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No. 2 BLHS boys too much for Chieftains at home

By Chris Wristen - | Dec 6, 2011

Tonganoxie was able to hang with archrival Basehor-Linwood for part of the first half Friday in its season opener, but a 14-1 Bobcat run before halftime was tough to overcome.

The Basehor-Linwood boys, ranked No. 2 in Class 4A, routed THS, 74-38, in Tonganoxie.

The Bobcats received 47 points from their big three — Ryan Murphy, Colin Murphy and Ben Johnson — and a confident showing from a supporting cast full of fresh varsity faces.

Tonganoxie kept close for a quarter but simply didn’t have enough answers.

“Obviously we have some things to work out and need to get better,” THS coach Shawn Phillips said.

The Chieftains kept BLHS off the board for the first two minutes and took an early lead on a layup by Dylan Jacobs. Four free throws by Ryan Murphy pushed the Bobcats ahead, however. Tonganoxie then tied the game, 4-4, on a layup by Dane Erickson, but that was as good as it got for the Chieftains.

Basehor-Linwood used a 7-0 run — two free throws from Colin Murphy and a layup and 3-pointer from Ryan Murphy — to surge ahead 11-4. Tonganoxie settled down for a few possessions after that, but the Chieftains trailed 15-9 after one quarter.

The squads traded buckets early in the second quarter as BLHS maintained a 23-15 lead, but it was the Bobcats’ finishing kick that turned a comfortable lead into a rout by halftime. Colin Murphy scored seven points and Johnson added five during a 14-1 run to close the half as the Bobcats built a 37-16 lead.

“It was a learning experience,” Phillips said. “We didn’t take care of the basketball very well. It led to easy baskets for them.

“We need to improve in various facets before we can compete at a high level.”

Seven different Bobcats scored during the third quarter, and they continued to extend the lead even as Erickson and Keaton Truesdell heated up for the Chieftains.

BLHS led 61-33 entering the fourth quarter. A put-back by Chase Younger on the first possession of the fourth quarter stretched the lead to 30 points and the final 7:30 was played with a continuous clock. Basehor-Linwood’s reserves got in on the scoring barrage in the fourth quarter as Zach McNabb buried two 3-pointers and J.P. Downing swished a trey.

BLHS outscored THS 13-5 in the fourth quarter.

It was a tough loss to take to open the season, but Phillips said there were some positives, including the opportunity of a learning experience for some younger players who now are contributing on the varsity level. The Chieftains also held their own on the boards.

“I thought we rebounded the ball fairly well,” Phillips said. “Basehor may be the biggest team we face all year long. We are fairly even on the boards. That was fairly positive.”

Erickson led Tonganoxie with 13 points as the Chieftains dropped to 0-1 for the season.

BLHS received a game-high 19 points from Ryan Murphy and 14 apiece from Colin Murphy and Johnson. The Bobcats are 1-0.

Phillips saw other positives in the game, including the post play of Eric McPherson. The coach said McPherson likely played against some of the best post players he’ll face all year in Basehor-Linwood.

“To be able to compete at a fairly good level is fairly encouraging,” Phillips said.

Tonganoxie has a bit of a lengthy layoff before its next game in Kansas City, Kan., against Bishop Ward. Philllips looks at the break two ways.

“It gives us time to try to polish some areas. But at the same time, not having represented ourselves well (against BLHS), it would be nice to get on the floor again in the near future,” Phillips said.

BLHS 74, TONGANOXIE 38

Score by quarters

BLHS 15 22 24 13 — 74

THS 9 7 17 5 — 38

Individual scoring

BASEHOR-LINWOOD — Ryan Murphy 6-10 6-6 19, Colin Murphy 5-11 4-8 14, Ben Johnson 6-9 1-4 14, Chase Younger 3-5 2-2 8, Zach McNabb 2-4 0-0 6, Brad Waterman 1-1 2-2 4, J.P. Downing 1-1 0-0 3, Tim Sanders 1-1 0-0 2, Caleb Hiss 1-3 0-0 2, Tanner Garver 1-1 0-0 2.

TONGANOXIE — Dane Erickson 6-8 1-1 13, John Lean 2-8 1-2 6, Keaton Truesdell 1-3 2-2 5, Dylan Jacobs 2-3 0-1 5, Eric McPherson 2-5 1-3 5, Josh Ghale 1-2 0-0 2, Ben Williams 0-1 1-3 1, Colby Yates 0-5 1-2 1, Tyler Ford 0-1 0-2 0.

— Shawn Linenberger contributed to this story.