Skinner's hoop saves Rebels

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Mar 6, 2008 by Nick Schwien

By Nick Schwien

SPECIAL TO THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

HAYS - Truth be told, Andy Skinner didn't think his shot had a chance.

The Centralia boys' basketball team wished he was right.

The South Gray senior hit a one-handed, driving bank shot with 2.3 seconds remaining Wednesday night to propel the defending champs to a 43-41 win over Centralia in the first round of the Class 1A state tournament at Gross Memorial Coliseum.

"Truthfully, I didn't think it was going in," Skinner said. "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good."

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That "luck" shot sent the Rebels (23-3) into Friday's 8:15 p.m. semifinal against Colony-Crest, which was a 56-30 winner against Greensburg. And it left the Panthers with another rotten taste in their mouth after playing South Gray, a team Centralia (21-3) lost to in last year's title tilt.

Skinner wasn't the only one that thought his shot was off the mark. So did Centralia junior Ben Steinlage, who scored a game-high 28 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

"I really didn't think it was going in," he said. "But it hit the glass and rolled in. It was a heck of a shot."

Steinlage single-handedly put the Panthers on top late in the second quarter, breaking open a close game through the first 12 minutes.

After South Gray senior Eli Applegate was whistled for his second foul with 3:58 to go before halftime, Steinlage scored all nine points in a 9-0 run to close out the half - including an array of bank shots, a jumper from beyond the free throw line and a conventional three-point play.

That boosted the Panthers to a 23-16 lead at the break - their biggest of the half.

But the defending champs came clawing back, pulling within 33-32 at the end of the third quarter.

Senior Clyde Redger led South Gray with 15 points and seven rebounds while the Panthers - and foul trouble - kept Applegate, the team's leading scorer, to only five points.

OLPE 58, NATOMA 47 - The Eagles (24-2) got the halftime message from their coach, then they executed it.

Olpe broke open a three-point lead in the third quarter with a staunch defense and the offensive work of junior Cole Krueger and sophomore Bradley Argabright.

"(Coach Chris) Schmidt said we had to come out and get after them or they were a team that could come back and bite us," said Krueger, who finished with 27 points and 11 rebounds.

The win put Olpe in Friday's 4:45 p.m. semifinal against Hanover.

Argabright finished with 18 points and four assists.

COLONY-CREST 56, GREENSBURG 30 - Making your school's first state appearance in 17 years adds nervousness. Playing the sentimental favorite in the first round adds even more nervousness.

But Colony-Crest (25-1) looked every bit the top seed by rolling out of the gates to a 10-5 lead after the first quarter and a 22-11 lead at halftime against a team that didn't play a home game all year long after the devastating tornado May 4 in Greensburg.

"It was tough," said junior Brandon Newton, who scored a game- high 17 points and had 12 rebounds. "But we just had to keep our eye on the prize."

Junior Todd Johnston added 12 points, and sophomore Bryan Newton finished with 10.

Junior Andrew Seiler led Greensburg with 10.

HANOVER 52, SHARON SPRINGS 47 - Hanover trailed 26-25 at halftime before outscoring Sharon Springs 16-7 in the third period to reach the semifinals against Olpe.

"We just had to come out and play hard," said junior John Bruna, who had 11 of his 14 points in the first half. "We had to play better defensively."

Junior Alex Bruna and senior Kellan Tegtmeier added 13 and 10 points for Hanover, while senior Taylor Elder finished with 13 for Sharon Springs.

Olpe 58, Natoma 47

Natoma__13__12__14__8__-__47

Olpe__15__13__19__11__-__58

Natoma (20-5) - Griffin 1-8 0-0 2, McNeal 2-4 0-0 4, Dunlap 1-5 0- 0 3, Theleman 2-2 0-0 4, Jason Crawford 9-24 7-8 26, Hashenberger 0- 1 0-0 0, Angel 1-1 0-1 2, Boller 1-6 0-0 2, Eickhoff 0-0 0-0 0, Frye 0-0 0-0 0, Beisner 0-0 0-0 0, Lyle 2-3 0-2 4. Totals 19-54 7-11 47.

Olpe (24-2) - Cole Krueger 10-18 7-10 27, Bradley Argabright 8- 13 0-1 18, Medenciy 2-10 0-0 6, Klumpe 1-9 0-0 2, Schneider 0-2 1-2 1, Kehres 0-0 0-0 0, Hammond 0-0 0-0 0, Vaughn 0-0 0-0 0, Redeker 1- 3 2-2 4, Dreier 0-0 0-0 0, Duenas 0-0 0-0 0, Schmidt 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-55 10-15 58.

3-pointers - Natoma 2-11 (Dunlap 1-3, Crawford 1-6, Boller 0-2); Olpe 4-12 (Argabright 2-2, Medenciy 2-9, Redeker 0-1).Total fouls - Natoma 14, Olpe 15. Fouled out - none.

Hanover 52, Sharon Springs 47

Sharon Springs__11__15__7__14__-__47

Hanover__13__12__16__11__-__52

Sharon Springs (20-5) - Bieker 2-8 0-0 5, Taylor Elder 5-15 1-3 13, Hennick 2-7 2-2 6, Andrews 4-10 1-2 9, O'Connor 3-7 1-2 8, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Howard 2-2 2-3 6. Totals 18-49 7-12 47

Hanover (24-2) - Kellan Tegtmeier 3-8 4-12 10, C. Diederich 2-5 1-2 5, Schotte 0-8 0-0 0, Alex Bruna 4-7 5-7 13, John Bruna 6-8 2-5 14, Hynek 0-0 0-0 0, J. Diederich 4-5 0-0 8, Loges 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 20-43 12-26 52.

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Skinner's hoop saves Rebels

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Mar 6, 2008 by Nick Schwien

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