Olathe East boys defeat Olathe North, advance to Class 6A state semifinals

Even though Olathe East coach Jim Super called his team’s quarterfinal victory over Olathe North “bittersweet,” his Hawks could not hide their excitement as they leaped down a hallway to their locker room at Wichita State’s Koch Arena.

Olathe East withstood a couple of runs by Olathe North runs and controlled the game from the start for a 60-48 victory. The Hawks improved to 18-5 and earned a spot in the Kansas Class 6A state semifinals, where they will face top-seeded Wichita East at 4:45 p.m. on Friday.

“We came out and really locked down defensively and got some breakouts because they were taking longer shots,” Super said. “That’s what I want to see the whole game, just like that.”

Olathe East allowed just one field goal in the first quarter and held the Eagles scoreless for more than five minutes in the second period. At the half, Olathe East led 31-17.

Olathe North pulled to within five points in the third quarter with a one-handed slam by Russell Smith, but the Eagles could never close the gap.

Javion Blake led Olathe East with a game-high 17 points. Teammate Cameron Hunter also scored in double figures with 12 points. Smith led Olathe North with 15 points.

Olathe North ended its season with a 17-6 record and was 0-2 against Olathe East.

This story was originally published March 11, 2015 at 7:09 PM with the headline "Olathe East boys defeat Olathe North, advance to Class 6A state semifinals."