- 5, Yuan 2 1-1 5, Pavlovic 3 2-2 8,
3-pointers—CP 2 (Ryan 2); WS 5 (McElroy 3, Kobari 1, Linsted 1)
