McPherson’s game plan stifles Bishop Miege boys in Kansas 4A Division I semifinal

With the speed Bishop Miege possesses in Reggie Byers, Semaj Ray and Alston Jones, the question was simple — could unbeaten McPherson keep up with the Stags?

By midpoint of the first quarter of the Kansas Class 4A Division I semifinal on Friday, McPherson had already revealed its own defensive quickness. That, along with its penchant for driving past the defense to the basket and scoring in transition, doomed Miege.

McPherson defeated Miege, 79-68, and will play in the state title game for the second straight season.

A dunk in transition by Payton Stephens started an 18-4 run by McPherson, which will match 24-0 records with Basehor-Linwood in the championship game at 6:15 p.m. on Saturday at the Bicentennial Center.

“Against quickness, you better be in the right spot,” McPherson coach Kurt Kinnamon said of his team’s victory over Miege. “To get to the right spot against them, you just have to have tremendous effort. Our scout said if you don’t get back, it will be a layup drill. They didn’t get a lot in transition. That was our No. 1 key.”

While McPherson was able to hold Miege in check, the Stags, 19-5, had some missed opportunities.

“They got back on defense. We missed some easy shots at the rim in the first half,” Miege coach Rick Zych said.

Miege, which will play Ottawa, 21-3, in the third-place game at 2 p.m. on Saturday,

Miege shot 24 of 52 from the field, including 7-of-23 in the first half. It didn’t help that Ray, a sophomore, picked up his third foul with .1 second remaining before the break.

“It takes away one of our three-point shooters,” Zych said. “We struggled for offense.”

Jones, a senior, scored a team-high 23 points for Miege, while Ray had 14 points. Jacob Meurer added 13 points and 13 rebounds.

This story was originally published March 13, 2015 at 10:59 PM with the headline "McPherson’s game plan stifles Bishop Miege boys in Kansas 4A Division I semifinal."