By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
SALINA -- Silver Lake boys basketball coach Shannnn Kruger said a couple of times after Tuesday's game that the Eagles' performance was not a pretty one by any stretch and described it as a grind it out type of game.
And the Eagles did just that, knocking off Holcomb 47-37 at the Tony's Pizza Event Center to advance to the Class 3A semifinal.
Silver Lake senior Dayne Johnson scored a game-high 16 points in Tuesday's 47-37 win over Holcomb. [File photo/TSN]
“I prefer the ball to go into the basket,” Kruger said with a smile. “What we can control is our defensive effort and attention to detail and we talk about let’s not hope they miss, let's try to make a miss.
"Obviously I'd love to see great defense for us and us play a little more fluid offensively, but a game like that it was sure it was ugly, but we're okay with that.''
“I don’t think we played our best offensive game by far, but we always make our main focus defense and I thought we worked our butts off on defense, on the boards,'' said Silver Lake senior standout Dayne Johnson, who led all scorers with 16 points. "That means when you have a bad offensive game you still stay in the game and win.”
The Longhorns began the game on a quick 5-0 run but Silver Lake went on its own 10-2 run thanks to senior Drew Womack converted two and-one opportunities as the Eagles led by three (10-7).
After Silver Lake went up five (12-7), Holcomb called a timeout with 1:27 left in the quarter. The Longhorns then scored five straight and ended the quarter tied, 12-12.
The second quarter featured both teams struggling to get baskets, combining for just 10 points.
Johnson was quiet in the first half, scoring six points, four in the second quarter and Womack had eight and ended with that total.
Silver Lake took the lead at the half in the low scoring affair, 18-16.
The third quarter was much the same as the first half.
Johnson, who sank 8-10 free throws, helped the Eagles to a 20-19 lead and then Johnson ended an eight-minute field goal drought for Silver Lake with 3:42 left in the third quarter, putting the Eagles up, 22-19.
The Eagles took a seven point lead (29-22) heading into the fourth quarter, thanks to a Camden Kruger buzzer beating jumper in the paint.
Silver Lake scored seven straight to go up 12 (36-24) looking to be in the driver seat until the Longhorns went on a 7-2 run, and Silver Lake called a timeout with 4:02 left in the game.
After that, the Eagles went on another field goal drought but their clutch free throws kept them ahead and took home the victory. Silver Lake went 20-26 from the charity stripe in the game.
“(Free throws) and rebounding were huge for sure,” Shannon Kruger said.
“We always attack the bucket,'' Johnson said. "We’re not afraid of contact and when they call the calls we get to the line and knock them down.''
In a type of game like Tuesday, Kruger said the Big East League is a perfect example as to why it helps them prepare for the big stage.
“Every night in our league it's a challenge,'' he said. “Great coaching, great players and yeah we've been in a lot of close games over the last couple years, but specifically this year we've kind of seen it all it in terms of the schemes, playing from ahead, teams coming back playing from behind and it’s great competition. Our league absolutely prepares us.''
Grady Bergmann finished with 10 points for Silver Lake while Hunter Rooks and Kruger provided six apiece.
Silver Lake advanced to take on No. 1 seed Wichita Collegiate (25-1) on Thursday at Hutchinson Sports Arena with tip-off at six p.m.
SILVER LAKE 47, HOLCOMB 37
Holcomb 12 4 6 15 – 37
Silver Lake 12 6 11 18 – 47
Holcomb (21-6) – Sullivan A. 2-9 0-2 4, Sullivan B. 1-4 2-2 5, Deniston 1-8 2-2 4, Johnson 1-9 0-0 3, Brown 7-16 0-0 15, Thyme 1-4 1-1 3, Wickwar 1-1 0-0 2, Cranston 0-0 1-2 1, Mader 0-1 0-0 0 – 14-52 6-9 – 37
Silver Lake (21-6) -- Kruger 2-6 1-4 6, Johnson 4-12 8-10 16, Rooks 0-0 6-6 6, Bergmann 4-5 2-2 10, Miller 0-1 0-0 0, VanVactor 0-0 0-0 0, Womack 3-5 2-2 8, Kraus 0-3 1-2 1 – 13-23 20-26 – 47
3-point goals -- Holcomb 3 (Sullivan B., Johnson, Brown), Silver Lake 1 (Kruger). Total fouls -- Holcomb 23, Silver Lake 14. Fouled out -- Johnson (Holcomb). Technical fouls -- none.
