See which KC-area basketball teams are movin’ on in the Kansas state tournaments

Here are some highlights from Wednesday’s action at the Kansas Class 6A boys high school basketball tournaments in Wichita.

The state tournaments for boys and girls basketball in all classifications continue through Saturday.

Shawnee Mission Northwest 76, Mill Valley 52

Shawnee Mission Northwest showed why it’s still the team to beat.

The No. 4-seeded Cougars, defending state champions, beat No. 5 seed Mill Valley at Koch Arena. The Jaguars won the regular-season matchup on a buzzer-beater, but not this time.

Junior Ethan Taylor, who was injured in the teams’ prior meeting, made his presence known with eight first-quarter points and finished with 20 overall.

“It was all going to come down to our defense,” senior Keaton Wagler said. “They have three great players who can score the ball well, and if we could shut one or two of them down, then we were going to win the game”.

Northwest did just that, holding senior Carter Kaifes and junior Jakhai Carter to 12 points combined. Mill Valley had just 17 points at halftime.

Wagler dominated the third quarter, scoring eight of the Cougars’ 19 points. The Illinois pledge finished with 19. Senior Tyler Salmon scored 12 in the fourth, 20 for the game.

Senior Thatcher Ivey (16) and junior Reece Riedel (15) led the scoring for the Jaguars.

Mill Valley finishes 18-5. Northwest (20-3) advances to the semifinals for a matchup with No. 8 seed Maize.

Maize 49, SM South 48

Brayden Myovela led the No. 8 seeded Eagles to an upset of No. 1 Shawnee Mission South, scoring the go-ahead layup with 6 seconds left to finish with 15 points.

SM South (21-2) had taken a 48-47 lead with under a minute remaining when Connor Kerrigan scored on a putback.

Maize got the winning bucket as Myovela scored on an inbounds play with 6.1 seconds to go. The Raiders faced a half-court trap and Maize intercepted a pass to ice it.

Connor Kerrigan scored a game-high 22 points for Shawnee Mission South and Ben Allen added 18. But the Raiders missed 6-foot-6 junior Drake DeBaun, who suffered a season-ending injury in the substate final.

Olathe North 69, Derby 50

The No. 7-seeded Eagles took down No. 2 Derby in another upset to advance to Friday’s state semifinals.

Paired with Maize’s upset of No. 1 Shawnee Mission South, the tourney’s top two seeds were bounced Wednesday.

Olathe North’s Connor Rabbitt hit a 3-pointer with 3:18 left in the first half and his team led 21-19 at halftime. The Eagles held Derby to just three points in the second quarter.

Senior Olathe North guard Jaalan Watson was hot after halftime, scoring 12 of North’s 25 points in the third quarter (and finishing with 17 overall).

“I just had to come out strong, make some shots and help our team be better,” Watson said.

It was 48-30 entering the final period.

Olathe North (17-6) faces No. 3 Wichita Heights in the semifinals Friday night.

Seniors Jack Ulwelling (13 points) and Cayden Titus (11) led the way for Derby (21-2).

Class 5A boys (KC-area schools)

Ottawa 63, Atchison 46

The Cyclones (23-0) stayed undefeated as Aiden McCullough paced Ottawa with 18 points. Jayce Mourning added 15.

McPherson 60, Baldwin 59 (OT)

Gabe Pyle hit a buzzer-beating floater for McPherson a few seconds after Baldwin had taken a 59-58 lead. Cooper Carr scored a game-high 27 points with 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (18-4).

Class 5A girls

St. Thomas Aquinas 51, Hays 48

The Saints (16-7) overcame a 23-19 halftime deficit behind Alexandra Crouse’s 21 points and Laila Boylan’s 18. Sofia Calovich added seven points and 12 rebounds.

Spring Hill 61, Maize South 56

Sydney Buscher led the way 26 points and 13 rebounds, while Isla Herman racked up 16 points and 12 rebounds for the Broncos (20-3).

Seaman 66, Piper 54

The team from Topeka was too much. Piper’s Grace McCallop finished her high school career with a 20-point game and Faith McCallop added 17 as the Pirates (18-5) fell to the Vikings.

Andover 49, St. James Academy 44

Riley Kerwin led the Thunder with 20 points; Regan Becker added 12 points and 11 rebounds.

Other Wednesday scores

Class 4A boys

Ottawa 63, Atchison 46

McPherson 60, Baldwin 59 (OT)

This story was originally published March 13, 2025 at 10:26 AM.