Tonganoxie High ended up needing all of those points Jan. 25 in a non conference game at home against Heritage Christian Academy.

THS senior Zane Novotney set a new career high with 30 as the Chieftains held on for a 63-60 victory against the Chargers.

Tonganoxie was up, 10-4, in the first quarter, but HCA, which scored 107 against Oswego and 85 against Bishop Seabury earlier this year, showed that it could put up points quickly again against the Chieftains. The Chargers turned a six-point deficit into a seven-point lead, 25-18, late in the second quarter.

But the sharpshooting Novotney cut the lead to 25-21 with his third three of the half. In the waning moments before halftime, fellow senior Andrew Willson was headed to the free-throw line after a referee whistled the Charger defender for a foul that also could have potentially been ruled a block. HCA coach Evan Burns vehemently disagreed with the call and the referee promptly whistled him for a technical foul. Willson then sank three of four free throws before the half and that seven-point lead quickly became just a one-point advantage. HCA headed into halftime with a 25-24 lead.

Novotney continued with the hot hand, as he scored three three-pointers in the first four minutes of the third quarter. Mikey Conroy also had a three-pointer in the third as part of a 12-0 run. THS scored 22 in the quarter and took a 46-42 lead into the final quarter.

The Chargers would outscore the Chieftains, 18-17, in the final stanza, but it wouldn’t be enough. Tonganoxie actually had more three-pointers (11) than two-point field goals (10) in the victory against HCA. Novotney ended with eight three-pointers, while Conroy knocked in the other three.

Willson and Conroy also finished the game in double figures with 12 and 11, respectively. Willson normally dials in beyond the three-point arc, but three buckets inside the arc and a 6-for-8 effort from the free-throw line helped him contribute significantly through other scoring. Culyer Kietzmann also scored six and Caleb Clark four in the victory. Ashten Ratzlaff had a team-high 15 and Reid Krikke also was in double figures with 10 for the Chargers.

Tonganoxie improved to 8-5 on the season, while Heritage fell to 9-5. The game was played out much differently than last year’s meeting between the two teams in Olathe. THS won in a rout, 71-33.

Tonganoxie currently is the No. 6 seed in the Class 4A East substate standings. The top four seeds will host four-team substates March 1-5. Tonganoxie has the same record as No. 4 Holton and No. 5 Wamego, but is the lowest of the three seeds due to a tiebreaker formula. There still are seven games left in the regular season, so Tonganoxie will have numerous opportunities to move up and potentially host a substate.

THS, ranked No. 10 in Class 4A in the latest Kansas Basketball Coaches Association polls, was home Tuesday against Shawnee Heights (7-1). The teams played a home-and-home series last year, with THS coach Phil Jones getting his first victory against his alma mater on Feb. 2. The T-Birds won the first game, 58-52, at THS, but Tonganoxie won the second, 61-53, in Tecumseh.

THS has a rematch with Bonner Springs (8-4) on Friday at BSHS and then is home against Jeff West (0-11) on Tuesday.