MANHATTAN — The Central Plains boys are rewriting school basketball history. Central Plains (23-0) will play Lawrence Seabury Academy (18-3) at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at Manhattan’s Bramlage Coliseum in the Class 2A state tournament.
No. 1 ranked Central Plains outlasted three-time state champion St. John 48-46 in the St. John Class 2A substate basketball championship to qualify for the state tournament for the second consecutive year.
The clutch victory erased two years of hard-luck losses against three-time state basketball champion St. John. This year, the Oilers beat St. John four times, including breaking the Tigers’ boys state-record 63-game winning streak.
“We had one of the toughest finals of any substate winner. It’s a big plus to feature players who keep their poise and play steady basketball,” said Oiler coach Brett Rolfs. “They possess tremendous poise and confidence in each other. We respect every team we play. It’s a team that always carries confidence.”
The Oilers were led by Braeden Crites with 13 points and Michael Ryan and Alex Barton added 10 points apiece. Balance is the Oilers’ key with Michael Ryan (17 ppg) leading the way, but Crites, Barton, Devin Ryan and Jacob Warnken all averaging more than 8 ppg.
Defensive standouts Warnken and Michael Ryan, with quick hands and tenacity, will draw the Seahawks’ top two scorers.
“Jacob has quick feet and hands and Michael Ryan can defend guards or bigger players. Seabury shoots a lot of 3-pointers. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Rolfs said. “They are very guard-oriented and get out and run.”
Seabury loves to play in transition with its top three guards -- Mikey Wycoff, Zach McDermott and Bansi King. Wycoff averages 21 ppg, using his agility to dribble past defenders. McDermott adds 18 points and six assists, and King averages 13 ppg.
Central Plains lost the past two years in post-season to the Tigers, 49-44 in last year’s Class 2A state final. The Oilers only other loss the past two years was to Class 6A Derby at the Dodge City Tournament of Champions.
St. John (19-4) lost four times to the Oilers this season. The last two meetings went down to the final minute. St. John’s seniors finished a four-year career with a 95-5 record and three state titles.
The Oilers qualified for Class 2A state when St. John’s Cole Kinnamon missed the potential game-winning shot on a 15-footer against defense from Michael Ryan. St. John’s Alexis Valenzuela tipped an Oiler pass for a steal with the Oilers ahead 46-45 to give the Tigers a shot at victory.
After Kinnamon’s miss, Braeden Crites added two free throws for a 48-45 lead and Kinnamon made his first free throw before teammate Jacob Milton was unable to get off a last-second shot on the rebound.
Thomas Uhler, Austin Gaumer, Max Easter, Thomas diZerega and Chris Green are all big pieces into the team‚Äôs puzzle. diZerega missed the team’s first sub-state game to sing at New York’s Carnegie Hall.