Games, however, aren’t played in front of a studio audience, and Tonganoxie couldn’t overcome poor shooting less than 30 percent in the first half or poor ball handling more than a dozen turnovers in the first half. Sumner won the opening round of substate, 733-42.

The Chieftains trailed only 12-4 after the first quarter and 32-13 at halftime. They came out firing in the third quarter. Scott Breuer hit three three point shots. Sumner, however, had the firepower to respond. The Sabres only outscored the Chieftains 19-16 in the third quarter and 22-13 in the fourth quarter.

“We played really well in the second half,” said Mike Webb, Tonganoxie’s boys basketball coach.

Breuer scored 19, including 11 in the third quarter. In the final games as Chieftains, Neil Rieger scored eight, Brett Becker scored seven, and Scott Aligo scored two.

“We just haven’t played a team that good all season,” Webb said.

Sumner was one of the top teams in the state but only seeded third in the regional because of losses to larger Kansas City schools during the regular season.

The Sumner game came on the heels of two ragged games for the Chieftains.

Last week they beat Perry-Lecompton 38-33 and lost to Basehor-Linwood 54-40.

The offense was erratic in both games. The Kaws and Bobcats both played zone, and the Chieftains failed to play their zone offense, opting instead to throw the ball over the top of the defense and turning the ball over too often.

“We just didn’t seem to execute,” Webb said. “We were hesitant.”

A Basehor-Linwood free throw with 3:34 left in the first quarter gave them a lead they never relinquished. The Bobcats led 16-10 after the first quarter, 25-17 after the second quarter and 40-29 after the third quarter.

Tonganoxie looked lost on offense for much of the game. Only Scott Breuer was consistently willing to shoot. Kyle Rodell took several outside shots, but was off.

Through much of the first half, Basehor-Linwood scored points in the paint while Tonganoxie took only long jump shots over the zone.

The first half ended with an example of the Tonganoxie offensive confusion. Basehor-Linwood missed two free throws. Tonganoxie had the ball with 8.8 seconds to play. But the half ended with the ball in Thomas Gilner’s hands. Nobody managed to get a shot or an open look at the basket.

The Chieftains continued to battle in the second half, cutting the lead to six points when Breuer followed a Brett Becker miss with 5:17 left in the third quarter.

Basehor-Linwood answered with a basket and a pair of free throws. The game was never close during the fourth quarter.

“We’ve got to help Scott Breuer to score,” Webb said.