COLBY, Kan. – Three Ad Astra Radio area teams competed in the KSHSAA 1A-DII State Basketball Championships at the Colby Event Center this week. When the dust settled, two schools brought home trophies as Cunningham finished as the state runner-up and Elyria Christian took third place.
Quarterfinals
Both teams started hot offensively. After Cunningham jumped out to a 7-2 lead, Bucklin actually came back to take a 14-13 lead. The Wildcats recovered, taking a 20-16 lead after the first quarter. They extended their lead to 32-27 at halftime and led by as many as 17 on numerous occasions in the second half, on their way to the 13-point win.
Luke Albers stole the show with a 30-point, 12-rebound double-double, while Nate Sterneker added a double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Will Wegerer added 10 as the Wildcats moved to 24-0 with the win. Bucklin finished their season at 13-12. They were led by Kaden Tilley with 19 points and Lucas Kirk added 14.
Elyria Christian 62, Hanover 57
In a game that was back-and-forth most of the way, the Wildcats and Eagles were tied at 14 after one, while Hanover used a 17-13 second quarter to take a four-point lead at halftime. Elyria Christian came out hot in the second half, outscoring the Wildcats 23-12 in the third to take a seven-point lead. Hanover chipped away and actually took a 56-55 lead with 1:15 left. However, senior phenom Ty Romero would lead his team to victory in the end.
After a 12-point first half, Romero scored 13 in the 3rd quarter and added another 11 in the fourth. After the Wildcats claimed the lead, he made back to back free throws to put Elyria Christian back up by one. Tanner Bruna of Hanover tied the game with a free throw with just under 37 seconds left. Bruna got a steal on the inbound pass, but missed a layup. From there, Romero put an emphatic finish to the game as he banked in a step-back three-pointer with 12 seconds left to put Elyria Christian up by three. Shortly after the ensuing inbound pass, Romero got a steal and put an exclamation point on the win with a two handed dunk. Romero finished the game as the only double figure scorer for the Eagles with 36 points as they improved to 20-4 on the season.
Axtell 66, Central Christian 46
Axtell led the third quarterfinal game from start to finish against the Central Christian Cougars. The Eagles scored the first four points and led 24-14 after one quarter. They extended their lead to 14 by halftime. The Cougars went on a 7-0 run at one point in the third to trim the lead to nine, but that would be as close as they got the rest of the night as Axtell pulled away for the 20-point victory.
Logan Sandmann paced Axtell with a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double. Brody Froese was the lone double figure scorer for Central Christian, finishing with 12 points. The Cougars finished the season at 13-11.
Semifinals
Cunningham 79, Elyria Christian 69
The first semifinal on Friday saw an outstanding showcase of individual skills. Three players scored 30 or more points in the end. Elyria Christian jumped out to an 18-11 lead after one quarter, but Cunningham fought back, cutting it to a four-point game by halftime. The Eagles held strong in with a high-scoring 25-24 edge in the third to take a 60-55 going into the final quarter. However, the Wildcats scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter to take a 62-60 lead and they would go on to outscore Elyria Christian 24-9 in the final quarter for the 10-point win.
Albers notched his second straight 30-point game with a game-high 32. Wegerer also put up 30 for Cunningham. After being held to just two points in the first quarter, Ty Romero scored 14 in the second and finished with 30 for the Eagles in the loss. Cunningham moved advanced to the state title game for the second straight season, moving to 25-0, while Elyria Christian dropped to 24-1.
Consolation Game
Elyria Christian 59, Dighton 57
A low-scoring first quarter saw the Eagles take an 11-6 lead, but Dighton went on a 7-0 run to start the second quarter and led 21-17 at halftime. The game stayed tight the rest of the way as neither team led by more than five points in the second half. Dighton held a 55-53 lead when Ty Romero had a breakaway dunk that would have tied the game erased due to a travel. The Hornets made two free throws to lead 57-53 with 37 seconds left.
The Eagles were not deterred, though. Romero got a layup with 31 seconds left and Andrew Huxman immediately stole the inbound pass and made two free throws to tie the game at 57 with just under 25 seconds remaining. Sophomore Grayson Broadus forced a Dighton turnover with just under 12 seconds left as Landon Schneider was fouled in the process and made two clutch free throws to give the Eagles the two-point win in the end, as Broadus got another steal in the final seconds.
Romero was held to just one point in the first quarter, but finished with a game-high 26. Gavin Robertson added 15 for the Eagles as they finished the season 21-5 and in third place in 1A-DII.
Championship Game
Cunningham headed into the state title game with a 25-0 record and looking for their second straight 1A-DII championship. In the end, it was not in the cards for the Wildcats as Axtell jumped out to a 21-7 lead after the first quarter and never looked back, claiming their second state championship in school history on the boys side. The Eagles led by as many as 24 at 42-18 in the third quarter. Cunningham finished on an 11-1 run to head into the final quarter down by 14. However, the Eagles scored the first four points of the final frame and went on to win by 18.
Will Wegerer was the only player in double figures for Cunningham as he scored 20. The Wildcats saw their winning streak of 37 contested and 39 scheduled games come to an end as they finished the year as the state runner-up at 25-1.
Axtell also finished at 25-1 as the state champions, having not lost to a team from Kansas. Their lone loss was at Auburn in Nebraska on December 30. KU football signee Brandon Schmelzle led the Eagles with a 15-point, 11-rebound double-double as Axtell added a basketball title to their run of 52 straight wins and four straight state titles in 8-Man DII football.
