Rockhurst beats Fort Osage on last-second free throws at William Jewell Holiday Classic

Rockhurst junior Chris Teahan stepped to the free-throw line with just one point and 1 second separating the Hawklets from the Cardinal Division semifinals Monday at the William Jewell Holiday Classic.

He buried the first free throw to tie the game, and knocked down the second to deliver a 56-55 first-round victory over Fort Osage.

“We kept on fighting and eventually the ball came, down one. I kept calm and knocked them down,” Teahan said. “It feels pretty good. That’s all I can say.”

Third-seeded Rockhurst will play No. 2 seed Blue Springs at noon Tuesday at noon for the chance to advance to the championship game. The Hawklets have eight titles in their previous 26 appearances in the tournament, with a 54-21 record including Monday’s victory.

The Hawklets trailed by as many as 10 points in the third quarter, but cut the lead with a string of unguarded three-pointers in the fourth quarter to outscore the Indians 19-11. Scotty Thompson pulled them within one point with his only three of the night and finished with a team-best 13 points. Teahan and Xavier Rhodes added 10 points each.

Rockhurst capitalized on a 38-18 rebounding advantage and forced 18 turnovers. Fort Osage also missed a handful of free throws down the stretch.

Fort Osage’s Rayshaun Horn led all scorers with 19 points. He went 7 for 15 from the field and only missed two shots inside the arc. The Indians will face Winnetonka at 9 a.m. in the consolation semifinals.

Blue Springs 70, Winnetonka 39

Second-seeded Blue Springs eased its way into the Cardinal Division semifinals with a rout of Winnetonka.

“I was a little disappointed with some of our half-court defense early on, but I thought we did a good job in the second half making adjustments,” Blue Springs coach Adam Jones said. “We’re trying to get our fingertips on the ball, rebound and go.”

Blue Springs finished with seven steals and only turned the ball over six times in the game.

The Wildcats held a narrow 16-11 lead at the end of the first quarter and did the majority of their damage in the second and third. They outscored the Griffons 44-17 in that time to start a running clock in the fourth quarter.

Three Blue Springs players finished in double figures, with Justin Hall’s 17 points leading the way. Cory Bonner followed with 13 and Tyree King added 12. The team shot 55.3 percent, with 11 more field goals in three more attempts than the Griffons.

Omar Wright and Darius Campbell led the Griffons with eight points each.

Liberty North 56, Kansas City Southwest 40

A big second quarter helped the Liberty North Eagles take the lead and create some distance from Southwest in the Cardinal Division quarterfinals.

The Eagles shot 46.8 percent in the game and were led in scoring by Michael Hughes. He had 22 points and went 10 for 14 from the field.

Jalen Gant had a game-high 24 points for the Indians.

Early Monday games

Raytown defeated William Chrisman 60-17 to advance to the Nelson Division consolation final. The Blue Jays will face Oak Park, which beat Smithville 58-55. That game will be played at 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

Truman beat Central 66-44 and Raymore-Peculiar topped North Kansas City 54-39 to move into the Patterson Division consolation final. That game will be played at 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 9:47 PM with the headline "Rockhurst beats Fort Osage on last-second free throws at William Jewell Holiday Classic."