By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Coming off a tough two-point loss at Seaman Tuesday there was no hint of a hangover for the No. 8-ranked Shawnee Heights boys Friday night, with the T-Birds never trailing en route to a 79-55 United Kansas Conference home romp past De Soto.
Senior Jaret Sanchez led all scorers with 25 points in Friday's 79-55 Shawnee Heights UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Deacon Pomeroy had a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 79-55 UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"It's only a setback if you let it be a setback,'' Heights coach Ken Darting said of the 68-66 Seaman loss. "It's a loss and you throw it to the side. You forget it, you go on and play.
"I just want to build towards the sub-state and state.''
The T-Birds, who improved to 14-3 overall and 10-3 in the conference, opened up an 18-11 first-quarter advantage and never looked back, opening up a 39-24 halftime lead behind senior Deacon Pomeroy's 17 first-half points and a 3-pointer at the buzzer from junior Ontarius Emmot.
Heights continued to pour it on after the break, taking a 61-38 advantage into the fourth quarter after a Emmot hoop to end the third.
The T-Birds cruised the rest of the way, leading by as many as 26 points.
Junior Ontarius Emmot scored 14 points in Friday's 79-55 Shawnee Heights win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Jaret Sanchez led Heights with a game-high 25 points, scoring 16 points after halftime, while Pomeroy posted a double-double with 21 points and 10 rebounds and Emmot finished with 14 points.
Senior Pierce Krehbiel led De Soto (9-7, 6-6) with 19 points, including four 3-pointers, while junior Dylan Narayan added 13 points and senior Max Johnson 12. The Wildcats played without injured senior Jayden Lang.
Darting said it felt good to get a win over a De Soto program that he has a great deal of respect for.
"These guys, man, they play the game right,'' Darting said of the Wildcats. "And Lang will be back (for postseason) in two weeks and he's terrific.''
Shawnee Heights will be back at home Tuesday to host Basehor-Linwood in a UKC contest.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS BOYS 79, DE SOTO 55
De Soto 11 13 14 17 -- 55
Shawnee Heights 18 21 22 18 -- 79
De Soto (9-7, 6-6) – Krehbiel 6-14 3-3 19, Parks 2-6 0-0 5, Lindsay 0-3 0-0 0, Narayan 5-7 3-4 13, Johnson 4-11 3-4 12, Hatfield 0-1 0-0 0, Dickinson 2-2 0-0 4, Serna 1-1 0-0 2, Krier 0-0 0-0 0, Waite 0-1 0-0 0, Hastings 0-0 0-0 0, Patterson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 9-11 55.
Shawnee Heights (14-3, 10-3) – Pomeroy 9-12 1-1 21, Sanchez 8-16 7-8 25, Ross 2-4 2-5 6, Alston 1-3 0-0 2, Emmot 5-7 2-2 14, Cook 0-4 0-0 0, Parker 2-2 0-0 4, Lee 2-2 0-2 4, Ledell 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 30-51 12-18 79.
3-point goals – De Soto 6 (Krehbiel 4, Parks, Johnson), Shawnee Heights 7 (Sanchez 2, Pomeroy 2, Emmot 2, Ledell). Total fouls – De Soto 15, Shawnee Heights 14. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
