ST. JOHN — It didn’t take long for St. John-Hudson High School’s boys’ basketball team to take over on Friday night during a Class 1A Division-I sub-state semifinal game.
A 6-0 run for the Tigers, who are ranked No. 1 in the final Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll, put La Crosse behind, and it never recovered in a 72-37 St. John victory.
“I thought we were pretty good for only having three days of practice since our last game at Otis-Bison,” St. John head coach Clint Kinnamon said. “We were shooting well. Our timing was pretty good. I was pleased.”
St. John’s Ethan Long knocked down a pair of layups to get his team started. Dean Wade added a layup of his own.
“He has those times when he’s pretty aggressive to the basket like that,” Clint Kinnamon said of Long. “I thought he did a phenomenal job running the ball and pitching it ahead. We have some guys who run the floor very well, and we play well in transition. That was nice to see for him.”
La Crosse answered with four points to make it 6-4 with 4:23 remaining in the quarter.
St. John’s Kade Kinnamon responded with a three-point play before La Crosse’s Clayton Basgall scored a putback.
Long put in a shot, Wade got a putback and Zuriel Reyes scored a finger roll to close out the first quarter to give the Tigers a 15-6 advantage.
St. John unleashed a barrage of 3s in the second quarter, finishing the game 8-for-19 from beyond the arc.
The Tigers led 44-15 at intermission and added to their lead in the third quarter before bringing in their junior varsity in the final eight minutes.
Reyes led three players in double figures with 22 points, sinking five 3-pointers.
Wade finished with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Long scored 12 points.
Kade Kinnamon finished with five points in his first game back from a wrist injury.
“It was really good having Kade back,” Clint Kinnamon said of his starting point guard. “Omar (Ramirez) has done a really nice job. Ethan’s done a nice job, but it’s a little different when you have a real ball handler at point. I thought he did a good job his first game back.”

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Class 5A Sub-State Basketball Tournament

BOYS

Friday

At St. John

Semifinal

St. John 72, La Crosse 37
LA CROSSE
    Jack Garcia 0 0-0 0, Derrick Depperschmidt 0 0-0 0, Clayton Basgall 6 0-0 15, Marshall Jay 1 0-0 3, Sheldon Schmidt 2 2-4 6, Kip Keeley 2 4-7 9, Jacob Reifschneider 0 0-2 0. Totals 13 6-15 37.
ST. JOHN (20-1)
    Kade Kinnamon 2 1-2 5, Gera Caleros 0 0-1 0, Omar Ramirez 2 0-0 6, Francisco Calleros 0 0-0 0, Spencer Nusser 2 2-6 7, Josue Ramirez 1 0-0 2, Ethan Long 5 2-2 12, Dean Wade 6 4-4 16, Zuriel Reyes 7 3-4 22, Jesus Alvarez 1 0-0 2. Totals 26 12-19 72.
La Crosse     6     9    16    6  —  37
St. John    15    29    24    4  —  72
    Three-point goals — St. John 8 (Reyes 5, Ramirez 2, Nusser); La Crosse 5 (Basgall 3, Jay, Keeley). Total fouls — La Crosse 18, St John 14. Fouled out — None. Technical foul — La Crosse (Bench), St. John (none).