MANHATTAN – The Central Plains Oilers showed the scars of winning the school’s first state boys basketball championship.
Alex Barton sported a black eye. Alex Hickel sustained a broken nose from a stray elbow.
The Oilers captured the school’s first-ever boys state basketball championship with a hard-fought 47-34 victory over Pittsburg St. Mary’s Colgan Saturday night.
“We left everything on the court,” Barton said. “We showed a lot of toughness and overcame some adversity. Nothing was going to stop us from playing tonight.”
The Oilers (26-0) finished off a perfect record in the fourth state boys title game in school district history. Central Plains lost the 2015 title game (St. John) and Claflin High School lost title games in 2006 (Macksville) and 1956 (Inman).
“We’re excited beyond belief because this is the first time our school district has ever won a boys basketball championship,” Barton said.
The Oilers exhibited their typical offensive balance led by Brett Liebl (14 points), Hickel (11), sparkplug Devin Ryan (11) and Barton (9).
Central Plains avenged a loss to Salina Sacred Heart Friday night and finished the job Saturday night to earn Brett Rolfs’ first coaching state title. The Oiler girls made it a perfect night with their fifth consecutive 2A title in the first championship.
“It’s awesome to celebrate one of these state titles with the girls team when we won one of our own,” Rolfs said. “Those guys showed some toughness out there tonight. We finished the job tonight.”
After Colgan’s Jacob Dellesega drilled back-to-back 3-pointers, the Panthers held the momentum with a 20-19 lead in the third quarter.
But the Oilers’ rallied with a stunning 16-2 scoring run for a 35-22 lead over an eight-minute stretch. Liebl scored a basket inside. Barton and Liebl connected for back-to-back three-point plays. Liebl scored again and Hickel nailed a 3-pointer for a 32-22 lead. Barton finished off the spurt with three free throws.
The Oilers kept their poise.
“We knew they were would be runs, and we handed it great,” Rolfs said. “That stretch made the difference in the ballgame. We got back to basics and executed our game plan.”
Devin Ryan, the Oilers’ defensive magician, worked his craft and shut out Colgan’s Jeremiah Buche. Myles Menges held Aaron Higginbotham to nine points off 3 of 12 shooting.
The Panthers shot 30 percent on 12 of 40 field goals. Colgan converted 7 of 28 shots inside the 3-point stripe, 25 percent against rock-solid Oiler interior defense.

PC 6 8 8 12 – 34
CP 13 6 8 20 – 47
PITTSBURG COLGAN (23-3)—Dellasega 4-7 0-0 12, Beykirch 1-3 0-2 2, Buche 0-8 0-0 0, Higginbotham 3-12 2-2 9, Lomshek 2-5 3-3 7, VanBecelaere 2-2 0-0 4, Marquardt 0-3 0-0 0, Totals 12-40 5-7 34.
CENTRAL PLAINS (26-0)—Liebl 6-6 2-3 14, Hickel 3-6 4-4 11, Devin Ryan 2-6 5-8 11, Menges 0-1 2-2 2, Barton 2-4 5-7 9, Oeser 0-0 0-0 0, Bieberle 0-0 0-0 0, Totals 13-23 18-24 47.
3-pointers—PC 5-12 (Dellasega 4-7, Higginbotham 1-1, Buche 0-2, Marquardt 0-2), CP 3-9 (Ryan 2-6, Hickel 1-2, Menges 0-1). Rebounds—PC 20 (Lomshek 5), CP 21 (Liebl 6). Assists—PC 0, CP 6 (Ryan 5). Steals—PC 5 (Lomshek 2), CP 3 (Ryan 3). TO—PC 7, CP 10.

2A—MANHATTAN BOYS
FIRST—Central Plains 47, Pittsburg Colgan 34
THIRD—Sacred Heart 53, West Elk 44

FRIDAY
Pittsburg Colgan 64, West Elk 53
Central Plains 58, Sacred Heart 36

THURSDAY
Howard-West Elk 56, Stanton Co. 46
Pittsburg Colgan 54, Plainville 47
Central Plains 58, Inman 42
Salina Sacred Heart 53, Burlingame 40

CENTRAL PLAINS BOYS (17-19) 20 TRIPS (1-3 FINALS)
2018—2A—Central Plains 58, Inman 42; Central Plains 58, Salina Sacred Heart 36; CHAMPIONSHIP—Central Plains 47, Pittsburg Colgan 34
2016—2A—Central Plains 77, Lawrence Seabury 56; Sa-lina Sacred Heart 62, Central Plains 52; THIRD PLACE—Central Plains 56, Hill City 25
2015—2A—Central Plains 67, Jackson Heights 42; Cen-tral Plains 69, Olpe 44; CHAMPIONSHIP—St. John 49, Central Plains 44
2007—1A—Olpe 60, Claflin 44
2006—1A—Claflin 61, Lebo 54; Claflin 70, Brewster 55; CHAMPIONSHIP—Macksville 55, Claflin 45
2000—1A—Macksville 67, Claflin 64
1999—1A—Lebo 69, Quivira Heights 47
1995—1A—Brewster 74, Quivira Heights 67
1993—1A—Frankfort 72, Claflin 64
1992—1A—Pike Valley 67, Claflin 57
1989—2A—Spearville 88, Quivira Heights 60
1986—1A—Northern Valley 80, Claflin 55
1985—2A—Highland 60, Claflin 56
1984—2A—Prettty Prairie 59, Claflin 42
1983—1A—Quivira Heights 55, Inman 50; Thayer 44, Quivira Heights 43; THIRD PLACE—Quivira Heights 45, Brewster 40
1983—2A—Oswego 47, Claflin 45
1980—2A—Garden Plain 79, Claflin 53
1977—1A—Claflin 60, Hutchinson Trinity 58; Lebanon 66, Claflin 49; THIRD PLACE—Claflin 68, Makato 50
1956—B—Claflin 62, Oswego 52; Claflin 56, Pretty Prairie 48; CHAMPIONSHIP—Inman 67, Claflin 66
1917—Bushton 28, Potter 6; Bushton 30, Macksville 8; Winfield 23, Bushton 21

CPL BOYS
CPlains ... 8-0 26-0
Macksville 6-2 18-5
Ness City 6-2 17-5
St. John.. 6-2 19-6
LaCrosse 4-4 11-10
Victoria ... 3-5 5-16
Otis-Bison 2-6 12-11
Ellinwood 1-7 2-19
Kinsley ... 0-8 3-18