By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights boys basketball coach Ken Darting picked up the 600th win of his illustrious career as the Thunderbirds ran past Kansas City-Turner 85-33 on a special Friday night at Shawnee Heights.
Veteran Shawnee Heights basketball coach Ken Darting picked up his 600th career coaching win Friday night in a UKC win over KC-Turner. [Photo by Nichols Gainey/Special to TSN]
The hosts found themselves in an early hole after an opening 3-pointer from Turner’s Jaron Cheatom and a layup from Mekhi Follick, but the T-Birds rattled off 20 straight points to take control of the contest.
Shawnee Heights forced nine turnovers from the visitors in the first quarter, leading to easy baskets at the offensive end.
The T-Birds also crashed the offensive glass, with Cam Ross cleaning up a miss with a putback layup as time expired to give the hosts a 22-8 lead after eight minutes of play.
The Thunderbirds continued their offensive hot streak in the second quarter, starting the frame with a three-point play from Jaret Sanchez.
Shawnee Heights used a balanced attack, as six different players found the scoresheet in the 25-point period. After taking a 47-21 lead at half, the T-Birds put the contest out of reach in the third quarter with an offensive showcase, including an 18-point quarter from Sanchez.
The senior big man caused problems inside and out for the Golden Bears, knocking down three triples and throwing down two fastbreak dunks in the period as Shawnee Heights took a 76-28 lead after three quarters.
As the clock wound down in the fourth quarter, the crowd began to celebrate Darting’s accomplishment. With less than a minute to play, each member of the Shawnee Heights student section held up a “600” sign and chants of “600!” filled the gym.
Sanchez led the T-Birds with 31 points on 12 of 17 shooting, going a perfect 4 for 4 from the charity stripe. Ross added 16 points while Deacon Pomeroy chipped in 12 points and five rebounds. Da’Quan Lee put up 10 points off the bench.
Cheatom led Turner with 11 points, hitting on 3 of 7 from beyond the arc. Follick was the only other Golden Bear to reach double figures, tallying 10 points.
While the 600 milestone was significant for Darting, the memories of coaching and the relationships he has built throughout the years were far more meaningful.
“I was able to touch a whole bunch of (lives),” Darting said. “That’s a whole bunch of kids that you’ve had a really close relationship (with). That’s what it means. That’s why it’s emotional.”
The Thunderbirds do not have long to celebrate the achievement, as sixth-ranked Shawnee Heights closes out the regular season with a tough matchup against crosstown rival Seaman next Friday before entering postseason play.
Darting was pleased with his team’s performance, as the T-Birds tried out new tactics and gave valuable minutes to reserve players in preparation for a deep postseason run.
“We did a lot of things that we didn’t do all year, like zone (defense),” Darting said. “Number one, we have three or four different things that we plan on needing and using later on this year. And number two, we got to play some kids that haven’t gotten to play and do the same work as the starters every day.”
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS BOYS 85, KC-TURNER 33
KC-Turner 8 13 7 5 - 33
Shawnee Heights 22 25 29 9 - 85
KC-Turner (3-13, 0-11 UKC) -- J. Cheatom 4-10 0-0 11, K. Cheatom 0-0 0-0 0, Follick 4-13 2-2 10, Marin 0-1 0-0 0, McBride 0-0 0-0 0, Bryant 0-0 0-0 0, Pittman 3-9 0-0 6, Alexander 0-0 0-0 0, McGee 1-4 1-4 3, Thomas 1-3 1-2 3, Loveland 0-0 0-0 0, Napa 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 13-40 4-8 33.
Shawnee Heights (12-3, 9-3 UKC) -- Cook 1-4 0-0 3, Pomeroy 4-8 2-3 12, Sanchez 12-17 4-4 31, Ross 8-12 0-0 16, Emmot 2-7 0-0 4, Lee 4-7 2-6 10, Parker 2-3 2-2 6, Ledell 1-1 0-0 3, Doby 0-1 0-0 0, Wallace 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 34-62 10-15 85.
3-point goals -- KC-Turner 3 (J. Cheatom 3), Shawnee Heights 7 (Sanchez 3, Pomeroy 2, Cook, Ledell). Total fouls -- KC-Turner 15, Shawnee Heights 8. Fouled out -- McGee. Technical fouls -- none.
