Blue Valley Northwest boys win third straight state title in basketball
With 20 seconds left, the hard work was over, and the job was done. Blue Valley Northwest seniors Christian Braun and Michael Peake knew it, and celebrated with an elaborate handshake that had at least five parts.
The Huskies’ Kansas Class 6A three-peat was official moments later in a 53-41 victory over Washburn Rural on Saturday at Koch Arena.
Northwest (23-2) needed a fourth-quarter comeback to oust Shawnee Mission South and advance to the title game. It didn’t repeat that mistake against Washburn Rural.
The Huskies dominated the first quarter 18-3, giving them all the cushion they needed.
“It’s my first time. I’m kinda pumped … I’m not trying to show everybody, but I’m pumped,” Peake said.
Peake scored a team-high 17 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and most of the postgame celebration brandishing the trophy for Huskies fans to admire.
“Coach (Ed Fritz) got on us about slow starts. Our first three starts were flat, so he told us to come out with energy, and that’s exactly what we did.”
BV Northwest came out in a zone, and its size and length stymied the Jr. Blues (23-2). The Huskies had no problem crashing the glass either, and they used the combination to build their insurmountable lead.
“We actually haven’t been playing very well in our zone. The last couple games they’ve been shooting us out of it,” Braun said. “We didn’t think we were going to be in zone the whole game, but we stayed in it and it worked out.”
Braun put an exclamation point on the season, the three-peat and his career with a driving dunk in the final minute.
Blue Valley Northwest now has five state titles, and this one means the most to Braun. Matthew Chapman, who missed the year with an injury, accepted the championship trophy in the postgame presentation.
“This one was more for my teammates and my family. This one means a lot more to me, actually,” Braun said. “Because I did it for the guys who haven’t done it before. I’m proud of us for getting it done, but I’m more happy for Matthew Chapman and other people on my team.”
Class 6A Boys Third Place
Wichita Southeast 77, Shawnee Mission South 66: Shawnee Mission South coach Brett McFall burned through two timeouts in the opening minutes, trying to stop the momentum of Southeast’s game-opening 13-0 run.
The Raiders never were able to get back into the game after the slow start, and finished their year 19-6, and in fourth place. Shawnee Mission South came within a whisker of dethroning Blue Valley Northwest on Friday, and wasn’t able to shake the rust.
“I was disappointed and surprised at how we started the game, because we haven’t done that in 25 games,” McFall said. “You can’t dig a hole like that against that good of a team.”
The Raiders did fight back in the fourth quarter, using their press to get as close as eight points.
Ontario Bigley led the Raiders with 21 points. Kennedy Rater had 13, and Jake Potthoff scored 12.
Class 6A Girls Third Place
Derby 71, Olathe Northwest 40: Olathe Northwest ran headlong into a motivated Derby team on Saturday afternoon and simply didn’t have any answers after digging itself into a 25-3 deficit after the first quarter.
The Ravens (16-9) made just 5 of 32 first-half shots. They also couldn’t stop Derby’s 6-foot-6 McDonald’s All-American, Kennedy Brown, who finished with 23 points, 16 rebounds and eight blocks.
Olathe Northwest enjoyed the ride to the last day of the season, despite the disappointment of finishing the season with two straight losses.
“As a coach, they did everything I asked to do. They played with lots of energy, and didn’t get down because the other team was on fire and we weren’t,” Ravens coach Joel Branstrom said. “As disappointing as the loss is, it’s about more than basketball.”
Sarah Gueldner finished her career with 22 points, and junior Elizabeth Thomas scored 13.
This story was originally published March 9, 2019 at 8:34 PM.