Olathe South & North advance to Kansas substate finals in boys high school basketball

The field of state-tournament hopefuls for boys high school basketball in Kansas narrowed on Tuesday.

Olathe South and Olathe North were among the teams moving on from substate-round games earlier this week.

Here’s a recap of their victories:

Olathe South 48, Blue Valley North 40

Olathe South is looking to return to state for the first time since 2020 and got one step closer Tuesday night.

Olathe South held off Blue Valley North in a Kansas Class 6A substate semifinal at Blue Valley North. With the win, the Falcons will next take on Shawnee Mission South, the No. 1 overall seed in Kansas Class 6A.

The Falcons (14-7 overall) were paced Tuesday by senior Nic Anderson’s 19 points. The guard’s nine in the first half helped Olathe South to a 17-point second period and 26-15 lead at intermission.

CJ Duson led Blue Valley North (14-7) with 12 points and Will Davis chipped in 11. Olathe South was 3-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final period, but BV North just couldn’t close the gap.

Falcons senior Drey Steinbacher hit his final 3-pointer of the evening during the fourth quarter to ice it.

Olathe South’s last trip to the state tournament occurred in 2020. The Falcons won in the quarterfinals before play was halted due to the COVID pandemic.

Olathe South will take on the Raiders at Shawnee Mission South at 7 p.m. Friday.

Olathe North 62, Olathe East 36

Olathe North is turning it on for the postseason, same as the Eagles have done for the past four years.

They topped a district rival Tuesday and will play a substate final Friday against Blue Valley, with a chance to advance to the program’s fourth consecutive state tourney.

Olathe North (15-6) clamped down on the Hawks from the outset in the substate game, holding East to 11 first-half points.

“Our defense was the story and our most complete game defensively for 32 minutes,” said Olathe North coach Adam Olerich. “We turned them over a lot and forced them to take tough shots. That was our goal going in, to play a complete game defensively, and we felt we did.”

The Eagles got going offensively, too, sparked by Max Galindo’s game-high 15 points off the bench. The senior guard drained a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to make it 12-6 and North didn’t look back.

“We like our depth, we like our bench. That showed tonight,” Olerich said. “Max had a terrific game. ... When he gets hot, he gets hot, and that basket was looking pretty big for him tonight.”

Galindo made four 3-pointers.

“My mentality is no one can guard me when I come off the bench, offensively and defensively,” Galindo said. “There’s a player from Iowa State (Curtis Jones) who is the sixth man and can come in and light it up. He can shoot from far, like me. That’s how I see myself.”

Olathe North’s Cam Love and Sam Simmons netted 10 points apiece; in all, ten Eagles scored.

But Galindo said the key to advancing past Blue Valley and on to state won’t be found on the offensive end.

“Defensively we played really good,” he said, “and (we) need to do that every night. We’re going to approach the game with a lot of energy, play hard defensively. Nothing’s going to be easy.”

Gooding scored 13 points to pace the Hawks, who finished the season 11-10.

For updated substate and district brackets, online broadcasts, stories and more, visit 810Varsity.com.