HUTCHINSON -- The Hesston boys basketball team will rarely be considered an afterthought when the season begins.
But there was reason to think maybe Hesston wasn’t going to contend for the Class 3A state championship this year.
The Swathers entered the season coming off a disappointing substate semifinal loss, ending their run of three straight state championships. Then, their top player - senior forward Reed Friesen - broke a collarbone before football season started.
Could they contend this year?
Please. This is Hesston.
The Swathers kept their dynasty rolling by winning their fourth 3A title in five years, as they beat Goodland 51-46 on Saturday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
“Just the type of kids they are, they’re similar to our other (championship) teams in that they give max effort like nobody I’ve seen,” said third-year coach Garrett Roth, a Hesston alumnus who has now won two titles. “They play hard for each other. They were motivated this year from the start. They showed up every day, ready to be coached.”
Hesston players celebrate as the buzzer sounds on a 51-46 win over Goodland.
Friesen gets a lot of the attention from opposing teams, and deservedly so. The 6-foot-6 senior was brilliant Saturday, scoring 21 points on 8 of 11 shooting, making all four of his 3-point attempts, and he added six rebounds and two assists.
But this Hesston team had much more. Players willing to fill whatever role necessary.
Such as senior guard Asher Deutschendorf, a savvy ball handler who is a relentless defender and finished with eight points.
Or how about junior Ty Unruh, whose third-quarter sharpshooting helped the Swathers overcome a 24-22 halftime deficit and lead 35-31. Unruh finished with 16 points.
Or better still, junior Daniel Lumbreras. The 5-9 guard was one of the smallest players on the floor, and yet he collected six rebounds, dished out an assist and played relentless defense that frustrated Goodland’s backcourt.
Reed Friesen raises the Class 3A state trophy.
“That’s his role,” Roth said about Lumbreras. “There’s games he’s played six to eight minutes, depending on the matchup. He understands his role and he plays harder than anyone we have.”
The Hesston defense held an exciting and diverse Goodland offense to 32.6% shooting (14 of 43) and just 26.9% from 3-point range (7 of 26).
“We wanted to get the ball in the paint, and try to get them to collapse,” Goodland coach Mike Doll said. “Then we could kick it out, but we didn’t get the ball (in the paint) as much as we wanted to.”
Hesston only shot 11 3-pointers but made six. Unruh’s eight points early in the third quarter helped give the Swathers the lead for good.
Hesston’s offensive efficiency was impressive, as the Swathers shot 50% (16 of 32). The Swathers also had 20 points in the paint to 14 for the bigger Cowboys.
For Goodland, it was a second straight year of heartbreak, as the Cowboys lost last year’s championship game to Wellsville.
A talented eight-player senior class will be difficult to replace. Brady Brumbaugh, one of those seniors, finished with a game-high 23 points. Linkon Cure, a standout football player headed to Kansas State, added seven points and nine rebounds.
“It’s definitely disappointing, but I told them they’ll look back on how we changed the culture with boys athletes here,” Doll said. “To make it here two years in a row? I’m so happy and proud of these guys for giving all they had.”
For Hesston, it might have appeared to be business as usual. But that didn’t damper the excitement for Friesen, especially after last year’s disappointment and him missing football season.
“It’s amazing. It’s what we worked for all year,” Friesen said. “It’s one thing to hope to get to the state tournament, but when we get here, we expect to win. Winning it four out of five years shows that.”
Hesston players celebrate their Class 3A state title.
Hesston's Tyler Unruh puts up a layup in the 3A final against Goodland.
Goodland's Brady Brumbaugh scored 23 points in the title game.
THIRD PLACE
SILVER LAKE 63, GALENA 51 -- Dayne Johnson had another monster game for Silver Lake, scoring a game-high 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, leading the Eagles to a third-place finish.
Silver Lake never trailed and let by as many as 14 points, in the third quarter.
The Eagles shot well all game, going 13 for 21 in the first half and finishing at 51.1%. Galena shot well from 3-point range, knocking in 8 of 16, with Linken Kimberling hitting 4 of 8 and Thatcher Botkin making all three of his attempts.
Jack Perry led Galena with 15 points and six rebounds.
Dayne Johnson scored 16 and grabbed 14 rebonds to help Silver Lake win the third-place game.
CLASS 3A BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOXSCORE
HESSTON 51, GOODLAND 46
Goodland … 13 … 11 … 7 … 15 … -- … 46
Hesston … 12 … 10 … 13 … 16 … -- … 51
Goodland (22-4) -- Mull 2-7 2-2 6, Cure 3-9 1-2 7, Brumbaugh 7-17 5-5 23, Thorson 1-5 2-2 5, Linin 1-2 0-0 2, Sederstrom 0-1 0-0 0, Schlosser 0-2 1-2 1. Totals 14-43 11-13 46
Hesston (24-2) -- Deutschendorf 1-2 6-8 8, Unruh 5-8 4-7 16, Friesen 8-11 1-2 21, Lumbreras 0-1 0-0 0, Bartell 1-5 2-4 4, Larson 0-3 0-0 0, Humphreys 0-0 0-0 0, Gonzalez 0-1 0-0 0, Landes 1-1 0-0 2, Hansen 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 16-32 13-21 51
3-point goals -- Goodland 7-26 (Brumbaugh 4-12, Mull 2-7, Thorson 1-5, Linin 0-1, Sederstrom 0-1). Hesston 6-11 (Friesen 4-4, Unruh 2-3, Lumbreras 0-1, Bartell 0-1, Larson 0-2). Rebounds -- Goodland 23 (Cure 9), Hesston 21 (Friesen, Lumbreras 6). Assists -- Goodland 10 (Mull, Linin 3), Hesston 11 (Larson 4). Turnovers -- Goodland 8, Hesston 11. Total fouls -- Goodland 20, Hesston 16. Fouled out – none.
THIRD PLACE
SILVER LAKE 63, GALENA 51
Silver Lake … 16 … 15 … 17 … 15 … -- … 63
Galena … 14 … 8 … 16 … 13 … -- … 51
Silver Lake (20-6) -- D. Johnson 5-10 6-9 16, Razzano 6-8 1-3 13, Deiter 3-7 2-2 8, Whitehead 1-2 0-0 3, J. Johnson 3-9 3-4 11, Miller 2-2 0-0 6, Coffman 2-5 0-1 4, Bergmann 0-1 0-0 0, Kruger 0-0 0-0 0, Rooks 1-1 0-0 2, Hilliday 0-0 0-0 0, Womack 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 12-19 63
Galena (23-2) -- Perry 7-23 0-0 15, Botkin 3-5 0-0 9, Adams 1-3 0-0 2, Kimberling 5-8 0-0 14, Cox 3-6 3-6 9, Whittenmyer 0-0 0-2 0, Laturner 1-1 0-0 2, Gilbert 0-0 0-0 0, Scarrow 0-0 0-0 0, Dixon 0-0 0-0 0, Buckaloo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 3-8 51
3-point goals -- Silver Lake 5-13 (Miller 2-2, J. Johnson 2-6, Whitehead 1-2, Razzano 0-1, Deiter 0-1, Coffman 0-1). Galena 8-16 (Kimberling 4-5, Botkin 3-3, Perry 1-6, Adams 0-2). Rebounds -- Silver Lake 29 (D. Johnson 14), Galena 27 (Perry 6). Assists -- Silver Lake 18 (Deiter 7), Galena 14 (Botkin 8). Turnovers -- Silver Lake 7, Galena 9. Total fouls -- Silver Lake 15, Galena 20. Fouled out – none.