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Chieftain boys singing better tune these days

By Shawn Linenberger - | Dec 13, 2006

Two tournaments, two championships.

A Tonganoxie High girls basketball title at the Eudora Invitational was somewhat expected.

Yes, the Chieftains had to knock off another ranked opponent in Paola, but the girls squad, ranked No. 2 in the state, outlasted the No. 3 Panthers down the stretch, improving to 3-0 in this very young basketball season.

And then there is the THS boys basketball team.

The Chieftain boys have had their shares of struggles in recent years, but last year’s 2-19 finish had to be the most difficult to Tonganoxie was 0-18 last season before going 2-1 in its final three games.

The team, at least early on, has rebounded from last season, and stands at 3-0 this year.

“That was the best team game and the best game we’ve played since I’ve been here,” Belobrajdic said. “Obviously this is a big confidence booster for us. We’ve been working really hard.”

Tonganoxie squeaked by De Soto in the quarterfinals, 71-66. And in the semifinals, Tonganoxie rallied from a 10-point first-half deficit and defeated Central Heights, 45-41.

The Chieftains seemed to continually progress in the tournament, with Saturday obviously being their best performance.

Walker said the team started this season with a new motto.

“We were going to do things our way and at our pace,” Walker said.

That means the Chieftains will up the tempo on occasion when the opposition wants to run, but at the same time, not get out of control.

Zeb Kissinger also scored in double-figures against Osawatomie with 15.

Against the Trojans, THS shot 52 percent from the field (24-for-46), 22 percent from three-point range (2-for-9) and 75 percent from the free-throw line (15-for-20).

OHS, meanwhile, shot 37 percent from the field (16-for-43), 15 percent from beyond the three-point line (2-for-13) and 48 percent from the free-throw stripe (14-for-29).

Tonganoxie will travel Friday to take on archrival Lansing, which is 0-3.

THS will have its final game before winter break Tuesday at De Soto.

THS 45, CENTRAL HTS. 41
Score by quarters
Central Heights 7 12 8 14 — 41
Tonganoxie 7 4 16 18 — 45

Individual scoring
Central Heights — White 4(2) 4-4 14, Wuertz 5(2) 0-0 12, Adkinson 2(1) 0-0 5, Welch 4 0-0 8, Herring 1 0-0 2. Totals:16 (5) 4-4 41.
Tonganoxie — Miles 3 1-3 7, Hughes 7(2) 2-2 18, Wentz-Hall 3 0-0 6, Belobrajdic 3 1-3 7, Kissinger 2 1-2 5, Smith 1 0-0 2. Totals: 18(2) 5-10 45.

THS 69, OSAWATOMIE 52
Score by quarters
Tonganoxie 18 21 17 13 — 69
Osawatomie 12 12 11 17 — 52

Individual scoring
Tonganoxie — Miles 2 4-5 8, Hughes 2(1) 0-0 5, Belobrajdic 12 6-7 30, Kissinger 7 1-1 15, 0 2-2 2, Krause 2(1) 1-2 6, Smith 0 1-2 1, Gurss 1 0-0 2. Totals: 26(2) 15-19 69.
Osawatomie — Needham 1(1) 3-5 6, Kilbourn 1(1) 4-5 7, Soucie 3 5-6 11, Pretz 3 1-2 7, Russell 7 1-5 15, Filipin 1 0-0 2, Cole Surber 1 0-4 2, Gorman 1 0-2 2.