WICHITA – The state basketball tournament can be cruel sometimes, making good teams look ordinary for any number of reasons.
 
A larger venue. An inspired opponent. Lack of experience. All can come into play, and if a team can’t adjust in 32 minutes of game time or 1½ hours of actual time, the stay can be short.
 
Second-seeded Blue Valley North found itself tangled in the web of Manhattan’s 3-2 zone defense Wednesday during the Class 6A boys quarterfinals. Limited to 11 first-half points on 5-of-24 shooting, the Mustangs were on upset alert.
 
But North managed to get the game to overtime, took its first lead with a perfectly executed jump-ball play and went on to defeat Manhattan 44-39 to earn a semifinal matchup with rival Blue Valley Northwest.
 
“You know, new arena, it’s a different type of shooting when you’re here,” said senior Blake Garrett, one of only two Mustangs who were on Blue Valley North’s state championship team two years ago. “I’m glad we got through this one. We’ll get ready for the next one and hopefully it’s a lot better.”
 
The Mustangs got their 20^th victory while ending Manhattan’s season at 14-9. But Manhattan, which befuddled Lawrence with a box-and-one defense in a sub-state final road victory last weekend, also found a way to make things rough for Blue Valley North’s offense.
 
“Watching them on film, we knew that they had some size and physicality,” Blue Valley North coach Ryan Phifer said. “We were prepared for their 3-2 zone, but our scout team wasn’t quite that big and couldn’t quite simulate it as well.
 
“I don’t think I’ve seen our team play as bad as that first half, but I credit them with their scouting and preparation, and just some nerves on our end.”
 
Garrett led the Mustangs with 13 points, and North got more offensive flow in the third quarter, scoring 17 points. But Manhattan, which led 15-11 at halftime, matched the Mustangs by hitting 8 of 11 shots and kept its four-point lead heading into the fourth.
 
But the struggle resumed in the final quarter for North, which scored just two points in a six-minute span and trailed 36-30 with 3:05 to play in regulation. Senior Mason Jordan cut the deficit in half on a 3-pointer with 2:07 remaining, and the Mustangs caught a break when Manhattan’s top scorer, Jack Wilson, committed his fourth and fifth fouls with 15 seconds of one another to leave the game with 12 points.
 
Garrett’s two free throws with 1:07 remaining ended up being the points that got the game to overtime. He then controlled the tip to the Mustangs’ other state championship veteran, Jackson Goldberg, who scored to give North its first lead at 38-36. The Mustangs pushed the advantage to six before Manhattan got its first overtime points on Jason Kim’s 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining.
 
After a timeout, Blue Valley North sealed the victory with a long pass over Manhattan’s full-court press to Zach Sand for an open layup.
 
“They got in the passing lanes and bothered us, but I think we made our adjustments and finally found our shots,” Garrett said.
 

BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST 73, SHAWNEE MISSION NORTHWEST 54 – Blue Valley Northwest ended Shawnee Mission Northwest’s season in the state quarterfinals for the second straight season, pulling away in the second half behind senior Grant Stubblefield’s 27 points.
 
The Huskies shot 56.6% from the field (30 of 53) and never trailed, stretching their advantage to 22 points in the final minute. Gavin Hoffman, Landon Braun and Joey Matteoni each added 10 points for Blue Valley Northwest (19-4), which outscored the Cougars 50-18 in the paint.
 
Blue Valley Northwest led 52-41 after three quarters. And when Stubblefield scored seven straight points to open the fourth, the Huskies were on their way to their 13^th state semifinal berth.
 
“We had some guys who were playing here for the first time, so obviously you’re going to have those jitters for a half or so,” said Stubblefield, who will play collegiately at Omaha next season. “Shawnee Mission Northwest is a team that plays really hard and we knew that they were going to keep it close, But we knew if we did our job and just kept punching and punching, we were pretty sure they were going to fall.”
 
Malik O’Atis, Shawnee Mission Northwest’s lone senior starter, scored a team-high 15 points. Sophomore Van Collins added 11 for the Cougars, who finished 15-8.
 

WICHITA HEIGHTS 67, JUNCTION CITY 44 – Junction City gave reigning 6A champion Wichita Heights a battle for two-plus quarters. But as the Falcons tightened their defense, the eighth-seeded Blue Jays’ upset hopes faded away.
 
Junior T.J. Williams led four Heights players in double figures with 22 points and the Falcons had 24 fast-break points to Junction City’s zero. Sophomore Jackson Austin hit four 3-pointers for 12 points for Junction City, which finished 13-10.
 
“We didn’t defend the ball screen very well in the first half and lost track of No. 4 (Austin),” Heights coach Joe Auer said. “We cleaned it up in the second half and just got more sound in what we do.”
 
Junction City, which knocked off 6A West No. 1 sub-state seed Garden City on the road to earn a state tournament berth, countered six straight Heights points to start the game with a 12-0 run. Austin’s third 3-pointer early in the second quarter gave the Blue Jays a 17-13 lead before Heights used an 11-1 run as fuel for a 26-22 halftime lead.
 
Junction City was still within reach when A’Treal Baker scored to cut the Blue Jays’ deficit to 36-33 with 4:08 remaining in the third. But Heights limited Junction City to 11 points over the remaining 12:08 for the decisive win.
 
It was a physical game for Heights, which lost starter Jordan Okon with an ankle injury. Senior Marcus Zeigler, who along with Jordan Alford scored 12 points for the Falcons, took a blow to the head that temporarily sidelined him.
 
Sophomore reserve Chase Robinson provided a spark as the fourth Heights player in double figures with 10 points.
 
“We were able to get the ball inside all night. We were just missing some shots,” Auer said. “I was proud of how we responded and we just continued to get better defensively all night.”
 

DERBY 64, OLATHE NORTH 54 – Derby never trailed in its first state tournament game in five years, using 15 points from Kaden Franklin, 12 from Kaeson Fisher-Brown and 11 from Dallas Metzger to hold off Olathe North.
 
Metzger’s 3-pointer off a missed Derby free throw keyed a tiebreaking 8-0 run that encompassed the end of the third quarter and beginning of the fourth. It gave the Panthers a 46-38 lead, which they protected with good free-throw shooting down the stretch.
 
TyJuan Porter scored 13 points and Joshua Parrish added 12 for Olathe North (16-7), which lost in the quarterfinals for the sixth time in as many state appearances. But the Eagles still presented a formidable challenge to Derby (17-6), which was coming off a four-overtime victory over Washburn Rural in last week’s sub-state finals.
 
“They’re so fast and so athletic,” Derby coach Brett Flory said. “They have three or four guys who play so much bigger than they are. They play a perfect system for what they do. They spread you out and drive you and that 1-2-1-1 is a tough thing to handle.
 
“When we were locked in on what we were supposed to do I thought we did a pretty good job of handling it.”


CLASS 6A BOYS QUARTERFINALS

BLUE VALLEY NORTH 44, MANHATTAN 39 (OT)

Manhattan ... 9 ... 6 ... 17 ... 4 ... 3 … -- ... 39

Blue Valley North ... 6 ... 5 ... 17 ... 8 ... 8 … -- ... 44

Manhattan (14-9) – Delort 0-1 0-0 0, Knopp 1-3 0-0 3, Coonrod 2-15 0-0 5, Elumogo 2-4 2-2 6, Wilson 6-14 0-1 12, Kim 3-4 0-0 7, Braxmeyer 0-1 0-0 0, McNabb 3-5 0-0 6, Stanard 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-47 2-3 39.

Blue Valley North (20-3) – Sand 4-9 0-0 8, Goldberg 3-13 2-7 8, Lashley 1-3 0-0 2, Parks 1-2 1-5 3, Garrett 5-13 2-2 13, Presley 1-1 2-3 4, Hinson 0-3 0-0 0, Jordan 2-8 0-0 6, Gantman 0-0 0-0 0, Alverson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-52 7-17 44.

3-point goals – Manhattan 3-13 (Knopp 1-2, Kim 1-2, Coonrod 1-6, Braxmeyer 0-1, Wilson 0-2); Blue Valley North 3-18 (Jordan 2-5, Garrett 1-2, Lashley 0-1, Parks 0-1, Hinson 0-2, Sand 0-3, Goldberg 0-4). Rebounds – Manhattan 32 (McNabb 9); Blue Valley North 41 (Garrett 11). Assists – Manhattan 7 (Braxmeyer 3); Blue Valley North 10 (Goldberg 6). Turnovers – Manhattan 19, Blue Valley North 17. Total fouls – Manhattan 20, Blue Valley North 11. Fouled out – Delort, Wilson, Ashley.
 
 
BLUE VALLEY NORTHWEST 73, SHAWNEE MISSION NORTHWEST 54

Shawnee Mission Northwest ... 12 ... 10 ... 19 ... 13 ... -- ... 54

Blue Valley Northwest ... 15 ... 14 ... 23 ... 21 … -- ... 73

Shawnee Mission Northwest (15-8) – Collins 4-11 0-0 11, O’Atis 4-8 5-6 15, Wagler 4-9 0-0 9, Riley 2-9 0-0 4, Taylor 3-6 1-2 7, Bolton 0-2 0-0 0, Habben 0-0 0-0 0, V. Nixon 0-4 2-4 2, Moses 2-3 0-0 6, Davis 0-2 0-0 0, D. Nixon 0-0 0-0 0, Salmon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-54 8-12 54.
 
Blue Valley Northwest (19-4) – Stubblefield 10-16 7-9 27, Hoffman 4-10 0-0 10, Fritz 2-4 0-0 6, Braun 5-8 0-0 10, J. Matteoni 5-9 0-0 10, Behmyer 1-2 0-1 2, Klein 1-1 1-3 3, Garlington 0-0 0-0 0, D. Matteoni 1-2 0-0 3, Ridley 0-0 0-0 0, Rauter 0-0 0-0 0, Bondar 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 30-53 8-13 73.
 
3-point goals – Shawnee Mission Northwest 8-25 (Collins 3-7, O’Atis 2-3, Moses 2-3, Wagler 1-3, Bolton 0-1, Davis 0-1, V. Nixon 0-2, Riley 0-5); Blue Valley Northwest 5-15 (Fritz 2-3, Hoffman 2-6, D. Matteoni 1-2, Braun 0-1, Stubblefield 0-3). Rebounds – Shawnee Mission Northwest 29 (V. Nixon 6); Blue Valley Northwest 34 (Stubblefield, J. Matteoni 7). Assists – Shawnee Mission Northwest 11 (O’Atis 5); Blue Valley Northwest 16 (Stubblefield 7). Turnovers – Shawnee Mission Northwest 14, Blue Valley Northwest 12. Total fouls – Shawnee Mission Northwest 17, Blue Valley Northwest 10. Fouled out – None.
 
 
WICHITA HEIGHTS 67, JUNCTION CITY 44

Junction City ... 12 ... 10 ... 11 ... 11 ... -- ... 44

Wichita Heights ... 13 ... 13 ... 17 ... 24 ... -- ... 67

Junction City (13-10) – D. Baker 1-6 2-2 4, Austin 4-7 0-0 12, Butler-Lawson 3-8 1-2 7, Boganowski 3-9 2-2 8, Turner 3-5 1-2 7, A. Baker 1-1 0-0 2, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Autry 0-3 0-2 0, Jackson 2-3 0-0 4, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Handy 0-0 0-0 0, Ruffin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-42 6-10 44.
 
Wichita Heights (21-2) – Zeigler 5-12 2-5 12, Alford 5-8 1-2 12, Wilkins 3-7 0-0 6, Williams 7-14 7-10 22, Okon 1-1 0-0 2, Robinson 4-7 2-2 10, Holt 0-0 0-0 0, Bowen 1-2 1-1 3, Dingle 0-0 0-0 0, Timmons 0-0 0-0 0, O’Neal 0-0 0-0 0, Pierce 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-51 13-20 67.
 
3-point goals – Junction City 4-11 (Austin 4-7, Baker 0-2, Boganowski 0-2); Wichita Heights 2-7 (Williams 1-2, Alford 1-3, Zeigler 0-1, Wilkins 0-1). Rebounds – Junction City 26 (Boganowski 7); Wichita Heights 31 (Williams 8). Assists – Junction City 11 (Baker 5); Wichita Heights 16 (Zeigler 6). Turnovers – Junction City 18, Wichita Heights 16. Total fouls – Junction City 18, Wichita Heights 13. Fouled out – None.
 
 
DERBY 64, OLATHE NORTH 54

Olathe North ... 7 ... 19 ... 12 ... 16 ... -- ... 54

Derby ... 16 ... 13 ... 13 ... 22 ... -- ... 64

Olathe North (16-7) – Porter 4-11 4-5 13, Jo. Parrish 5-9 1-2 12, Ja. Parrish 1-2 1-2 3, Love 2-5 0-1 4, Watson 3-11 1-3 8, Bruce 2-6 3-4 7, Cooper 1-1 0-0 3, Bonds 0-0 0-0 0, Yarnell 1-4 2-2 4, Gunderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-49 12-19 54.
 
Derby (17-6) – Brown 1-4 2-2 4, Chadwick 0-1 6-6 6, Fisher-Brown 5-8 2-6 12, Franklin 7-12 1-3 15, Metzger 4-14 1-4 11, Ulwelling 1-1 2-2 5, Anderson 4-6 0-0 9, Smith 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 23-47 14-24 64.
 
3-point goals – Olathe North 4-18 (Cooper 1-1, Jo. Parrish 1-3, Porter 1-4, Watson 1-5, Love 0-1, Yarnell 0-1, Bruce 0-3); Derby 4-10 (Metzger 2-5, Ulwelling 1-1, Anderson 1-2, Chadwick 0-1, Fisher-Brown 0-1). Rebounds – Olathe North 35 (Jo. Parrish 8); Derby 32 (Metzger 10). Assists – Olathe North 8 (Porter 3); Derby 9 (Fisher-Brown 3). Turnovers – Olathe North 13, Derby 11. Total fouls – Olathe North 20, Derby 20. Fouled out – Cooper.