By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Highland Park's bid for a second straight Topeka Invitational Tournament championship came to a heartbreaking end Saturday at the Bueltel Activity Center, with Wichita Northwest pulling out a 64-61 win in the final seconds.
Highland Park junior Ja'Corey Robinson, who had 16 points and 15 rebounds, reacts to the Scots' last-second 64-61 loss to Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
A dejected Highland Park team receives its second-place medals Saturday at Hayden after the Scots' 64-61 loss to Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But Highland Park coach Mike Williams said the Scots, No. 3-ranked in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, will learn from that loss and use it as motivation moving forward.
"It was a competitive game, a good basketball game, probably could have went either way,'' Williams said. "We came out on the other end of the stick but not at the expense of our kids not competing and giving us chances. We competed from buzzer to buzzer, got down, got up, fought back, gave something up and got back in it and had opportunities late in the game.
"But that's a good team over there in that locker room, good leadership, a good collective group and this is something that we can learn from and take forward for our team. Our goal is still in front of us and we learned a little bit more about what we need to get there through this weekend.''
In a game that included seven lead changes and four ties, the 10-2 Grizzlies, No. 8-ranked in 6A, broke the final tie on a clutch shot by junior Eli Benning with 6.5 seconds remaining to put Northwest up 63-61.
After Highland Park (6-1) was whistled for a violation on the ensuing inbounds play, Northwest got the ball back and the Scots were forced to foul.
Junior Liam Calvert converted one of two free throws with 3.6 seconds left to take a three-point advantage and Highland Park senior Bryson Thrasher's last-second 3-point attempt bounced off the rim as time ran out, giving Northwest its first Topeka Invitational title since 2006.
Wichita Northwest opened up a 13-4 advantage midway through the first quarter but Highland Park cut its deficit to 15-11 by the end of the quarter and the Scots rallied for a 28-16 lead in the second period.
This time it was Northwest's turn for a comeback, with the Grizzlies cutting the Scots' lead to 32-29 at the half.
The game went back and forth in the third quarter before the Scots took a 49-44 lead on a pair of free throws from junior standout Ja'Corey Robinson with 1.7 seconds left in the quarter.
Hi Park went up eight (52-44) on a Tamir Anderson 3-pointer with 6:36 remaining but Northwest battled back to take a 58-57 lead on a Benning 3-pointer with 1:46 left.
The Scots regained the lead on a Thrasher 3-pointer with 56 seconds remaining but Northwest took the lead back on another Benning trey at the 41-second mark.
Robinson knotted the game at 61 on a free throw with 27.2 seconds left to set the stage for the frantic final seconds.
"We really did expect that,'' Northwest coach Andy Hill said of the nailbiter. "Both teams are really similar in how we're constructed, not the biggest teams, small, quick, athletic and we play similar styles so we expected a dogfight and a battle.
"The runs that happened in both directions and the way that both teams kept responding to each other made it just a phenomenal game.''
Bryson Thrasher (left) scored 12 points off the bench with a pair of 3-pointers in Highland Park's 64-61 loss to Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Robnson led Highland Park with 16 points and 15 rebounds while Thrasher added 12 points off the bench, Anderson scored 11 points with three 3s and junior Mikey Williams Jr. had 10 points.
Benning led all scorers with 30 points.
WICHITA NORTHWEST 64, HIGHLAND PARK 61
Wichita Northwest 15 14 15 20 -- 64
Highland Park 11 21 17 12 -- 61
Wichita Northwest (10-2) -- Williams 2-6 3-4 7, Hammond 5-7 0-0 11, Benning 12-15 2-5 30, Henderson 4-10 2-3 10, Glasper 1-6 0-0 2, Ekue 0-3 0-0 0, Calvert 0-2 2-4 2, Redd 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 25-51 9-16 64.
Highland Park (6-1)-- Taylor 1-2 1-1 3, Wilson 3-10 2-2 9, Williams 3-9 4-5 10, Robinson 5-11 6-9 16, Anderson 4-8 0-0 11, Thrasher 4-5 2-2 12, Cameron 0-1 0-0 0, Kingcannon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-46 15-19 61.
3-point goals -- Wichita Northwest 5 (Benning 4, Hammond), Highland Park 6 (Anderson 3, Thrasher 2, Wilson). Total fouls -- Wichita Northwest 19, Highland Park 14. Fouled out -- Williams, Glasper. Technical fouls -- none.
RESULTS SATURDAY
Lawrence 87, Hayden 78
Topeka West 55, Topeka High 30
Shawnee Mission North 55, Lansing 43
Wichita Northwest 64, Highland Park 61
