Blue Valley Pulls Off Upset, Shawnee Mission East Pulls Off Clutch Win in First Day of 2025 McPherson Invitational

McPHERSON, Kan. – Four out of 12 games in the 61st Annual McPherson Invitational have come to a close after Thursday’s first round action.

Listed below are the results for all four games, each team’s stat leaders, the tournament’s stat leaders, and Friday’s schedule.

(3) St. James Academy – 68

(6) Wichita-East – 44

FULL STATS

Stat Leaders:

St. James Academy:

Emmitt Peters: 17 pts, 7/12 FG, 3/6 3PT
Nate Hornback: 14 pts, 12 reb, 5/7 FG, 1/1 3PT, 3/4 FT

Wichita-East:

Luke Henderson: 17 pts, 5 reb, 7/16 FG, 3/6 3PT
Jaylen Phillips-Grey: 8 pts, 8 reb, 3/8 FG

(7) Blue Valley West – 53

(2) Hutchinson – 42

FULL STATS

Stat Leaders:

Blue Valley West:

Brandon Kirk: 13 pts, 5/11 FG, 1/6 3PT, 2/2 FT
Tyler Peterson: 9 reb, 4 pts

Hutchinson:

Taishaun Govain: 15 pts, 10 reb, 6/12 FG
Lamar Govain: 10 pts, 4/10 FG, 2/5 3PT

(4) Shawnee Mission East – 48

(5) Lawrence-Free State – 47

Shawnee Mission East’s Carter Brock hit a go-ahead three-pointer with 2.4 seconds remaining.

FULL STATS

Stat Leaders:

Shawnee Mission East:

Will Beck: 13 pts, 6-12 FG, 1/3 3PT
Stephen Hlobik: 11 pts, 7 reb, 4/7 FG

Lawrence-Free State:

Bennett Negal: 14 pts, 5 reb, 5/11 FG, 3/5 3PT
Braden Wilmes: 10 reb, 3 blocks, 4 pts

(1) McPherson – 78

(8) Manhattan – 53

FULL STATS

Stat Leaders:

McPherson:

Jett Pyle: 16 pts, 6 assists, 5/9 FG, 2/4 3PT
Ian Razak: 9 pts, 9 reb, 3 blocks

Manhattan:

Landon Knopp: 18 pts, 7/14 FG, 2/4 3PT
Carter Goodpasture: 9 pts, 3/4 FG

Total Stat Leaders (Top 3):

Points:

1. Landon Knopp (Manhattan) – 18
T-2. Luke Henderson (Wichita-East) – 17
T-2. Emmitt Peters (St. James Academy) – 17

Field Goal Percentage (Min. 5.0 Made FG/game):

1. Nate Hornback (St. James Academy) – 71.4% (5/7)
2. Cade Strathman (McPherson) – 66.7% (6/9)
T-3. Emmitt Peters (St. James Academy) – 58.3% (7/12)
T-3. Gabe Pyle (McPherson) – 58.3% (7/12)

3-Point Percentage (Min. 2.0 Made/game):

1. Jake Kolich (St. James Academy) – 75.0% (3/4)
2. Ben Graves (Lawrence-Free State) – 66.7% (2/3)
T-3. Bennett Negal (Lawrence-Free State) – 60.0% (3/5)
T-3. Cade Strathman (McPherson) – 60.0% (3/5)

3-Point FG Made:

T-1. Jake Kolich (St. James Academy) – 3
T-1. Bennett Negal (Lawrence-Free State) – 3
T-1. Emmitt Peters (St. James Academy) – 3
T-1. Cade Strathman (McPherson) – 3

Free Throw Percentage (Min. 3.0 Made/game):

1. Terrell King (Hutchinson) – 83.3% (5/6)
T-2. Carter Goodpasture (Manhattan) – 75.0% (3/4)
T-2. Stephen Hlobik (Shawnee Mission East) – 75.0% (3/4)
T-2. Nate Hornback (St. James Academy) – 75.0% (3/4)

Total Rebounds:

1. Nate Hornback (St. James Academy) – 12
T-2. Taishaun Govain (Hutchinson) – 10
T-2. Braden Wilmes (Lawrence Free State) – 10

Offensive Rebounds:

1. Braden Wilmes (Lawrence-Free State) – 6
2. Stephen Hlobik (Shawnee Mission East) – 5
3. Four players – 4

Defensive Rebounds:

T-1. Evan Dejmal (St. James Academy) – 8
T-1. Nate Hornback (St. James Academy) – 8
3. Taishaun Govain (Hutchinson) – 7

Steals:

1. Ismael Berry (Wichita-East) – 4
T-2. Terrell King (Hutchinson) – 3
T-2. Gabe Pyle (McPherson) – 3

Assists:

1. Jacob Fratzel (St. James Academy) – 7
2. Jett Pyle (McPherson) – 6
T-3. Brenden Barrett (Lawrence-Free State) – 4
T-3. Will Beck (Shawnee Mission East) – 4

Blocks:

T-1. Ian Razak (McPherson) – 3
T-1. Braden Wilmes (Lawrence-Free State) – 3
3. Cade Wysong (Blue Valley West) – 2

Schedule for Friday, Jan. 24:

Consolation Semi-Finals (Winner to 5th Place game, loser to 7th Place game):
- 3:00 p.m.: (2) Hutchinson vs. (6) Wichita-East
- 4:35 p.m.: (5) Lawrence-Free State vs. (8) Manhattan
Winner’s Bracket Semi-Finals (Winner to Championship, loser to 3rd Place game)
- 6:10 p.m.: (3) St. James Academy vs. (7) Blue Valley West
- 7:45 p.m.: (1) McPherson vs. (4) Shawnee Mission East