By JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com
ST. JOHN — St. John’s state-record basketball winning streak lasted one game. No. 2 ranked Class 2A Central Plains, featuring excellent passing, snapped the Tigers’ state record of 63 games with a 55-48 victory Tuesday night.
Michael Ryan paced the Oilers with a vintage 21-point effort plus several assists to win his matchup against defender Jorge Calleros. Ryan converted a pair of 3-pointers, scored in the lane and made seven free throws. Alex Barton added 11 points. Barton’s signature play came on a first-quarter leaping block on an apparent breakaway by Chase Fisher.
No. 1 ranked St. John has captured three consecutive state basketball titles and beat the Oilers seven times over the past two seasons. St. John beat Central Plains 49-44 in last year’s Class 2A state championship game. The Tigers had won the last 11 meetings dating back to Dec. 13, 2013.
“The kids played with a lot of poise,” said Central Plains coach Brett Rolfs. “It was a team effort and we were balanced. Everyone had to play well and they played well together and came out of here with what we wanted to accomplish.”
St. John coach Clint Kinnamon said the Tigers got caught into playing at the Oilers’ slower pace. The Tigers were outplayed.
‘‘It’s to our advantage to play faster,” Kinnamon said. “Central Plains played better than we did. There were a lot of things we need to do better next time. We didn’t turn them over. We had good shots early and missed them. We didn’t stay in good defensive position. We’ll have to do a few things differently next time.”
Kinnamon said the Tigers’ film study will be a learning experience.
“It will be a great film study because we had some mental breakdown early,” he said. “There are things we can learn from. I think next time our guys will come back hungrier.”
The Oilers attacked the Tigers’ defense and their better teamwork proved to Sbe the difference. Michael Ryan, Alex Barton, Braeden Crites and Devin Ryan delivered assists after driving through the Tigers’ defense.
The Oilers took control with a 13-5 second-quarter edge for a 26-18 halftime lead. Jorge Calleros drilled a 3-pointer off an assist from Cole Kinnamon and scored a driving basket to draw the Tigers within 30-28.
But the momentum swung the Oilers’ way when Bryce Miller’s 3-point play was converted on a block-charge foul against Chase Fisher. Miller dished to Michael Ryan for a 3-pointer and Quincy Smith dished to Crites for a 8-0 run for a 38-28 lead after the third period.
The Oilers made 14 free throws in the fourth period. The Tigers made 7 of 18 from long range. but forced up several shots from long range. The Tigers attacked the Oilers’ defense, but had a hard time finding the open shooter off penetration. Chase Fisher and Jacob Milton combined for 14 points, but were limited to 6-of-9 shooting. When Milton played his 17 minutes, the Tigers outscored the Oilers by 11 points.
Calleros led the Tigers with 18 points and Kinnamon scored 14 points. Calleros and Kinnamon scored the Tigers final 16 points.
Central Plains 55, St. John 48
CP 13 13 12 17 — 55
SJ 13 5 10 20 — 48
CP — Michael Ryan 6-11 7-13 21; Barton 4-8 3-4 11; Crites 2-5 1-2 5; Devin Ryan 0-4 4-4 4; Warnken 2-3 1-2 6; Miller 1-1 1-1 3; Rugan 2-3 1-2 5; Totals 17-35 18-28 55.
SJ — Calleros 7-14 1-2 18; Kinnamon 4-14 4-7 14; Fisher 4-6 0-0 8; Milton 2-3 0-0 6; Smith 0-0 0-1 0; Valenzuela 0-3 0-0 0; Ward 0-0 0-0 0; Long 1-2 0-0 2; Totals 18-42 5-10 48.
3-point goals—CP 3-9 (M. Ryan 2-4, Warnken 1-1, Rugan 0-1, D. Ryan 0-3); SJ 7-18 (Calleros 3-6, Milton 2-3, Kinnamon 2-8, Valenzuela 0-1).
Central Plains girls 46,
St. John 15
ST. JOHN — Taylor Rolfs scored 23 points and Reagan Phelan added eight points as Central Plains led 29-4 at halftime and rolled to a 46-15 victory over St. John.
Janae Ryan scored seven points and Cassidy Crites added six points.
St. John’s scoring was Bailey Burns (7), Tara Nelson (4), Torre Fisher (2) and Bella Martinez- Haskins (2).
