Boys 6A basketball: BVNW weathers Olathe North’s big first half; SM South downs Harmon
Blue Valley Northwest looked like anything but the defending Class 6A boys basketball champion in the first half Wednesday, going down by as many as 12 points against Olathe North.
But the No. 2-seeded Huskies regrouped, erasing a nine-point halftime deficit in just 5:06 of the third quarter, forging a 41-41 tie at the 2:54 mark and never trailing after that for a 75-70 quarterfinal victory.
In Friday’s semifinals, Blue Valley Northwest (21-2) will face sixth-seeded Shawnee Mission South, which outscored Harmon in the second half 28-19 for a 57-46 victory.
Senior 6-foot-7 point guard and Kansas signee Christian Braun led the way with game-high 33 points — 22 after halftime.
Braun put on a show in the second half in front of KU assistant coach Norm Roberts and former Jayhawk standout Wayne Simien. Of particular note was Braun hitting all 13 of his free throws, which has to be a welcome sight for a Jayhawks squad that occasionally struggles at the line.
“(Roberts) always likes me to shoot well from the free-throw line, especially because those are easy points,” Braun said. “(Wednesday) was a big stage, and I knew I had to step up and make them.”
It had to be a shock to find yourself trailing by that many in the first half.
“They did a really good job of making shots in the first half,” Braun said. “KT and Tymer (Raimey and Jackson) are really good players.”
But Braun had help. Sophomore Jack Chapman, held below 10 points in the first half, finished with 20 points and matched Braun with two three-pointers.
The Hawks (18-5) hit six of nine three-pointers in building their 37-28 halftime advantage. But the Huskies made short work of that in the third quarter.
Senior Michael Peake dunked on a stickback to start the rally. Peake dunked on an assist from Braun, and Chapman capped the run with a three-point play in the lane, followed by a lay-in with 2:54 left that tied the score.
From there, Braun hit a three, and Chapman and Braun hit shots in the lane for a 49-43 lead. Olathe North then kept it close, getting within two, 49-47, but Braun was fouled on a three-point try that he just threw up as the period ended. Three free throws later, the Huskies led 52-47, and despite the best efforts of junior Katrell Raimey and senior Tymer Jackson (29 and 24 points, respectively), Blue Valley Northwest stayed comfortably ahead.
Erasing the deficit as quickly was amazing in itself, Huskies coach Ed Fritz said.
“We knew those guys wouldn’t stay as hot as they did the first half,” he said. “So that kind of helped. We switched and put Christian on (Jackson). (Braun’s) reach kind of bothered him. We put a quicker guy and tried to play underneath (Raimey), and (6-0 senior) Jack Hungerford did that for us.”
The changes effectively stifled Olathe North’s perimeter game. The Hawks hit just two of nine three-point attempts after halftime.
No. 6 seed Shawnee Mission South 57, No. 3 Harmon 46: Held to just three first-half points, senior Evan Hickman finished with 23 points for the Raiders (19-4). Lonell Lane had 22 for Harmon (19-4).
No. 1 Washburn Rural 54, No. 8 Lawrence Free State 45 (OT): Blue Valley Northwest wasn’t the only lofty seed to get a scare in the quarterfinals. Free State (15-7) forced the extra period by outscoring the Junior Blues (22-1) 15-12 in the fourth quarter. The game was a grind throughout, but Washburn Rural senior Jordan White paced the victory by hitting overtime free throws and finished with a game-high 20 points.
No. 5 Wichita Southeast 70, No. 4 Lawrence 67: Southeast (20-3) used a 16-0 run to open the third quarter to take a 15-point lead, then had to repel many Lawrence comebacks and hold on for the victory. Sophomore Jackie Johnson paced the Golden Buffaloes with 32 points, including 13 of 15 free throws. Lawrence ended its season at 19-4.
This story was originally published March 6, 2019 at 10:35 PM.