Day two of the McPherson Invitational was held on Friday, Jan. 23, at the Roundhouse. The games were moved up from their original schedule due to the incoming winter storm and to ensure that the teams can make it home in time.
There will be a slight change regarding the start time of the 7th Place Game. The remaining games will still be held on Saturday, Jan. 31, in conjunction with the Mid America Classic.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINAL #1
(1) Topeka-Seaman – 56
(5) Lawrence Free State – 51
The Seaman Vikings brushed off their loss in the opening round to defeat the Free State Firebirds 56-51. Seaman had a 17-point lead at the end of the third quarter, but Free State cut it down to within five points, but they were unable to fully mount the comeback.
KaeVon Bonner led Seaman with 22 points, shooting 6/13 on the floor and 3/5 on three-pointers. Landon Wiltz added 11 points and a team-high 8 rebounds.
Free State was led by Ethan Prescott’s 17 points and 6 rebounds. Bennett Nagel added 11 points, and Brendan Barrett ended with 10.
CONSOLATION SEMIFINAL #2
(2) St. James Academy – 78
(6) McPherson – 51
Three-point shots fell like rain for St. James Academy, helping them defeat McPherson 78-51 to move them onto the 5th Place Game.
The St. James Academy Thunder made 14 three-point shots out of their 28 total makes. Their rebounding efforts also helped them earn extra chances, outrebounding the Bullpups 43-23.
Luke Kolich led the Thunder with 18 points. Grady Ogden had 13 points, and Mathew Davis finished with 11.
McPherson was led by Jett Pyle’s 21 points, shooting 8/19 on the floor and 4/10 on threes. Freshman forward Eli Reasoner had 16 points and a team-high 6 rebounds.
SEMIFINAL #1
(4) Derby – 69
(8) Hutchinson – 46
A 15-1 start for Derby catapulted them to advance to the tournament championship, defeating Hutchinson 69-46.
Derby led wire-to-wire, leading by as many as 27 points in the game. The Panthers shot 51% on the game, including 13/32 on three-pointers. Oddly enough, Hutchinson only committed two fouls the entire game, and Derby shot 0/2 at the free-throw line.
Hutchinson, on the other hand, finished with 17 turnovers, making them attempt 10 fewer shots than Derby. They shot only 2/20 in the first half, but ended up shooting 52% in the second half to finish 15/45 on the game.
Derby was led by Greg Stiger’s 14 points, shooting 4/5 from behind the arc. Cale Clingan had 12 points and a team-high 6 rebounds.
Htuchinson’s Lamar Govain had another great day, ending with 14 points. Draydon Hippen pitched in with 13.
SEMIFINAL #2
(7) Wichita-Bishop Carroll – 62
(3) OP-Blue Valley – 58
After the first semifinal had zero lead changes and zero ties, the second semifinal saw the exact opposite, as eight ties and eight lead changes highlighted the back-and-forth affair.
Bishop Carroll led by as many as eight, but were able to pull away late to win 62-58. The stats looked even for both teams, but 11 turnovers by Blue Valley cost them late.
Brody Kreutzer led Bishop Carroll with 17 points. Nathan Goertz had 12 points, and Luke Littlejohn added 10.
Blue Valley was led by Brendan Walsh, who dropped 27 points, including shooting 4/9 on three-pointers. Parker Seithel had 12 points and 7 rebounds.
FINAL ROUND SCHEDULE
7th Place: McPherson vs. Lawrence Free State – Thurs., Jan. 29 at 1:30 p.m.
5th Place: Topeka-Seaman vs. St. James Academy – Sat., Jan. 31 at 12:00 p.m.
3rd Place: Hutchinson vs. Blue Valley – Sat., Jan. 31 at 3:00 p.m.
Championship: Derby vs. Bishop Carroll – Sat., Jan. 31 at 6:00 p.m.
