Blue Springs South wins Hy-Vee Shootout game on buzzer-beater

The screen came from the left, and Blue Springs South senior KJ Robinson curled around it toward the three-point line. On a play in which nearly everyone in the gym knew he would be getting the ball, Robinson received a pass and turned to face the rim.

For a brief moment, he would later say, he considered driving to the basket to attempt a game-tying shot. Instead, he pulled up behind the arc for the win.

Swish.

Robinson buried a three-pointer with 1.5 seconds left to lift Blue Springs South to a 71-70 win Friday against McPherson (Kan.) in the Hy-Vee Shootout at Avila University.

Blue Springs South, the defending Missouri Class 6 state champions, ended a 44-game winning streak for McPherson, the defending Kansas Class 4A Division I champions.

“He backed up on me a little bit, so I just took the shot,” Robinson said. “It looked good when it was in the air. I was just hoping and praying it went in.”

Most of them did Friday. Robinson made six of 11 three-points attempts and scored 31 points, despite spending a portion of the first half saddled on the bench in foul trouble.

And yet it wasn’t even the game-high output. Blue Springs South, 6-0, overcame a dominant showing from McPherson point guard Drew Pyle, who poured in 37 points.

“We’re still trying to find ourselves, but our kids are really resilient,” Blue Springs South coach Jimmy Cain said. “This was a great test early in the season. Hopefully it’s the type of game that will get us better.”

St. Thomas Aquinas 54, Rock Bridge 46

For two quarters, St. Thomas Aquinas junior Angelo Allegri attempted a wide array of shots — three-pointers, layups, mid-range jumpers — and watched them all clank off the rim.

Over the next two quarters, they started falling. In bunches, too.

Allegri scored all of his 12 points after halftime, helping St. Thomas Aquinas to a 54-46 win against Rock Bridge.

“I came out with a better attitude in the second half,” Allegri said. “My mind-set is that if I’m not making that first one, that second one is going to fall. If I don’t make the seventh one, I’m going to make that eighth one. Eventually, I know it’s going to fall.”

Karter Odermann had 13, and Ben Hagenkord added 12 for the Saints, who improved to 3-0 before a nearly three-week break for the holidays.

St. Teresa’s Academy 62, Blue Valley North 38

In its 16th appearance at the Hy-Vee Shootout, St. Teresa’s Academy produced its best offensive output.

And yet the Stars’ defense might have been even better.

The Stars rolled past Blue Valley North 62-38 for their third straight victory, improving to 4-3. They never trailed and held Blue Valley North to 28.3 percent shooting.

Eleanor Lueke had a double-double for St. Teresa’s Academy with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Olivia Woodbury made five three-pointers on her way to 17 points.

McPherson 44, Lee’s Summit 41

For Lee’s Summit, the run came too late.

The Tigers scored 10 consecutive points in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to climb out of a 16-point hole in a 44-41 loss to McPherson. Claire Lock led Lee’s Summit with 12 points, and Paige Elston added 10.

Liberty 44, St. Thomas Aquinas 34

On a night in which its starting five combined for only eight field goals, Liberty turned to its most reliable asset to keep an undefeated season intact.

Defense.

Liberty held St. Thomas Aquinas without a field goal for the opening six minutes of the fourth quarter, the final piece of a 44-34 win.

“That’s the best defense we’ve played all season,” Liberty point guard Sydney Offield said. “We did a great job on the help side, and that’s why we were so effective.”

Kayel Newland led Liberty, 7-0, with 11 points, though the Blue Jays shot only 33 percent from the field.

Alayna Townsell had a game-best 15 points for St. Thomas Aquinas.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 10:12 PM with the headline "Blue Springs South wins Hy-Vee Shootout game on buzzer-beater."