Raytown, Fort Osage, Ray-Pec among Wednesday winners as Jewell hoops tourney begins

When Raytown senior Desmond Hutson kicked a touch pass in the paint to senior teammate Ben Bryant on a 2-on-1 fast break with 80 seconds left, the Blue Jays demonstrated the type of team work needed to overcome a 14-point deficit to Lee’s Summit West at the William Jewell High School Holiday Classic.

“That really got us going,” said Bryant, who finished with 16 points. “He could have had a dunk.”

Bryant followed his layup with a three-pointer that gave Raytown a two-point lead with a minute left. Raytown made that slim advantage hold up in its 63-61 victory Wednesday evening in a Patterson Division quarterfinal game at William Jewell’s Larry Holley Court.

“I think that play was pretty big because it showed how caring and unselfish the team should be,” said Hutson, who finished with a game-high 23 points. “What was going through my head at the time was we just needed to score, get a bucket.”

Raytown, 6-4, will play Park Hill South noon Friday in the semifinals. To get there, the Blue Jays overcame a 31-17 deficit midway through the second quarter. They trailed most of the game.

In a high octane first half, Lee’s Summit West had just a little more fuel and went into halftime with a 37-27 lead.

“It took a lot of teamwork to come back,” Hutson said. “Being down that much, it does a lot on the mental side. We had to get back into it mentally.”

After briefly trailing 5-2, Lee’s Summit West used its fast-paced offense to outscore Raytown 17-4 the rest of the first quarter for a 19-9 lead.

Raytown made just enough baskets the reminder of the second quarter to stay within 10 points. Hutson kept the Blue Jays close in the first half, scoring 14 points.

Lee’s Summit West countered with nine points from senior guard Rich Johnson, eight points from senior Noah Kinder and seven points from juniors Tysen Brennan and Tayven Glasgow.

Raytown kept attacking in the third quarter and closed to 51-45 at the end of the quarter.

For much of the fourth quarter, Lee’s Summit managed to stay three-to-five points ahead. Raytown finally closed to 57-56 on the play Hutson to Bryant. And then Bryant gave Raytown its first lead since 5-2 on his three-pointer that made 59-57. The Blue Jays added two free throws for a four-point lead.

“Those two are great athletes,” Raytown coach Cody Buford said. “For four years they have played in big-time games for us in basketball. I think football has helped both of them out.

“It was just a gritty effort to stay in it. We didn’t play that well because of the way Lee’s Summit West played defense and what they were doing. Ben hits a big shot late. Those two really carried us and helped us have a chance.”

Fort Osage 66, Winnetonka 46

For much of the first half, Winnetonka stayed within striking distance of second seed Fort Osage in a Nelson Division quarterfinal game of William Jewell High School Holiday Classic.

But with only a two-point lead midway through the second quarter, Fort Osage switched gears on offense and defense and scored the last 11 points. The spurt propelled Fort Osage to a 13-point halftime lead on the way to a first-round win.

“Mainly, it was our defense getting after it,” said Fort Osage senior Ty Baker, who finished with a game-high 19 points. “We called a timeout right before the run. Our coach said, ‘Get after it and take control of the game.’ That is exactly what we did. We got turnovers off of it.”

Fort Osage, 6-2, will play Raymore-Peculiar at 6 p.m. Friday in the semifinals. The Nelson Division championship game is 5:30 p.m. Saturday.

Winnetonka, which dropped to 3-6, did a good job early in the second quarter staying close. The Griffins trailed 16-14 when Fort Osage’s offensive execution excelled with backdoor cuts and a few open three-pointers.

Defensively, the Indians unleashed a soft, full-court press that disrupted Winnetonka’s offensive rhythm. The 11-0 run started with a free throw from Baker. Next came two more free throws from senior Jared Larson.

Larson capped off the first half with a three-pointer from the corner that gave Fort Osage a 27-14 halftime lead.

“It definitely felt good,” said Larson, who finished with 15 points. “After missing the first few, knocking that shot down gave me a little confidence.”

The Indians quickly added to their lead at the start of the third quarter with a layup from Baker. A few minutes later, Larson put the game out of reach with a three-pointer, making it 38-18 with 4 minutes left in the third quarter. Teamwork led to the open shots.

“That is why we won by 20, moving the ball and having more than one pass,” Larson said.

Despite a 20-point deficit, Winnetonka continued to play hard and closed to 42-32 at the end of the third quarter.

“We kind of toned it down a little bit and got a little lazy and not focusing as much as we were,” Baker said. “We toned it back up and let the young guys get in towards the end.”

Raymore-Peculiar 51, St. Joseph Central 47, OT

Raymore-Peculiar freshman Iryn Allen made a couple of nifty drives for layups in overtime to help the Panthers beat St. Joseph Central. His first one gave Ray-Pec a 45-44 lead and his next one increased the lead to 47-45. He also made a free three that gave the Panthers a four-point cushion at 49-45.

Allen finished with 13 points, matching the total by junior Matthew Harrison. Junior Kian Scroggins led the way for Ray-Pec with 17 points and 20 rebounds.

“We had a lot of kids, not just him (Allen), who grew up tonight,” Ray-Pec coach Scott Jermain said. “They were put into some situations they weren’t accustomed to. It was good for us to pull out a win with people in unique situations and come through.”

Ray-Pec, 6-2, will return to action 6 p.m. Friday and play Fort Osage in a Nelson Division semifinal game. The Panthers overcame a 25-16 deficit in the second quarter.

Jermain was proud of the way the players adversity. Ray-Pec was playing without its starting point guard, junior Jordan Jermain who was out because of a hand injury.

“We knew it was going to be kind of tough going without him,” Jermain said. “We talked about don’t panic. I don’t think we panicked. We kept persevering.

“One of the things we talked about was the growth of our players. Sometimes you have growth because the longevity of the season. Sometime you throw them into the fire.”

Park Hill South 64, Smithville 25

The guard play of seniors Lemel Robison and Dawson Owen, plus the inside play of junior Dylan Brougham was too much for Smithville to handle. The Panthers jumped to a 44-12 lead late in the second quarter and cruised to a 64-25 victory.

Robison scored 14, Owen and Brougham each had 11 points and senior guard Desi Williams came off the bench for 10 points.

Park Hill South, 5-2, will play in the Patterson Division semifinal game at noon Friday.

Staley 44, Blue Springs 29

No players scored in double figures for Staley, but a balanced attack that produced nine players with at least one point led the Falcons to a 44-29 morning victory over Blue Springs in a Nelson Division quarterfinal game. Sophomore David Lewis and junior Byron Alexander each scored nine points for Staley. Sophomore Eli Wingert led Blue Springs with 11 points.

Grandview 70, Lincoln Prep 44

Grandview junior Reggie Morris scored 16 and senior Jermaine Yarbrough added 13, helping the Bulldogs to a victory over Lincoln Prep. Morris and Yarbrough were both six for 10 from the field.

Grandview, 8-1, will play Staley at 4:30 p.m. Friday in a Nelson Division semifinal game.

In later games ...

Liberty beat Oak Park 67-63 in a later first-round game.

The final game of the evening featured Blue Springs South vs. Hogan Prep.

This story was originally published December 26, 2018 at 5:44 PM.