ST. JOHN – The Central Plains Oilers accomplished a feat that St. John High School coach Clint Kinnamon hadn’t experienced in 150 basketball games – back-to-back defeats.
The No. 1 ranked 2A Oilers placed three players in double figures to outscore the Tigers 52-34 in Tuesday’s non-league basketball battle between Central Prairie League foes.
Alex Barton (17), Brett Liebl (13) and Alex Hickel (13) all scored in double figures to spark the Oilers. All three players did their scoring down low in the paint and on nifty drives to the basket. Hickel drove twice on the baseline for baskets.
“It’s a nice advantage to have multiple players scoring in double figures because it doesn’t give the defense a player to key on,” said Central Plains coach Brett Rolfs. “The guys did a nice job working our offense tonight.”
The Oilers (5-0) held the Tigers to 14 of 35 shooting, 40 percent. The Oilers defended the perimeter as the Tigers missed all 10 3-point attempts. The Oilers did a solid job on the boards limiting the Tigers’ second-chance points.
“Our defense was pretty good, but as a coach you always believe it can get better,” Rolfs said. “Anytime you hold a quality team like St. John to 34 points on their homecourt, you’ve done a great job. I know it will be fun down the road because both teams are going to play better basketball later in the season.”
St. John’s 6-7 sophomore Tanner Halling enjoyed a strong game with 18 points and Chase Fisher added eight points. But the Tigers missed all 10 3-point goals and the other Tigers combined for eight points on 3 of 17 shooting from the field.
“Tanner played a solid game. He’s playing stronger inside all the time,” said St. John coach Clint Kinnamon. “What I liked is how well he passed out and reposted when he didn’t have an advantage inside. He’s improving game-by-game.”
The Oilers started hot with a 16-7 edge in the first quarter despite Tanner Halling blocking the first three shots by Brett Liebl. The Tigers played their best basketball with a 8-1 run fueled by four points by Halling and scores by Fiser and Quincy Smith for a 17-15 score.
But Barton scored the final six points of the half after Hickel’s inside basket for a 25-15 halftime lead. Hickel scored seven points and Liebl added five points in the third quarter for a 43-25 lead after three quarters. The Oilers had six turnovers and played with poise and confidence.
The Tigers’ lack of perimeter shooting cost them a chance.
“We’ve got the ability to play inside/out,” Kinnamon said. “But you’ve got to knock down some perimeter shots. Right now, I’d have to say we’re in a perimeter shooting slump. But there is definitely some potential because we’ve got Tanner Halling and Chase Fisher inside.”
Kinnamon said the Oilers are athletic and balanced.
“It’s one of the best Central Plains teams I’ve seen,” he said. “They are very athletic all over the court and they’ve got really good shooters.”
St. John has posted a record of 134-16 since losing back-to-back games to Wichita Life Prep 52-45 and Macksville 66-65 in 2012.
CP 16 9 18 9 – 52
SJ 9 6 10 9 – 34
CENTRAL PLAINS—Hickel 6-11 1-1 13, Barton 5-9 7-9 17, Devin Ryan 2-4 0-0 6, Liebl 6-9 1-2 13, Menges 1-3 0-0 3, Oeser 0-2 0-0 0, Thompson 0-0 0-1 0, Totals.
ST. JOHN—Fisher 4-8 0-0 8, Tanner Halling 7-10 4-4 18, Smith 2-8 1-2 5, Witt 1-1 0-0 2, Calleros 0-2 0-0 0, Osborne 0-5 1-2 1, Collin Halling 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 14-35 6-8 34.
3-pointers—CP 3-12 (Ryan 2-4, Menges 1-2, Hickel 0-2, Oeser 0-2, Barton 0-2); SJ 0-10 (Calleros 0-1, Fisher 0-1, Smith 0-4, Osborne 0-4)
Oiler girls cruise to victory
The No. 2 ranked 2A Oilers (5-0) roared to a 26-5 first quarter lead keyed by 12 turnovers that fueled an effective fast break. The Oilers showed off three fullcourt schemes that kept the Tigers guessing.
“We played strong fullcourt defense and gave them three different looks to keep them off balance,” said Central Plains coach Pat Stiles. “We came out strong defensively and forced turnovers.”
Oiler all-stater Emily Ryan, averaging 35 points, scored 19 points with six assists and five steals. Rachel Lamatsch scored 12 points and Delaney Rugan added nine points. The Oilers converted 7 of 21 field goals from 3-point range.
Ryan dished out timely assists and Lamatsch and Avery Hurley fed Addison Crites for inside scores off nifty assists.
The Oilers adjusted to the Tigers’ switching defense that paid special attention to Emily Ryan.
“We started moving the ball from side-to-side and got better shots against their junk defense,” Stile said.
The Tigers (3-2) attacked the Oilers’ defense at times and passed the ball solidly. Jackie Rios and Paige Doran led the Tigers with seven points apiece. Tara Nelson played strong inside defense and chipped in five points. The Tigers outscored the Oilers 9-5 in the fourth quarter.
CP 26 11 14 5 — 56
SJ 5 8 4 9 — 26
CENTRAL PLAINS–Emily Ryan 4-10 9-10 19, Lamatsch 4-13 0-0 12, Rugan 4-10 0-1 9, Donecker 2-3 0-0 4, Rylee Cunningham 0-2 0-0 0, Avery Hurley 2-6 0-0 5, Crites 3-4 1-2 7, Stratman 0-1 0-0 0, Potter 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 19-50 10-13 56.
ST. JOHN—Nelson 2-5 1-2 5, Meyer 0-5 1-2 1, Rios 2-2 2-2 7, Fisher 2-5 0-3 4, Doran 2-4 3-4 7, Crissman 1-1 0-0 2, Totals 9-22 7-13 26.
3-pointers—CP 7-21 (Lamatsch 3-11, Ryan 2-5, Hurley 1-2, Rugan 1-3), SJ 0-1 (Meyer 0-1).
LARNED BOYS 56, LYONS 46
LYONS – Chance Sanger led a balanced Larned offense with 14 points as the Indians outlasted Lyons 56-46 in a non-league basketball game between Central Kansas League teams. The Indians (4-1) play Central Plains (5-0) Friday.
Larned (4-1) led 48-44 with three minutes left before outscoring Lyons 8-2 down the stretch. Damontay Phillips and Keelan Castro added 10 points apiece. Terek Smith led Lyons with 17 points.
Larned 17 12 14 13 - 56
Lyons 8 9 15 14 - 46
LARNED—Skelton 1 0-0 2, Castro 3 4-4 10, Barger 2 0-1 6, sanger 5 1-2 14, Perez 2 4-7 8, Phillips 4 0-0 10, Harmon 2 1-1 5, Schmidt 0 1-2 1, Totals 19 11-17 56.
LYONS—Smith 7 3-6 17, Pena 3 1-1 7, Minix 1 0-0 2, McClure 1 0-0 2, Reid 1 0-1 2, Fundenberger 6 4-4 16, Totals 19 8-12 46.
LYONS GIRLS 42, LARNED 29
LYONS – Kristina Head scored 12 points to spark the Lyons High girls past Larned 42-29 in a non-league basketball game between Central Kansas League teams. Lyons outscored the Indians 17-6 in the third quarter.
Katelyn Sanger and Kalee Mead each scored seven points for Larned (1-4).
Larned 6 7 6 10 – 29
Lyons 10 5 17 10 – 42
LARNED—Sanger 2 2-4 7, Mead 1 5-6 7, Fischer 3 0-0 6, Perez 2 0-0 5, Clark 1 0-0 2, Butler 1 0-0 2, Clark 0 0-2 0, Totals 10 7-12 29.
LYONS—Head 6 0-0 12, Stover 3 2-3 8, Belote 2 1-5 5, Fierro 3 3-4 9, Villanueva 1 0-0 2, Hollinger 0 6-8 6, Totals 15 12-20 42.
