By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The Shawnee Heights T-Birds hung with the top-seeded team in Class 5A for as long as they could.
But eventually, two-time defending state champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel pulled away, their size, experience and depth just too much. The T-Birds’ season ended with a 53-38 loss in the quarterfinals in Wichita.
Shawnee Heights senior JaiMarion Cook led the T-Birds with 11 points in Tuesday's Class 5A 53-38 loss to Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
Shawnee Heights knew it had its hands full when it was seeded eighth in the bracket. Kapaun Mt. Carmel has followed up its back-to-back state titles with a 26-0 season thus far.
The T-Birds trailed just 12-10 after one period. But the Crusaders quickly hit on seven as their lucky number. They put together two 7-0 runs in the second period, then added another 7-0 run in the third period.
Heights slowed the Kapaun offense to a grind, giving up just 28 points in the first half. When the T-Birds scored first in the third period, they trailed just 28-20. But the eighth seed just couldn’t generate enough offense to pull off an upset. Shawnee Heights hit just 13-38 field goal attempts.
“We had a game plan. The kids tried to execute. They did execute – Kapaun had two-thirds of their average points,” Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting said. “At halftime, we were down 10 and in the game. But they got a couple of runs there.”
Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s height posed a problem for the T-Birds. The T-Birds were out-rebounded, 33-20.
The Crusaders got a handful of second-chance buckets on offensive rebounds while locking down the paint at the other end.
“It’s not a surprise if you look at (both teams’) records,” Darting said. “If you look out on the floor, the size and the athleticism. Just physically, they’re just better at every position.
“I always tell the kids, ‘Make sure you get beat, not lose. And when you get beat, it’s just because you weren’t good enough.' ”
Shawnee Heights advanced to the tournament by amassing a 15-8 regular-season record, then defeating De Soto and Leavenworth in sub-state. But that résumé was deemed only eighth best in the bracket, forcing the T-Birds into the dreaded 1-8 matchup.
“We lost eight games coming in. Seven of those eight are in the 5A or 6A tournament, and the eighth one is De Soto, who we eliminated,” Darting said. “So that shows you that we could probably play with just about every team in this tournament. We just got the draw we did.”
Senior Jaimarion Cook led the T-Birds in his final game with 11 points. Two other seniors – Ja’Veon Alston and Aiden Scott – also played their final games Tuesday.
The game was also the last in Darting’s long and noteworthy career. Over the years, the coach guided 15 teams, from Silver Lake, Highland Park and Shawnee Heights, to state tournaments. He said he was not disappointed by how it ended.
Junior Cam Ross scored 10 points for Shawnee Heights in Tuesday's Class 5A state tournament loss to Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
“I want to compete. I want to play hard. I’m disappointed when we don’t do those things,” Darting said. “Tonight, it’s easier because we came out and did those things. When you’re a competitor, you think you’re going to find a way. Every time, you’re going to get it done.
“But in reality, if we’d got beat by 40 points, I would be thinking ‘Man, we quit. We’re not a good basketball team.’ But we stayed. We fought, and we came up short.”
The undefeated Crusaders got 16 points apiece from senior Rocco Keller and junior Blaise Dalian. They will face Seaman on Thursday for a shot at the 5A championship game.
KAPAUN MT. CARMEL BOYS 53, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 38
Shawnee Heights 10 8 9 11 -- 38
Kapaun Mt. Carmel 12 16 15 10 -- 53
Shawnee Heights (17-9) – Alston 2-6 0-0 4, Cook 3-8 3-4 11, Ross 4-9 1-1 10, Scott 2-5 1-2 6, Dixon 1-8 2-2 4, Lee 0-0 0-0 0, Terrell 0-0 0-0 0, Lincoln 0-0 0-0 0, Halloran 0-0 0-0 0, Vega 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 13-38 7-9 38.
Kapaun Mt. Carmel (26-0) –. Maingu 4-6 0-0 8, Porter 0-4 0-0 0, Keller 7-11 1-3 16, Rapp 0-4 0-0 0, Dalian 7-12 0-0 16, Jones 5-9 0-0 10, Stuhlsatz 0-2 0-0 0, Cary 1-2 0-0 3, Gooch 0-0 0-0 0, Pogoue 0-0 0-0 0, Becker 0-0 0-0 0, Pelfry 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-50 1-3 53.
3-point goals – Shawnee Heights 5 (Cook 2, Ross, Scott, Vega), Kapaun Mt. Carmel 4 (Dalian 2, Keller, Cary). Total fouls – Shawnee Heights 4, Kapaun Mt. Carmel 8. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
