HUTCHINSON – History is nothing new for Baldwin seniors Leo Schoenberger, Cooper Carr and Ethan Smasal.

The trio began their prep careers at Baldwin helping the boys’ soccer team to its first-ever state championship match as freshmen in 2022. They closed out their careers on the pitch this fall in the title game as well.
 
While they won’t have the same bookend to their basketball careers, they’ll still have a piece of history with that program as well. With a 65-45 win over previously undefeated Atchison in Friday’s Class 4A state semifinals, they’ve led Baldwin to its first-ever appearance in a state basketball championship game.
 
“I’m just so happy to be a part of this town and what we’ve done in both sports,” said Schoenberger, who had a starring role in the Bulldogs’ breakthrough on Friday, going for a game-high 29 points. “Just playing with these guys  and enjoying the moment. And that’s maye what we do better than other teams, we focus on the moment and enjoy each other’s presences. And that’s ultimately what helps us get it done.
 
“We’ve all grown up together and we’ve battle together since Day 1, for as long as I can remember. It’s that long-lasting chemistry that keeps us rolling and battling.”
 

 
Baldwin (21-6) will have another battle on its hands in Saturday’s 6:30 p.m. championship game. After handing Atchison its first loss of the season in the semifinals, the Bulldogs face another unbeaten in the title game in Rock Creek (27-0), which blew past Hugoton 73-53 in its semifinal.
 
Rock Creek was in the state title game a year ago, and it very easily could have been Baldwin that wound up being the Mustangs’ opponent in that game. But after Schoenberger scored with nine seconds left in overtime to give the Bulldogs a one-point lead over McPherson, they were left gutted when Bullpup All-Stater Gabe Pyle drove the length of the floor and hit a game-winning floater at the buzzer to give McPherson the 60-59 win.
 
“We had to sit with that for a long time with Gabe Pyle resonating in our brains,” Baldwin coach Don Blanchat said. “It was probably the day after that that some of these guys decided, ‘OK, we can’t let that happen again. We’ve got to get to that final game.’
 
“It’s been an up and down year at times, but we never had doubts. Getting back here (to Hutchinson) and the experience of being in it the last four years helped. The guys were calm with all the pressure.”
 
Baldwin’s state path had a pretty big roadblock in the opener, literally. Pratt was not only the No. 3 seed but boasted 6-foot-6 standout Arley Morrell, through whom the Greenbacks ran most of their offense. After surviving that half-court grinder of a game with a 50-48 win on Wednesday, the Bulldogs had to shift gears completely with the style of game Atchison brought to the table.
 
If the Pratt game was a marathon, the semifinal game was going to be a sprint with the Phoenix boasting a high-octane offense led by freshman sensation Trey’Von Gillium.
 
“The adjustment was tough,” Blanchat said. “It was, ‘Forget doubling the post, now we’ve got to move our feet on the perimeter.’ We just focused on our habits was going to take us where we wanted to go and it was just little tweaks on what we had to emphasize. Being who were are was going to be huge.”
 
In a game expected to be up-tempo, Baldwin got out of the gates quickest. The Bulldogs started the semifinal on an 8-0 run and never trailed in the contest after that. Atchison, meanwhile, sputtered, hitting just 2 of 12 shots in the opening period, 3-pointers by Gillium and Kael Williams.
 
The Phoenix finally hit a bit of a rhythm in the second quarter, tying the game at 12-12 on a Gillium 3-pointer early in the period and getting back within 2 on two different occasions after Baldwin broke the early tie with a 7-0 run.
 
Atchison was still within 1 after a Jeremiah Thompson free throw early in the third quarter but Baldwin took control from there. Devyn Wadel hit a 3-pointer that started a 10-2 run and Schoenberger hit a 3-pointer late in the period that gave Baldwin its first double-digit lead at 12.
 
Up 10 after three, Schoenberger hit another 3-pointer to start the fourth and Baldwin finished the Phoenix off with a 14-4 edge in the final period. Schoenberger scored 25 of his 29 points in the second half.
 
And like Blanchat he said the memory of last year’s loss was a driving force to get Baldwin to the title game this year.
 
“I think that game and last season put a chip on our shoulder,” said Schoenberger, who hit 7 of 15 field goals in the game (5 of 8 3-pointers) and also was 10 of 10 at the free throw line. “We were so close to tasting it and had a taste all four years. We knew the work that was needed to put in and we trusted that work and trusted God and we’re back. And we’re not satisfied yet.”
 
Jackson Wheeler came off the bench to put up a double-double with 13 points and 11 rebounds for Baldwin while Carr had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists.
 
Gillium led Atchison with 18 points, but was just 6 of 20 from the field and 5 of 15 from 3-point range. Thompson added 11 points.
 

ROCK CREEK 73, HUGOTON 53
 
Hugoton’s stats spoke to a pretty strong performance in Friday’s Class 3A state semifinal.
 
The Eagles shot just under 50% from the field, making 19 of 39 shots. Eight of those makes were from 3-point range as the Eagles were just under 50% beyond the arc as well, going 8 of 17.
 
They made all 7 free throw attempts. They had 13 assists on their 19 made baskets and turned it over a manageable 15 times.
 
And Hugoton lost. By 20.
 
That’s how well undefeated Rock Creek played in earning a second straight appearance in the Class 4A state championship game.
 
“I thought they shot the ball well, especially early, and were getting downhill, and I thought they defended us well,” Rock Creek coach Justin Smith said of Hugoton, which absorbed a 73-53 loss to his Mustangs. “We got kind of impatient at times in the first half and shot some bad shots. But once we got more patient and settled down, we got better shots and they started going in and we were rolling.”
 
Rolling indeed. Rock Creek put up at least 18 points in all four quarters and used an 18-9 edge in the second quarter to open up a 36-20 halftime lead that grew to as much as 31 in the second half.
 
The Mustangs were in such comfortable position that just over two minutes into the fourth quarter, Smith was able to start pulling his starters from the game for good.
 
It was a precision-like performance by Rock Creek that started with Gavin Rosa burying a 3-pointer just 17 seconds into the game. It was the first of five 3-pointers that he made in the game on his way to a 15-point night.
 
After setting the state record for assists in a game with 34 against Abilene – one of two 30-plus assist games for the Mustangs – Rock Creek showed off their sharing ability in dissecting Hugoton’s defense. They finished with a mere 21 assists on 28 made baskets, just a tick above their season average, and more times than not turned good looks at the basket into great ones.
 
“The kids are just super unselfish,” Smith said. “They pass up good shots to get better ones. We’ve got a bunch of kids that shoot the ball well too, and we were hitting them.”
 

 
Rock Creek’s offensive style leads to different stars on different nights. And while Rosa finished with 15 points and Ethan Tonsor led the way with 17, it was Hudson Edelman’s performance off the bench in the first half that somewhat jump-started Rock Creek’s runaway win.
 
Rock Creek was up just 15-11 before Edelman hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of the first half to give the Mustangs an 18-11 advantage at the quarter break. Hugoton was still hanging around early in the second quarter, down just 9 before Edelman hit two more 3-pointers in a 7-0 run that gave the Mustangs a double-digit lead for good.
 
“We’re really deep and when you come off the bench, you’re expected to have a lot of energy and fire so I figured I’d fill that role tonight,” said Edelman, who finished with 14 points. “Our offense is so free. Nobody on our team is selfish and cares about how many points they have every night. It’s a different person every night who has 20 points or 12 or however many it is. It’s nice.”
 
In addition to setting a state record for assists in a game, Rock Creek has since broken the state record for most 3-pointers in a season. They added 10 more to that total in the semifinals with Porter Gill getting the two Rosa and Edelman didn’t account for.
 
Rosa and Peter Martinie were the only two returning starters off last year’s Rock Creek that lost to McPherson in the championship game. But after losing standouts such as Eli Bell and Coley Burgess, the Mustangs are back to try to get the title that eluded them last year.
 
“It feels like revenge,” Edelman said. “I was on the bench last year and it was hard to see that team lose. This year, we’re out for revenge.”
 
“It’s been good and I knew this team was ready,” Smith said. “They’ve been really good coming up and we’ve got kids coming and the big thing about it is we started over and the kids were willing to do that and that’s why we’re where we’re at.”
 
Hugoton (22-5) was led by 12 points from Miguel Hernandez and also got 10 each from Adrian Adigun and Cameron Rosas.
 
 
CLASS 4A BOYS SEMIFINALS
 
ROCK CREEK 73, HUGOTON 53
 
Hugoton … 11 … 9 … 16 … 17 … -- … 53
Rock Creek … 18 … 18 … 19 … 19 … -- … 73
 
Hugoton (22-5) – Salazar 4-7 0-0 8, Hernandez 4-13 2-2 12, Adigun 2-3 5-5 10, Rosas 4-4 0-0 10, Mauk 0-1 0-0 0, Gamez 0-3 0-0 0, Saldana 0-0 0-0 0, Guzman 2-3 0-0 4, Garza 2-4 0-0 6, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Burrows 1-1 0-0 3, Padron 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-39 7-7 53.
 
Rock Creek (27-0) – Rosa 5-10 0-0 15, P. Martinie 3-6 0-0 6, Tonsor 8-12 1-1 17, Gill 3-9 0-0 8, Klingenberg 3-6 2-2 8, Brinson 0-2 0-0 0, Edelman 4-10 3-3 14, Pendall 0-1 1-2 1, C. Martinie 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Lubbers 1-2 0-0 2, Jones 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 28-60 7-10 73.
 
3-point goals – Hugoton 8-17 (Rosas 2-2, Hernandez 2-7, Adigun 1-2, Garza 2-3, Gamez 0-2, Burrows 1-1); Rock Creek 10-32 (Rosa 5-9, Edelman 3-7, Gill 2-7, P. Martinie 0-2, Tonsor 0-1, Klingenberg 0-2, Brinson 0-2, Lubbers 0-1, Jones 0-1). Rebounds – Hugoton 19 (Three players with 4 each); Rock Creek 31 (P. Martinie 8). Assists – Hugoton 13 (Salazar 5); Rock Creek 21 (P. Martinie 8). Turnovers – Hugoton 15, Rock Creek 7. Total fouls -- Hugoton 13, Rock Creek 7. Fouled out – none.
 
BALDWIN 65, ATCHISON 45
 
Baldwin … 12 … 15 … 24 … 14 … -- … 65
Atchison … 6 … 15 … 20 … 4 … -- … 45
 
Baldwin (21-6) – Rood 1-1 0-0 2, Carr 4-14 2-3 10, Smasal 0-1 0-0 0, Schoenberger 7-15 10-10 29, Collum 1-3 0-0 2, Wheeler 6-9 1-2 13, Frost 0-1 0-0 0, Wadel 3-6 0-0 6, Rice 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-51 13-15 65.
 
Atchison (26-1) – Gillium 6-20 1-1 18, Je. Thompson 5-11 1-3 11, Mays 1-3 0-0 2, Williams 2-3 1-2 6, Purdy 1-5 1-2 3, Kelley 0-3 1-2 1, Jo. Thompson 1-4 2-2 4. Totals 16-49 7-12 45.
 
3-point goals – Baldwin 8-20 (Schoenberger 5-8, Wadel 3-6, Carr 0-3, Smasal 0-1, Collum 0-1, Frost 0-1); Atchison 6-21 (Gillium 5-15, Williams 1-1, Je. Thompson 0-1, Purdy 0-1, Kelley 0-1, Jo. Thompson 0-2). Rebounds – Baldwin 42 (Wheeler 11); Atchison 21 (Purdy 7). Assists – Baldwin 17 (Carr 8); Atchison 12 (Mays 6). Turnovers – Baldwin 10, Atchison 7. Total fouls -- Baldwin 14, Atchison 21. Fouled out – none.