Central Prairie League Catch-All: Winter Week 7

Most of the CPL boys' teams were active at tournaments in St. John or Hoisington. Three girls' teams also saw action at the Winter Jam in Hoisington.

St. John

The Tiger boys entered their own tournament as the No. 1 team in Class 1A, Div. I. Count them there again as they cruised through the brackets, going 3-0 to win the title. St. John (13-0) had little trouble moving through the brackets. The Tigers opened the tournament with a 67-48 win against Nickerson, then downed CPL-foe Central Plains 55-40 on Friday. In Saturday’s championship, St. John beat another league-opponent in Macksville 70-47.

In Friday’s win against Central Plains, St. John outscored the Oilers in each of the first three quarters, leading 18-8 after the first eight minutes, and 45-28 with a quarter to play. Junior Zuriel Reyes knocked down 4-of-9 three-point tries for a 20-point game. Sophomore Dean Wade added 16 points, seven rebounds, and six blocked shots. Spencer Nusser just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.

 Kinsley

The Coyote boys doubled their win total with a title at the 54 Classic in Cunningham last week. Kinsley (6-7) started the run on Tuesday with a 65-51 win against Stafford. Friday, the Coyotes downed South Barber 56-51 in the semifinals. In Saturday’s title game, Kinsley edged out Attica 42-39.

Friday, Kinsley led 10-7 after one quarter but trailed 25-22 at the half. The Coyotes regained control in the second half, winning the third quarter 19-13 and taking the second half 35-26 for the win. Nathan Frame’s 18 points led all scorers. Tyson Espinosa also hit double-figures with 11 points. Weston Coss scored all of his nine points from behind the three-point arc.

 Macksville

The Mustang boys were one of four CPL competing at the Winter Classic in St. John. Two CPL teams reached the finals, but it was No. 1 St. John outlasting Macksville 70-47 for the title. The Mustangs (7-4) opened the tournament with a 62-44 against Larned. In the semifinals, they downed another Class 4A school in Pratt 58-53.

In Friday’s win against Pratt, the teams hit the intermission knotted at 29. Macksville held a 41-36 lead after three quarters and was able to match Pratt’s 17 points in the fourth quarter to hold on for the win. Jordan Welch scored 19 points to tie for high-scoring honors. Adolfo Ibarra added 15 points, and Tanner Tranbarger finished with nine points.

 Victoria

The Knights were one of three CPL teams competing at the Cardinal Winter Jam in Hoisington. Victoria (8-3) made it all the way to the finals on Saturday before falling to Class 3A power and host Hoisington 49-39. The No. 1 seed Knights opened the tournament with a 67-25 thrashing of Russell, then dominated Ellinwood 61-35 in the semifinals.

Trailing 13-7 after one quarter on Saturday, Victoria doubled-up Hoisington in the second quarter to trail by just one 18-17 at the half. The Cardinals hit five of their first six shots in the third quarter, eventually building a 10-point lead. Clayton Roth sank a basket in each quarter to pace the Knights with eight points, and Phillip Nowak scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds.

The Lady Knights went 1-2 at the Jam. After a 44-35 win against LaCrosse, the girls fell to Ellinwood in a 46-44 overtime thriller on Friday, then lost to Ellsworth 57-47 in Saturday’s consolation match. In Friday’s overtime game, Victoria (5-6) battled back from a 30-15 deficit early in the third quarter to lead 38-35 in the fourth quarter. Brooke Schmidt’s three-pointer with 52 seconds to play was not only her first basket of the game, but tied the game at 41. In the extra frame, Schmidt hit another three with 16 seconds to play for a 44-43 lead, but Ellinwood would go 5-of-6 from the stripe to claim the win. Ashley Dome paced the squad with 15 points. Audra Nowak added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

 LaCrosse

The Leopard teams were in action at the Cardinal Winter Jam in Hoisington last week. The boys picked up the only win in the second round as the squads struggled to a combined 1-5 showing. The Leopard boys (5-7) bounced back from a 44-34 loss to Minneapolis to down Ellsworth 61-41. Saturday, LaCrosse fell to Otis-Bison 48-40.  Kip Keeley scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the Minneapolis loss. He also led the Leopards with 13 points against Otis-Bison. Lucas Moeder and Marshall Jay each scored five points against Minneapolis, and Sheldon Schmidt scored eight points on Saturday.

The Lady Leopards are 3-9 after the tournament. They opened with a 44-35 loss to Victoria. On the consolation side of the bracket, LaCrosse lost to Hoisington 47-39, and fell to Minneapolis 54-32. The first three quarters did the Lady Leopards in against Victoria. Trailing 20-13 after one quarter, and 42-23 after three quarters, LaCrosse won the final quarter 12-2 for a more respectable score. Alyssa Oborny hit two threes to lead the team with 12 points. Freshman Morgan West added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.

 Ness City

The Eagle boys had flown as No. 4 in the Class 2A ranks. Ness City had already fallen from that spot before posting  1-2 record at the St. John Winter Classic last week. The Eagles lost to Pratt 52-46 in the tournament opener, then downed Larned 70-46. Nickerson picked up a win against the Eagles on Saturday with a 56-48 contest.

Ness City (9-4) showed signs of its offensive prowess with the Larned win, leading 21-6 after one quarter and 40-26 by halftime. Kolytn Ratliff scored 12 points in the win, and Dalton Gantz added 11 points and a team-high seven rebounds.

 Otis-Bison

Both Cougar basketball teams were in action at the Cardinal Winter Jam in Hoisington. The boys picked up two wins to finish fifth, and the Lady Cougars went 1-2 for sixth. The boys lost a close 47-45 battle to Ellinwood in Monday’s opener, then rebounded to beat Russell 50-35. Saturday, Otis-Bison downed LaCrosse 48-40. The girls entered as the No. 8 seed, falling to eventual champion Russell 60-26 on Monday. The girls bounced back to upset Minneapolis 40-34 before falling to Hoisington 45-31.

The boys outscored Ellinwood 16-6 in the first quarter but came up short in each of the final three quarters. Senior Tyler Maier missed the first meeting with the Eagles in December but returned to lead the team with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Dylan Wissman scored 12 points, and Jordan Hoffman finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds. For the girls, Annie Kraisinger paced the team on Saturday with 14 points. Hannah Bannister scored 11 of her 12 points in the first quarter.

 Central Plains

Things went well for the Oiler boys (6-7) early on at the St. John Winter Classic. Central Plains cruised to a 52-36 win against Medicine Lodge on Tuesday. It went downhill from there. In Friday’s semifinals, the Oilers had to face unbeaten St. John, falling to the eventual champions 55-40. Saturday, up-and-coming Pratt downed Central Plains 59-47.

Friday, No. 1 St. John (Class 1A, Div. I) jumped out to an 18-8 lead after one quarter. The Oilers would fall behind 45-28 with just a quarter to play. Michael Ryan was the big scorer with 15 points. Layne Bieberle added six points, and Evan Liebl, Konner Hickel, and Joe Barton each scored five points.