The Roundup: Dec. 11

EAST SHAKES OFF HEIGHTS, 74-58, TO AVOID 1-3 START

RECAP: A game featuring two teams desperate to escape a 1-3 start, although more pressure and expectations were on East. The Blue Aces played like it, never trailing for a second. The lead grew to double-digits in the second quarter and never fell below that for the rest of the game.

NOTABLES: East sophomore guard Samajae Jones scored a career-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting with 4 three-pointers. He's averaging 14.5 points through 4 games. Heights sophomore guard Semaj Hervey scored a game-high 21 points, including five three-pointers.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR EAST (2-2, 2-2 CL): East is too good to lose 3 games before Christmas break. They salvage a difficult 4-game opening stretch by splitting. It's a win they needed to keep from falling too far behind in the league and sub-state race.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR HEIGHTS (1-3, 1-3 CL): After going 95-5 the last four seasons (with Perry Ellis, of course), Heights is adjusting to a 1-3 start. The Falcons have lost their 3 games by an average margin of 16 points. To be fair, it's an rigorous opening schedule but 1-3 still feels strange. This makes the game next Thursday against Northwest a very important swing game.
COVERAGE: (Taylor Eldridge of VarsityKansas)

NORTH BEATS DOWN KAPAUN, 75-44, FOR CITY LEAD

RECAP: A close game through the first 20 minutes was broken open by a 3-point barrage from North's Conner Frankamp. A single-digit lead ballooned to 49-33 at the end of the 3rd quarter, while the Redskins out-scored Kapaun 43-18 in the second half and made over half their shots against one of the better defenses in the City League. 

NOTABLES: North's Conner Frankamp found his groove early and finished with 34 points on 7-of-15 shooting from beyond the arc. He maintained his average of 34.3 points through 4 games. North junior guard Zach Beard put together back-to-back solid games, following up his career-high of 26 points with a 14-point game. Kapaun senior guard Braden Hullings, who averaged 24 points in Kapaun's first 3 games, finished 2 of 11 shooting and had 5 points.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR KAPAUN (3-1, 3-1 CL): A chance to seize control of the City League vanished. There's no shame in losing to North, but the fashion the Crusaders did is a little concerning. The No. 1 team in 5A and defending state champs should not be getting blown out by 31. They need to bounce back strong against Carroll on Friday.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR NORTH (4-0, 4-0 CL): Satisfaction. After spending the last two years climbing the ladder with this group, North is finally on top after beating its top two challengers in East and Kapaun in back-to-back games. If there were any doubters before this, North silenced them with this performance.

COVERAGE: (Joanna Chadwick of VarsityKansas) 

NORTHWEST SURVIVES SCARE, BEATS SOUTH 43-40

RECAP: A brutal offensive game between the two lowest-scoring teams in the City League. Neither team could build much of a lead on the other, as this game was tight wire-to-wire. The teams combined to score 11 points in the 4th quarter, but Northwest held on as South missed two shots at the tie just before the buzzer.
NOTABLES: South's Jordan Moore is piecing together a solid season, as he scored a game-high 19 points to match his career high. He's averaging 13.3 points through 4 games.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR NORTHWEST (2-1, 2-1 CL): A win it needed. Northwest has taken care of business against the bottom of the City (South & West) and now it will get its crack at proving itself against East and Heights the next two games.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR SOUTH (0-4, 0-4 CL): A missed opportunity. This would have meant a lot to 1st year coach Kendall Hope, but it's a sign of progress after being blown out the first 3 games. Chances for victories don't come around too often, so this was even more frustrating for South.

SOUTHEAST PULLS OUT 68-64 WIN IN OT AGAINST WEST

RECAP: Southeast slowly drifted out to a 9-point lead entering the 4th quarter, but could not withstand a furious rally by West led by Jordan Kelly. Kelly's 3-pointer with 7 seconds left forced overtime, where Southeast found its own 3-point momentum swing from little-used Jordan Murdock to escape with victory.
NOTABLES: West senior forward Jordan Kelly registered the most impressive game, finishing with a season-high 25 points. Southeast guard Caleb Smith scored a team-high 20 points.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR SOUTHEAST (2-1, 2-1 CL): It did what it had to do to win. Southeast has cleaned up against over-matched teams (South & West), but can get its first signature victory in either of the next 2 games against North and Carroll.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR WEST (0-3, 0-3 CL): Another close call. West played a similar game against Northwest in the opener and lost by 5. That's a lot of swing plays going against West right now, which is discouraging. The game against South on Friday will be huge for whichever team can win it.

DERBY OFF TO 4-0 START AFTER 74-48 ROMP OF MAIZE

RECAP: Derby never trailed and led by as many as 26 points in the second half. Maize threatened briefly in the second quarter, but the Panthers pulled away and crushed Maize 18-4 in the 4th quarter for a comfortable 26-point victory.

NOTABLES: Derby senior Dylan Hunter came off the bench to drain 6 three-pointers and lead the team in scoring with a career-high 23 points. Derby senior post Josiah Ray added 18 points and is averaging 13.8 points through 4 games. Maize senior guard Tavon Morrow led the team with 18 points.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR DERBY (4-0, 2-0 D1): Dominance asserted. Derby has won all 4 games this season and by an average margin of 26 points. This win only adds to the list of impressive wins, although Derby is still searching for a signature win. Friday's game against Hutchinson could be its stiffest test of the season.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR MAIZE (0-4, 0-2 D1): Another lesson learned. No one expected Maize to beat Derby and the Eagles actually hung in there for a good part of the game. Maize hasn't lost to a bad team yet, though. Friday's game against Campus is a good chance for first win. 

COVERAGE: (Scott Elpers of The Derby Informer)

HIGH-SCORING HUTCH SWAMPS CAMPUS, 75-45

RECAP: Hutch used its depth to swamp Campus early, taking a 16-4 lead early and a 41-18 halftime lead. This one was over early, as the Salthawks' depth and defense wore down Campus and it never recovered.

NOTABLES: 12 Hutchinson players scored with Trevor Turner and Braydon Wells led with 13 points each. After only 1 game of scoring over 60 points last season, Hutch has already done that twice in its first 3 games this year.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR HUTCHINSON (2-1, 2-0 D1): It maybe has surprised even itself. Coach Nathan Henry was unsure what to expect with so many players coming in late because of football. The offense has been a pleasant surprise and will be much needed when Hutch takes on Derby Friday for first place in the division.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR CAMPUS (1-3, 0-2 D1): A little concerning. Campus hasn't lost to a bad team yet, but losing to Hutch by 30 was a little unexpected. There are 2 good chances to rebound before break with games against Maize and Newton. 

COVERAGE: (Pat Sangimino of The Hutch News)

SOUTH PICKS UP FIRST WIN, 56-52, IN OT AGAINST NEWTON

RECAP: A close game throughout, neither team was able to  build up much of a lead. Newton led by as many as 7 in the 3rd quarter and had a 3-point lead with 19 seconds left in regulation. But Newton missed the front-end of three 1-and-1 free throws and Salina South rallied to force overtime. Once South took the lead in overtime, it maintained it as Newton wilted away at the free-throw line with a 2-for-14 performance.

NOTABLES: Newton's Lane Pauls led all scorers with 18 points.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR NEWTON (2-3, 1-1 D1): Another heartbreak. Newton lost by 1 point to Hays in the Hays tournament earlier this season in almost the same fashion. It was also a missed opportunity to move to 2-0 in the division and become a contender.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR SALINA SOUTH (1-2, 1-0 D1): New life. The 0-2 start was tough, but winning the first division game also breathes new life back into you. South wins the first of many swing games against the teams vying for the 3rd spot in the division so this win at home helps. 

COVERAGE: (Mark Schnabel of The Newton Kansan)

MAIZE SOUTH ICE COLD IN 58-27 LOSS TO SALINA CENTRAL

RECAP: Central's defense set the tone for the game by holding Maize South to only 1 field goal in the first half and that didn't come until 2 minutes left before halftime. Meanwhile, Central opened up a 23-9 lead and broke it even more open in the 2nd half as it held Maize South to 18 percent shooting in the game.

NOTABLES: Central senior guard Max Kuhn scored a career-high 16 points to lead the team, including 3 three-pointers. Central's Treyton Hines added 10 points and 9 rebounds. Brett Barney, at 10 points, was the only player on Maize South to break double-digits.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR MAIZE SOUTH (0-3): Where did the offense go? A win at Salina Central was going to be difficult to come by, but 18 percent shooting and 27 total points is a step backwards for the Mavericks in what they were hoping would be a breakthrough year. They need a win badly this Friday against Ark City.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR SALINA CENTRAL (1-3): The first win. The 0-3 start was a bit of a shock for a team that is used to winning like Central, so this one breaks the ice and sets up a huge swing game against Salina South this Friday. 

COVERAGE: (Bob Davidson of The Salina Journal)

EISENHOWER ARRIVES WITH 63-56 WIN OVER ANDOVER CENTRAL

RECAP: Eisenhower raced out at home to a 16-7 lead after the 1st quarter, but Central stormed back to take a 31-28 lead at halftime. The Jaguars even took a 49-40 lead at the start of the 4th quarter before Eisenhower rallied behind senior Trevon Evans, who finished with another plus-30 game. The Tigers ended the last 4 minutes of the game on a 12-4 run for the win, as a steal and layup from senior reserve Dylan Kuhn gave Eisenhower the lead and momentum swing.

NOTABLES: Eisenhower junior guard Trevon Evans logged his fourth straight 30-plus-point game, scoring 32 points and is now averaging 36.0 points a game this season. Andover Central senior guard Zach Winter finished with a team-high 28 points.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR EISENHOWER (4-0, 2-0 D2): Validation. This is the signature victory Eisenhower needed and now it established itself as the favorite in Division 2. After beating up on teams the first 3 games, this game proved Eisenhower can gut one out when needed.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR ANDOVER CENTRAL (3-1, 1-1 D2): A reality check. Few expected Central to be this good this early in the season. Although the Jaguars lost, this is a reminder of how well they're playing right now that they can compete with a team like Eisenhower already. A 3-1 start to the year is very promising. 

COVERAGE: (Tony Adame of VarsityKansas)

ANDOVER CRUISES TO 3-1 START, 63-50 WIN OVER ARK CITY

RECAP: Andover put Ark City in a 16-2 after the first quarter and didn't have to do much the rest of the way to secure its third victory of the season. The Bulldogs ended the game on a 14-5 run to turn and 20-point blowout into a little more respectable score.

NOTABLES: Andover's post duo of Adam DeKoning and Dallas Bruner combined to score 27 points, while Austin Beahm (12) and Dallas Driver (11) also scored in double-figures. Ark City nearly matched its season-high in points and was led in scoring by Kavin Harris with 19 points.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR ANDOVER (3-1, 2-1 D2): Business as usual. Andover held its 3rd team to 50 points or less this season and swept up against another over-matched. Wins like this are expected and this one in particular was needed after a disappointing loss to Central.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR ARK CITY (0-4, 0-2 D2): Another slow start. Ark City has done itself no favors this season and the offense is in a funk right now. Losing by 20 a game is no fun, so improved play will be very important in the next 2 games against Maize South and Valley Center. 

COVERAGE: (Joey Sprinkle of The Ark City Traveler)

VALLEY CENTER 1-0 IN DIVISION WITH 62-51 WIN OVER GODDARD

RECAP: A hot start in the first quarter gave Valley Center the cushion it needed, as it led 20-15 after one. It was tight from there on out, as Goddard always stayed within striking distance but never took the lead. The Hornets closed it out in the 4th quarter to move to 1-0 and second place in Division 2.

NOTABLES: Valley Center guard Zach Brown went off for 20 points and teammate Braden Tormey added 15 more. Goddard had Austin Chippeaux score 12 points to lead the team.

WHAT IT MEANS FOR GODDARD (1-3, 1-1 D2): A swing game lost. Eisenhower, Andover and Central are unquestionably the top 3 teams in the division. The rest is up for grabs and this loss hurts Goddard's chances of claiming that 4th spot, especially losing at home.
WHAT IT MEANS FOR VALLEY CENTER (2-2, 1-0 D2): The right start. Valley Center is 2-2 on the season, but 1-0 in the division and that puts them in 2nd place. That won't last, but the Hornets claimed a valuable swing game against a bottom 4 opponent and sets itself up nicely going forward.