By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
EMPORIA – Class 4A No. 3-ranked Hayden scratched and clawed against a versatile Emporia squad for four quarters but fell short in the final minutes 57-53 in the second round of the Paul Terry Classic.
Hayden's boys basketball teams huddles on the White Auditorium court after Friday's 57-53 loss to host Emporia in the Paul Terry Classic. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Friday night’s game at White Auditorium was the type of game that the Hayden Wildcats usually close out with a win.
A tight contest in the 50-point range almost always favors Hayden. However, Emporia made its clutch free throws and successfully kept Hayden off the board in the final minute of a December thriller.
Even though Hayden didn’t get the job done, they put up a memorable fight in a coin-flip game.
“Whether it was a missed shot here or a turnover there, it wasn’t because we were making bad plays; it’s because we were too aggressive,” Hayden coach Dwayne Paul said. “We were trying to make the hero play instead of the right play. Fixing those things comes with more reps. My coaches and I still need to remember that we are only a week behind compared to where we were last year.”
Hayden got off to a sluggish start to begin the game. Hayden turned the ball over in excess in the first quarter and couldn’t get the shots to fall through against a premier on-ball defense in Emporia.
Jake Muller, Joe Otting and Daxton Ham scored the Wildcats’ 10 points in the opening quarter. When Otting had the ball in the paint, the Spartans could hold the center off with several Emporia players in his face, which allowed Emporia to capitalize on its high-stress pressure.
Emporia’s defense was imposing in the first quarter. Even though they were in Hayden’s grill and poking the ball free, the Wildcats kept the game within striking distance. The momentum was obviously with the Spartans, but Hayden’s effort would be the key to them staying strong.
Emporia’s Parker Leeds and Jaylin King were automatic in the opening quarter. Leeds and King combined for 15 out of the 17 points on the board. King’s high-flying and twisty abilities in the paint were nagging to Hayden’s interior defense.
Despite trailing in the contest, Hayden would fight back.
Emporia started the quarter with an 8-2 run forcing the hand of Hayden. However, Hayden would kick it into high gear after trailing by double-digits. The Wildcats took advantage of Emporia being in the bonus for fouls and were highly aggressive in the paint, getting to the charity stripe more.
Muller and Otting’s aggressiveness would be the catalyst for a 13-5 run to close out the second quarter. Nearly all of its points came within the closing two minutes of the second quarter.
At the halftime break, Emporia would only lead Hayden by a slim 30-25 margin.
That giant momentum swing that Hayden earned at the end of the first half carried over in a big way in the third quarter. Hayden would finally get that much-needed lead, thanks to a 9-2 run.
The starting five for Hayden would pour it on Emporia out of the half. A plethora of converted shots would uplift Hayden’s confidence. From a dreadful and gloomy start, Hayden would finally hold the lead heading into the fourth and final quarter.
“In the second and third quarter, we just stopped turning the ball over as much,” Paul said. “It’s easy to say we are going to come back but it’s hard to do. You don’t see a 1-3-1 often. They’re long, not huge, on the backline and they have big and physical guards. They were hard to score on but we just needed to stop turning the ball over so much.”
Although Hayden was playing stellar basketball, the Spartans were far from finished. Emporia and Hayden started the quarter in a shootout. Emporia’s willingness to get to the free throw line and find open looks helped the Spartans gain a 48-47 lead at the 4:41 mark. Hayden was forced to call a timeout.
After the timeout, standout freshman Ayden McGibboney gave the Wildcats four straight points. Emporia would get a huge basket from River Peters, and the Spartans would call a timeout with 2:54 remaining. Emporia would have a 50-49 lead.
In the next minute, King would execute a 3-point play, and Cooper Rech would nail a free throw to give Emporia a 55-51 lead with 51.1 left in the game. Otting would draw a foul on the other end and convert both free throws with 44.2 remaining.
An intentional foul by Hayden would send Leeds to the line with 24.5 remaining. Emporia would lead by three. However, the game was essentially over, with Leeds extending the lead to four with a converted free throw.
Emporia would knock off Class 4A No. 3-ranked Hayden, 57-53.
Muller and Otting led Hayden in scoring with 13 points apiece.
King had 20 points, while Leeds had 14 points for Emporia.
“We could’ve easily given up,” Paul said. “That’s a very talented, competitive and tough Emporia team. The fun part is that we have two more battles with (Emporia). Did we do a lot of things wrong? Yes. But we did a lot of things right.
“I’m proud of our guys and how hard they fought. I’m proud of the way Emporia fought back against us. That was a fun game. When you play in high school games, games usually go like that.”
Hayden (1-1) will face Spring Hill tomorrow at 12:45 p.m. in the Paul Terry Classic final round.
EMPORIA BOYS 57, HAYDEN 53.
Hayden 10 15 18 10 – 53
Emporia 17 13 9 18 – 57
Emporia (3-0) – Leeds 5 4-6 14, King 8 4-5 20, Rech 2 2-4 7, Peters 3 4-4 11, Hess 2 1-1 5. Totals: 20 15-20 57.
Hayden (1-1) – Muller 4 2-2 13, Cameron 3 0-0 6, McGibboney 4 3-5 11, Ham 4 1-1 10, Otting, 4 5-5 13. Totals 19 11-13 53.
3-point goals – Hayden , Emporia 2 (Rech, Peters). Total fouls – Hayden 19, Emporia 17. Fouled out – Hayden: Cameron, McGibboney. Technical fouls – none.
