Chieftains boys halt streak
Put another one on the board.
The Tonganoxie High boys basketball team notched its second straight victory with a 54-49 win against Basehor-Linwood on Friday in Basehor.
Tonganoxie led throughout three quarters before Basehor-Linwood (6-14) assembled a rally in the final period.
THS led, 38-25, after three quarters, but a 24-16 Basehor rally made the final score much closer.
The Chieftains avenged an earlier loss to Basehor-Linwood with Friday’s victory. The Bobcats won the teams’ first meeting, 43-29, in early January at Tonganoxie.
The win moved Tonganoxie to 2-18 on the season. THS played top-seeded Sumner Academy on Tuesday in Kansas City, Kan., in the first round of Class 4A substate action.
For more about that game, log on to www.tonganoxiemirror.com. For additional substate coverage, see the March 8 edition of The Mirror.
Tonganoxie 56, Perry 54
Tonganoxie’s Zeb Kissinger won’t soon forget two of his 13 points Feb. 21 on the road against Perry-Lecompton.
Kissinger’s put-back in the final seconds pushed Tonganoixe to a 56-54 victory, the Chieftians first of the year.
“It was thrilling,” Kissinger said. “You kind of dream about that stuff, hitting the winning shot.”
THS had a four-point lead in the final two minutes, but Tonganoxie missed crucial free throws down the stretch. With nine seconds left, Tyler Miles drew a charge that gave the Chieftains a chance to win on its next possession.
Thanks to Kissinger’s put-back, the Chieftains did get the winning shot. Kissinger summed up the atmosphere in one word.
“Excitement,” he said. “Everybody was happy we won.”
Tonganoxie coach David Walker said his players were exuberant after the big win.
“You’d have thought it was a national championship,” Walker said.
Tonganoxie did rebound well in the first half, but that changed in the second half with post players being more effective, Kissinger said.
And it was in that final quarter that Walker said the Chieftains showed the most determination against the Kaws on the their home court.
“They played the last five minutes like we weren’t going to lose,” Walker said. “That says a lot about these guys.”
Junior forward Tyler Miles was Tonganoxie’s top scorer with 14, while fellow juniors Kissinger and Herron each scored 13 in the breakthrough victory.
Tonganoxie 54, Basehor-Linwood 49
Score by quarters
Tonganoxie 13 8 17 16 — 54
Basehor 7 6 12 24 — 49
Individual scoring
Tonganoxie — Miles 13, Hughes 10, Belabradjic 4, Morris 1, Kissinger 9, Herron 8, Krause 5, Wentz-Hall 4.
Basehor-Linwood — Bower 8, Swafford 8, Chumley 3, Knipp 15, Fanning 2, Bishop 13.
Tonganoxie 56, Perry-Lecompton 54
Score by quarters
Tonganoxie 10 16 19 11 — 56
Perry 11 17 14 12 — 54
Individual scoring
Tonganoxie — Miles 14, Kissinger 13, Herron 13, Pistora 2, Hughes 7, Morris 2, Belabrajdic 5.
Perry-Lecompton — Ketter 19, Gantz 9, Morgison 11, McPherson 5, Foltz 4, Denton 4, Hastert 2.