By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Kansas City-Turner kept things close most of the way Tuesday night at Shawnee Heights until the fourth quarter when the T-Birds opened the flood gates en route to a 76-54 United Kansas Conference win.
Shawnee Heights freshman Quincy Dixon scored a game-high 20 points in Tuesday's 76-54 UKC win over KC-Turner. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“The finish of the final quarter was dominating and we did it with defense,” Heights coach Ken Darting said. “What we’re not grasping is that when you’re basically playing five guys for 32 minutes, you have to play 100 percent all the time and nothing less. We have to get more help off the bench or we’re going to be in trouble.”
Junior Cam Ross scored 18 points in Shawnee Heights' 76-54 UKC win over KC-Turner Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Cam Ross had himself a nice first quarter drilling a triple early on to push the T-Birds to a 5-0 lead, and senior JaiMarion Cook made it 10-5 before Ross had a steal and went coast to coast, threw down a dunk with one hand with a defender all over him. He then would hit a three late in the quarter to make it 17-7 and SHHS led 19-10 after one.
The Bears would go on a 9-0 run to begin the second quarter after Xaire Davis hit a three to make it 20-19. Shawnee Heights would quickly regain the lead after freshman Quincy Dixon converted an and-one opportunity.
The lead would get back to five after another Cook three from the left wing but Darion McBride tied the game at 28 for Turner after he, too, converted an and-one and that's where the game stood at halftime, 28-28.
The game would go back and forth for a little bit in the third quarter but then the T-Birds built a lead once again thanks to senior Ja’Veon Alston and Dixon, creating a 10-2 run and forcing the Bears into a timeout at 43-35.
After another Ross dunk and a Aiden Scott buzzer-beating layup, Shawnee Heights led by 10, 47-37 going into the fourth.
The Bears would bring its deficit down to seven after a Cedric Scott three, but after that Turner committed several turnovers leading to transition points along with fastbreak opportunities and the lead grew to 63-47 before Turner called another timeout.
But it was far too late thanks to the T-Birds creating second-chance points, rebounding and forcing turnovers.
Darting said Heights is not a good rebounding team right now but that they’re a good defensive team and he wants the T-Birds to be a dominant defensive team.
“I told them in the locker room that you (players) proved it, you went out and did it so why don’t we do that every minute of every game,'' Darting said. We have what it takes, but we have to fight and get those hard rebounds because we are undersized. We have to get it done every night no matter how big the other team is.''
In the end, the T-Birds scored 29 in the fourth quarter and were led by four double-digit scorers, including a game-high 20 from Dixon.
“We’re close enough to getting it done, but we have to quit talking about getting it done and get it done,” Darting said.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 76, KC-TURNER 54
KC-Turner 10 18 9 17 – 54
Shawnee Heights 19 9 19 29 – 76
KC Turner (4-11) -- Hamilton 3 0-0 6, Alexander 6 1-2 13, Marshall 4 1-1 11, Scott 3 0-0 9, McGee 5 4-4 15.
Shawnee Heights (10-6) -- Alston 5 1-2 12, Cook 4 2-2 13, Ross 7 2-2 18, Scott 3 2-2 9, Wallace 2 0-0 4, Dixon 9 2-2 20.
3-point goals -- KC-Turner 6 (Scott 3, Marshall 2, McGee), Shawnee Heights 7 (Cook 3, Ross 2, Scott, Alston) Total fouls -- KC Turner 11 , Shawnee Heights 8 . Fouled out -- none.
