HUTCHINSON, Kan. – After grinding through a tough triple overtime loss to Burlington in the 3A state semifinals late Friday night, the Hesston Swathers returned to Hutchinson Sports Arena at noon on Friday for the 3rd Place game. Hesston battled in the first half, trailing just 25-24 at the break, but the Eagles pulled away in the second half for a 16-point victory.
Silver Lake 61, Hesston 45 – Hesston scored the first four points of the game, but once Silver Lake settled in, they scored seven straight points to lead 7-4. The Eagles led 15-14 after one, but a back-and-forth second quarter saw a tie and five lead changes. Ty Unruh made a three-pointer late in the first half to put the Swathers up 24-23, but right before the end of the half, Silver Lake’s all-time leading scorer Dayne Johnson made a shot to beat the buzzer and send the Eagles to halftime up 25-24.
The third quarter belonged to Johnson and Silver Lake. The Eagles outscored the Swathers 17-10 in the third to take an eight-point lead into the final quarter. Johnson scored 12 of the 17 points for Silver Lake. A 19-11 fourth quarter for the Eagles put Hesston away in the end. Johnson finished with a game-high 29 points, bringing his final career total to 1,741. He was the only double figure scorer for Silver Lake. For the second straight game, Ty Unruh scored 22 points to lead the Swathers. Drew Bartell was also in double figures with 13 points.
Silver Lake took the 3rd Place trophy and finished their season at 22-7, while Hesston dropped their final two games and finished in fourth place with a final record of 25-4.
Silver Lake – Johnson 29, Kraus 6, Miller 6, Rooks 6, Kruger 5, Bergmann 4, Renfro 3, Womack 2
Hesston – Unruh 22, Bartell 13, Landes 4, Larson 3, Deering 2, Haug 1
