Shawnee Mission Northwest & Olathe North will meet in Kansas 6A basketball title game

Shawnee Mission Northwest and Olathe North will meet in the Kansas Class 6A state championship game in boys basketball on Saturday.

Here’s a look at how each team advanced to the 4 p.m. matchup at Koch Arena in Wichita.

Shawnee Mission Northwest 63, Maize 55

Shawnee Mission Northwest will get its crack at going back-to-back.

The defending Kansas Class 6A state champion Cougars took care of Maize in the semifinals, 63-55, on Friday afternoon in Wichita.

Northwest (21-3), which won the 2024 title over Wichita Heights to cap a perfect 25-0 season, will face Sunflower League rival Olathe North at 4 p.m. Saturday.

“The guys were focused during the offseason of coming back here, doing something really special and trying to win another title,” Northwest head coach David Birch said. “We’re one step away from that, but know we have a tough one (ahead).”

After opening the state tourney with a blowout win in its quarterfinal, Northwest looked to be on its way to an easy semifinal victory with a 35-27 lead.

But Maize rallied, trailing just 39-37 with 3:28 to play in the third quarter. Senior Alec Grill had seven points in the period and finished the game with 22 points on four 3-pointers.

Cougars star Keaton Wagler, a University of Illinois commit, was held to just eight points on five shot attempts for the game. But Northwest turned inside to junior seven-footer Ethan Taylor, who stepped up with eight points in the fourth quarter. Taylor finished the contest with 19 points.

“I just had to absorb contact better as they were playing physical defense — and develop thicker skin,” said Taylor.

Cougars senior Tyler Salmon canned all four 3-point attempts in the first half en route to 18 points in the game. Van Collins added 12 points.

Maize (17-7) trailed 61-54 with 1:54 left but went scoreless for 94 seconds after, while Northwest was able to seal the game with free throws.

Olathe North 65, Wichita Heights 58

Olathe North continued its Cinderella run through the state tournament with a 65-58 win over Wichita Heights.

The No. 7-seeded Eagles defeated the No. 3-seeded Falcons Friday night at Koch Arena. O-North (18-6) will now face the reigning state champions and Sunflower League rival Shawnee Mission Northwest at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Going into halftime, the Eagles had claimed a 28-21 lead following a 12-0 run to end the quarter. Junior Sam Simmons had nine in the quarter and finished the game with 24 points. Senior Jaalan Watson scored eight in the quarter with 17 in the game.

The Eagles were able to pull away in the third with help from the Falcons, reaching the bonus just under three minutes into the period. Heights also went 3-for-11 from the charity stripe.

Olathe North held a 54-38 cushion entering the fourth, but the Falcons wouldn’t go down without a fight. The Falcons held the Eagles scoreless for the first 3:18 before senior B.J. Boyd made a layup, two of his 11 points in the game.

With 1:34 left, Heights was on a 9-0 run led by seniors Chase Robinson and Amalachi Wilkins to pull to 56-54. But Olathe North found separation with a couple buckets and two free throws from junior Cam Love with 51 seconds left.

Other Kansas high school basketball scores

Class 6A girls

Blue Valley North 65, Wichita Heights 42

Derby 68, Olathe North 55

Class 5A girls

St. Thomas Aquinas 68, Spring Hill 54

Class 4A girls

Bishop Miege 59, Hayden 42

Class 5A boys

Piper 60, Highland Park 55

Class 4A boys

McPherson 52, Ottawa 50 (2 OT)

This story was originally published March 15, 2025 at 12:17 AM.