QUARTERFINAL BOX SCORE | SEMIFINAL BOX SCORE | THIRD PLACE GAME BOX SCORE
COLBY, Kan. – The Elyria Christian Eagles Boys Basketball team had a thrilling week in Colby for the 1A-II State Tournament, finishing in third place to close off their season.
The team had the No. 4 seed in the eight-team bracket with a 19-4 record following a successful Sub-State showing. Their first matchup featured a matchup against No. 5 Hanover, which finished in thrilling fashion. Senior guard and William Jewell College commit Ty Romero started off the tournament with a career day, finishing with 36 points including an off-balanced banked-in three to give the team the lead in the closing seconds. Romero then followed it up with a steal and his fifth dunk of the game to close it out. They would get the 62-57 victory advancing them to the semifinals.
Their prize to making it to the semifinals was to play the No. 1 seed Cunningham, who entered undefeated on the season and off of a 63-50 win against Bucklin. The semifinal was an offensive battle, finishing with a 79-69 win for Cunningham. Elyria shot 52% on the game, but Cunningham led the shooting battle, finishing with a 60% Field Goal percentage. The key to Cunningham’s victory was forcing Elyria to commit 15 turnovers. The loss for Elyria fell them to the 3rd Place Game. Cunningham advanced to the championship, where they eventually suffered their first loss against Axtell.
The Third Place Game featured a match against Dighton, which ended in another thriller. Dighton led the Eagles 57-53 with 37 seconds remaining, but ended the game on a 6-0 run to win 59-57. Romero got a layup to cut it to within two points with 30 seconds left, then Andrew Huxman got a steal while getting fouled, tying the game with two free throws. Dighton would turn the ball over again, with Landon Schneider getting fouled while diving for a loose ball, hitting both free throws to give them the lead with 11 seconds remaining. They got a big defensive stop, coincidentally with another steal, to win the game and take home hardware.
Following the tournament, Ty Romero was named a unanimous First Team All-League honoree with the Wheat State League. Andrew Huxman earned Second Team honors, and Gavin Robertson & Landon Schneider earned All-League Honorable Mention. Head coach Zach Goodrich was named the league’s Coach of the Year.
CLICK HERE to see all of the Wheat State All-League honorees for both boys and girls basketball.
