WAKEENEY – After making sure he got off a desperation attempt before time expired in the closing moments of a tie game in the Mid-Continent League Tournament final against Hill City, TMP-Marian senior Kade Harris could tell right away that his running 3-pointer was off the mark. 

Little did Harris know he would be setting up a perfect second opportunity for himself. 

With TMP forced to go the full length of the court in a 49-49 game with 4.4 seconds left, Harris caught the inbound pass, broke away from a Hill City trap and launched a shot from behind the arc. 

It had no chance of going in, but Harris followed his shot, caught the carom off the backboard in mid-air and laid it in just before time expired to give TMP a 51-49 win on Monday at Trego Community High School. 

“I saw it going off the backboard and I knew we had rebounders around there, so we (were hoping) somebody would get the rebound and put it back in. I just happened to be right there,” Harris said. 

TMP coach Bill Meagher said the Monarchs’ goal was to get Harris going downhill, with Luke Rome to the left and Landon Rozean to the right as possible options for a last-second shot.

“Kade did not want to not get the ball off in time, so he put it up there in plenty of time,” Meagher said. “One of the things for Kade, he just finishes plays. It’s just natural for him to continue on and get that ball and put it back up. It just happened to be that the clock didn’t run out yet.”
 

Harris’ putback completed a fourth-quarter rally for the Monarchs, who trailed by as much as 10 in the fourth quarter and saw standout post player Dylan Werth battle foul trouble for most of the way before fouling out midway through the fourth. 

After trailing 24-19 at halftime, Hill City unleashed a 19-2 run in the third quarter to take control. The Ringnecks were still up 48-41 with about 2:30 left in the fourth before back-to-back 3s from Griffin Schumacher and Harris cut the deficit to one. Hill City’s Kaleb Atkins hit one of two free throws to make it a two-point game before a bucket from Rozean tied it at 49 with under a minute left. 

Hill City missed a chance to regain the lead, leaving enough time for TMP to get a possession in the final seconds. 

It was TMP’s second straight MCL tournament title and fifth overall. 

“I think they did a good job locking in the last few minutes and making the plays they needed to make,” Meagher said of his players. “The cool thing is we call a timeout, and it seems like it’s frustrating for us and we’re not getting what we want, and the words I here from our guys are, ‘We’ve been here before. We’re going to find a way to make this happen.’”

Indeed, the Monarchs (8-2) have shown a flair for the dramatic over the past couple seasons, often finding ways to pull out thrillers. They earned a state quarterfinal win over Galena last year on a buzzer-beating bucket from Werth. 

“It’s just a group that never gives up and will play to the end, and I think when you do that, good things happen,” Meagher said. 

It was a painful finish to a solid overall effort for Hill City, which was hurt by a 7 of 17 showing from the foul line, missing 4 of 5 attempts in the fourth. 

“Just little things, we’ve got to do a lot better,” Hill City coach Keith Riley said. “We didn’t execute very well tonight. We let the pressure bother us a little bit.

“The biggest thing was we didn’t make our free throws. That was the key.”

Harris and Werth each scored 12 for TMP in the title game while Hill City’s Trent Long scored a game-high 20 points. 
 

BELOIT ST. JOHN’S/TIPTON HOLDS OFF OSBORNE FOR NPL TITLE 

Maintaining a slim lead for the majority of last Friday’s Northern Plains League Tournament championship game, the Beloit-St. John’s Blujays had an answer from every spurt Osborne threw at them.

Osborne crept within two points of St. John’s/Tiptop in the fourth quarter, but timely buckets and key stops helped the Blujays notch a 66-63 victory at Lincoln High School. 

“We’ve lacked confidence at the end of games, but they wanted that win,” St. John’s/Tipton coach Lance Bergmann said. “Osborne did get after us with a little bit of pressure and we were able to finish shots, take care of the basketball. The kids just wanted it so bad that they were able to keep it under control.”

Senior Luke Bates was dialed in from the get-go for the Blujays, scoring 17 of his game-high 25 points in the first half. Bates averages 8.9 points on the season. 

“Luke played a phenomenal game. Luke’s had a big week,” Bergmann said. “The big thing with Luke, he had never beat these guys, and this was his last opportunity. He was locked in and focused from the beginning. He wanted it and he wasn’t going to let anybody take it from him.”

Tyson Gates delivered two of the game’s biggest plays in the fourth quarter, twice coming up with steals in the backcourt that led to Blujay buckets. The sophomore picked the pocket of the Bulldogs and finished with a lay-up to push the lead to 61-54 with 3:11 left. Osborne was within three with a minute left before Gates stole the ball again and found freshman Edward Horinek for a bucket to give the Blujays more breathing room. 

“He’s learning how to (get steals),” Bergmann said of Gates. “He’s naturally athletic, he’s got quick hands. But he’s been fouling a lot this year because he’s been using his body too much. Tonight, he did a better job of actually using his hands on the ball, rather than trying to body up and go through the guys. It was two great plays. I mean, they were huge for us.”

Gates finished with 13 points while Horinek added 10. Juniors Koevin Schroeder and Jacob Winkler each had nine apiece for the Blujays, who moved to 8-4 and avenged a close loss to Osborne from earlier this month. 

The win completed a sweep of the NPL titles for St. John’s/Tipton after the Blujays girls, coached by Bergmann’s wife, Leah, beat Lakeside 60-31 in the championship game. 

“We followed the girls all the way through this tournament," Lance Bergmann said. “When they won it, I was excited of course. My wife coaching, I get really emotionally attached watching her coach the girls and trying to help her out. She’s the same way with me. 

“It was great for the school. It was great for both teams to come and get a league championship in the tournament this year.”

Osborne dropped to 10-2 with the loss but rebounded on Tuesday with a 69-52 win over Wilson. 

Jonathan Hamel scored a team-high 20 points for Osborne in the NPL Tournament final, scoring 18 in the first half. Nathan Goheen added 14 and Dayton Lantz 10. 
 

HUGOTON WINS STERLING INVITATIONAL 

Hugoton notched a 55-47 win over Southeast Saline on Saturday to win the Sterling Invitational for the third straight year. 

Southeast Saline entered the game ranked No. 1 in Class 3A. 

"I am extremely pleased with how our team performed in the Sterling Invitational Tournament,” second-year Hugoton coach Trey O’Neil said. “Sterling always puts on a good tournament and this year was no different. We faced teams that gave us challenges, and for us to win it, shows a lot about us. We wanted to get back on track with our offense for we have been struggling the games prior. Being able to run in transition, but still be able to operate with flow in the half court is something we are working on daily.”

The Eagles, now 11-2 and ranked No. 6 in Class 4A, were led by seniors Ryle Riddlesperger and Carson Bennett. 

Riddlesperger was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament after averaging 24 points. He put up 37 points in a 67-60 semifinal win over Sterling. 

Bennett added 16 points per game on the week and scored a game-high 17 in the title game. 

“Our half-court defense did a really good job in the championship game against a talented Southeast of Saline team,” O’Neil said. 
 

ELLINWOOD SECURES WINTER JAM CHAMPIONSHIP 

Ellinwood remained undefeated and captured the Winter Jam title at Hoisington with a 47-37 win over Hoisington on Monday. 

Senior standout Britton Dutton led the Eagles with 18 points in the championship game after putting up 26 in a semifinal win over Pratt and 32 in the Eagles’ tournament opener against Otis Bison. 

Juniors Mason Mooe and Alek Brack added seven points each in the title game. 

“I thought we defended well in the semifinals and finals without fouling,” Ellinwood coach Derek Joiner said. “Our discipline continues to grow there, and we rebounded well. We had several different players step up at different times throughout the tournament, and Britton Dutton continued his consistent high level of play.”

With a 55-36 win at Minneapolis on Tuesday, Ellinwood improved to 12-0. The Eagles are ranked No. 3 in Class 2A. 
 

SYRACUSE CAPTURES HPL TOURNEY TITLE 

A solid defensive effort and balanced scoring attack carried Syracuse to a 76-47 win over Sublette in the Hi-Plains League tournament final on Monday at Garden City Community College. 

“The boys came out ready to play and took each possession personal,” Syracuse coach Jordan Wahlmeier said. “From top to bottom, our entire bench was engaged and communicating to the five on the floor all night. We played with poise and answered Sublette runs with runs of our own, and got big stops when it mattered most.”

Senior Kyler Keller led Syracuse with 21 points while senior Inigo Moral and junior Jay Gould added 15 and 12, respectively. 

Wahlmeier said the Bulldogs focused their defensive efforts on slowing down Sublette standout Ace Martinez, who tied Keller for game-high scoring honors with 21.

“Defensively, we had a few holes but our extra effort in help and rotations helped mask some of that,” Walhmeier said. “Credit to Sublette and Ace Martinez. Our defensive game plan revolved around him and he still found a way to score 20-plus points. That kid is a heck of a player.” 

It was the first HPL Tournament title for Syracuse since 2011. 

“Our boys deserve a ton of credit for how they prepare, day in and day out,”  Wahlmeier said. “They believe in what we are trying to do as a program, and the results are showing. They come every day ready for the next challenge. We have a very close-knit group of guys who would do anything for each other if it meant our team would get better.  The unselfish love this group has found throughout this season is a blessing to see daily.”