CLAFLIN — St. John;’s Tanner Hallling lived up to his advance billing with a 13-point outing.
But the Central Plains’ Oilers’ offensive balance was too much for the No. 2 ranked Tigers in a 45-32 non-league basketball victory.
The No. 1 Oilers used a 10-0 scoring burst on back-to-back 3-pointers by Myles Menges off assists by Alex Hickel for a 37-23 lead. The state champion Oilers (5-0) have won 31 consecutive games.
The teams know each other so well, the matchup typically features a low-scoring affair.
The one second-half burst broke the game open.
“We struggled with offensive consistency, but it was nice to put that one stretch together,” said Oiler coach Brett Rolfs. “I was more satisfied with our defense that second half.”
The 6-7 Halling scored 10 second-half points in the paint as the Tigers’ center beat the double team before it formed. Brett Liebl got much-needed defensive help after halftime.
“We got much better help that second half,” Rolfs said. “We got beat a couple times.”
Larned Keady Classic champion St. John (4-1) had Mason Osborne score eight points. But the Tigers made 8-29 field goals other than Tanner Halling. The Tigers made 1-8 from 3-point range.
“They defended Tanner Halling and stopped Mason Osborne’s drives,” said St. John coach Clint Kinnamon. “It comes down to knocking down some outside shots. They were giving us some opportunities.”
Kinnamon liked the fact his players were involved in a classic matchup with the Oilers.
“We learned some things and we’ll get better from it,” he said. “We’ve got to shoot the ballbetter. But Central Plains is a really good basketball team.”
The Oilers’ inside twosome were effective with Alex Hickel scoring 13 points and Brett Liebl adding 12 points. Devin Ryan and Menges balanced the offense with outside shooting.
“That’s a good St. John team that we’ll see again,” Rolfs said. “Their defense gave us some trouble.”
St. John 8 10 7 7 — 32
Central Plains 13 13 11 8 — 45
ST. JOHN (4-1)—Tanner Halling 6-13 1-2 13; Calleros 2-3 0-0 5; Osborne 4-14 0-0 8; Collin Halling 1-5 2-2 4; M. Woolf 1-6 0-0 2; Totals 14-42 3-4 32
CENTRAL PLAINS (5-0)—Hickel 6-12 1-2 13; Oeser 0-1 2-2 2; Menges; 3-7 0-0 8; Ryan 4-7 0-0 10; Liebl 6-12 0-0 12; Totals 19-39 3-4 45
3-pointers—SJ 1-8 (Calleros 1-2, Woolf 0-2, C.Halling 0-2, Osborne 0-3), CP 4-12 (Ryan 2-5, Menges 2-4, Liebl 0-1, Hickel 0-2). Rebounds—CP 23 (Menges 10). Assists—CP 9 (Hickel 4).
BOYS CENTRAL PRAIRIE
Ness City 1-0 5-0
Ellinwood 1-0 2-3
Central Plains 0-0 5-0
St. John 0-0 4-1
Otis-Bison 0-0 3-1
Kinsley 0-0 1-4
Victoria 0-0 0-5
Macksville 0-1 3-2
LaCrosse 0-1 1-4
TUESDAY
Central Plains 45, St. John 32
Dighton 47, LaCrosse 39
Ell-Saline 46, Ellinwood 45
Macksville 61, Central Christian 45
Ness City 77, Hodgeman Co. 41
Osborne 75, Victoria 62
Skyline 63, Kinsley 40
FRIDAY
Central Plains at Haven
Ellis at Ellinwood
Hesston at St. John
LaCrosse at Otis-Bison
Macksville at Stafford
Ness City at Kinsley
