Boys Class 5A state basketball tournament
Last year’s 5A runner-up Lansing advanced to the semifinals with a 68-57 win over St. Thomas Aquinas. Next up is Wichita Heights, which beat Goddard-Eisenhower, 72-56. Tipoff is 4:45 pm Friday at the Topeka Expocentre. After Lansing’s run last year, it is the favorite to advance to the state championship game on Saturday.
Hays High stayed undefeated on Wednesday after its narrow 48-46 win over Salina Central. Everyone knew this would be a tough game based on Hays High’s 51-50 victory over Central in Salina earlier this year.
The Indians will play Highland Park on Friday at 8:15 pm in Topeka. Highland Park beat KC-Washington, 73-47, to start the tournament. Highland Park will have a homecourt advantage as the game is in its hometown, but Hays is on a magical run this year and is just two wins away from completing a perfect season.
Boys 3A state basketball tournament
Hesston beat Wichita Collegiate, 61-53, to start the tournament off and advance to the semifinals where it will take on Riverton, which beat Rock Creek 58-50 in round 1. Hesston has rolled through almost every opponent this year winning by double digits in all but four games.
Riverton comes into this game with two losses and only one to another Kansas school. Hesston looks to be the team to beat in 3A, but this game won’t be an easy win for the Swathers. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:15 pm Friday at Hutchinson Community College.
Both the No. 2 seed Beloit and No. 3 seed Nemaha Valley survived and advanced into the semifinals on the other side of the 3A bracket.
Beloit took care of business in a 52-46 win over Wellsville and Nemaha Valley beat Holcomb 76-66. Beloit’s only loss on the year was to 5A Maize South, but the Trojans played in plenty of close games throughout the regular season.
Nemaha Valley’s two losses were both to Sabetha in the regular season, a team it would eventually beat by 12 in the sub-state championship game.
Both Beloit and Nemaha Valley made the 3A state tournament last year with Beloit losing in the first round and Nemaha Valley claiming third place. Beloit is a slight favorite heading into the game which starts at 4:45 pm on Friday in Hutchinson.
Boys 1A Division I state basketball tournament
With St. John-Hudson moving up to 2A this year, No. 1 Marias Des Cygnes Valley took it upon itself to finish the regular season 23-0 and beat Clifton Clyde 54-45 in the first round of the state tournament to advance into the semifinals on Friday.
Its opponent will be Spearville, which beat Caldwell by a score of 69-34 on Wednesday. Marais Des Cygnes hasn’t lost yet and don’t expect them to lose in this round either.
No. 2 Hoxie moved into the semifinals with a 71-43 win over No. 7 Hartford. Its opponent in the semifinals on Friday at 8:15 pm in Emporia is Valley Heights, which took care of Macksville 67-51 in the first round.
Hoxie is riding a 22-game winning streak after losing its first game of the year and Valley Heights is six points from having an undefeated record coming into this game. This will be a great game and so will a Marais Des Cygnes vs. Hoxie 1A Division I state championship game.
Boys 1A Division II state basketball tournament
Beloit-St. John’s beat Northern Valley in the opening round of the 1A Division II state basketball tournament at Gross Coliseum in Hays by a score of 64-39. Chetopa beat Attica in a first-round game, 65-49, setting up a 1 vs. 4 matchup in the semifinals on Friday at 4:45 pm.
On the other side of the bracket, Wallace County will play Baileyville B&B for a chance to make it to the 1A Division II championship game.
Wallace County has been tough all year, even handing Hoxie its only loss on the year back on December 6. Bailey B&B has been up and down this year and was in a very tough sub-state having to beat both teams from last year’s state championship game back to back in order to earn a trip to the 1A Division II state basketball tournament.
B&B did just that beating Axtell and Fowler last week and now setting its sights on Wallace County. Game is set to tip at 8:15 pm Friday.
