By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Shawnee Heights T-Birds punched their ticket for a third straight trip to the Class 5A State Tournament – in coach Ken Darting’s final season – by holding off Leavenworth 66-56 despite playing shorthanded and relying on reserves to carry a heavy load.
Shawnee Heights accepts the Class 5A sub-state trophy after Friday's 66-56 win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
The T-Birds got out to a double-digit lead in a sluggish first half. They then had to old off a Leavenworth surge in a frenetic second half. Having trailed by as many as 18-points, the Pioneers clawed to within seven midway through the fourth period.
But Darting’s veteran guards and a couple of freshmen showed poise under pressure to close out the game.
Senior JaiMarion Cook scored 17 points Friday as Shawnee Heights earned a third straight trip to the Class 5A state tournament with a 66-56 win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Ja'Veon Alston scored 17 points in Friday's 66-56 Shawnee Heights win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
JaiMarion Cook started the game hot, scoring eight points to give the T-Birds a 12-3 lead in the first four minutes. In the fourth quarter, it was Ja’Veon Alston who took over the game. He hit all three of his shots from the field and scored 10 points in the final period. Cook and Alston each scored 17 points to lead Shawnee Heights.
“I just came in and did my thing, tried to calm the team down, stay focused so we could fight through adversity,” Alston said. “As a point guard, I think their role should be to get any shooter open that’s on the court. Find the right person, get them open. A point guard doesn’t really take a lot of shots sometimes, but today, I had to step up for my team. Sometimes as the point guard, you have to take it in your hands.”
The T-Birds got 14 points from freshman Quincy Dixon and 11 from senior Aiden Scott, and freshman Fletcher Terrell helped handle the ball in crunch time.
Reserves Malachi Lee and Jacob Halloran stepped up to play significant minutes in the paint because junior Cam Ross – normally one of the team’s most productive players – was suspended for the game. Darting said the plan is for Ross to rejoin the team for the next upcoming practice and be a full participant at the state tournament.
“You know, it’s a cliché, ‘Next man up.’ But it’s real,” Darting said. “And if you don’t coach the team that way, somebody’s gonna turn a knee or sprain an ankle, or get kicked off (the team), or somebody’s gonna be in foul trouble. So you’ve got to have guys ready. Now, you don’t replace people with the same amount of athletic talent. But we have people that fit in, do the one or two things that they can do and do them consistently, and to me, that’s fun.”
Shawnee Heights makes its third trip to state in the past three years. The T-Birds failed to advance past the opening round in either tournament.
“It feels amazing to go three times, back-to-back-to-back,” Alston said. “I know every game is a challenge. It’s hard to get to the next round. You’ve got to be ready to go first round, take care of business. The crowd is crazy. You’ve got to tune it out, just play your game.”
The T-Birds were seeded fourth in the Class 5A East bracket after finishing fourth in the United Kansas Conference standings. Darting reflected on the rigors of the conference.
“You set and look, we’re gonna have four of the eight teams from our league at state,” Darting said. “And two more (De Soto and Leavenworth) got eliminated by us. And we have to play those teams every night.”
Darting watched his team celebrate with family and friends long after the final horn Friday.
“I think when they’re that age, yeah, celebrate, go on,” Darting said. “They don’t even know it yet, but they’re gonna see in life, 10, 20 years from now, they’re gonna say, ‘Oh wow, was that fun?’ And when it’s a team that shouldn’t get it done and it gets done, that makes it even more special.”
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS BOYS 66, LEAVENWORTH 56
Leavenworth 9 7 13 27 -- 56
Shawnee Heights 17 5 22 22 -- 66
Leavenworth (9-16) – Cheatham 6-8 3-4 18, Tolbert 2-6 1-2 7, Clark 2-2 1-2 5, Brantley 2-9 2-4 7, Alonzon 4-8 4-7 13, King 2-3 0-1 4, Williams 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19-37 11-20 56.
Shawnee Heights (17-8) – Alston 5-11 5-7 17, Lee 3-6 1-1 7, Cook 4-7 6-8 17, Scott 3-6 3-4 11, Dixon 4-9 4-4 14, Halloran 0-0 0-0 0, Terrell 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-39 19-24 66.
3-point goals – Leavenworth 7 (Cheatham 3, Tolbert 2, Brantley 1, Alonzon 1), Shawnee Heights 9 (Cook 3, Alston 2, Scott 2, Dixon 2). Total fouls – Leavenworth 22, Shawnee Heights 18. Fouled out – Clark, Alonzon, Lee. Technical fouls – Cheatham.
