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As the patrons began to file into the United Wireless Arena, there was a buzz in the air. However, the Demons didn’t play for another two hours.
Thursday night’s contest between Wichita Heights and St. James Academy featured a multitude of collegiate talents, including Perry Ellis (Kansas) for the Falcons and Clint McCullough (William Jewell) for the Thunder.
The Thunder gave it all they got, but it will be the Falcons who move onto to the semifinals after dispatching St. James 60-43.
“St. James shot 6-of-12 from three in the first half and I told my guys to be up seven against a team shooting 50 percent from three is great,” said Wichita Heights head coach Joe Auer. “I feel we played better the second half, and a lot of that had to do with getting acclimated to the floor, the new environment and our kids diid a good job.”
While many pundits were favoring the Falcons to run away with the tournament crown, the Thunder opened up the first quarter with a statement of their own — letting Ellis and company know that they weren’t backing down without a fight.
The Falcons opened the scoring up after Ellis followed up a Heights miss with a slam, giving the “home” Falcons a 2-0 lead over Clint McCullough and St. James.
However, the opening period would be a back and forth battle, as McCullough showed why he was being highly recruited before choosing William Jewell.
A couple of buckets from him and a slew of three pointers from his teammates had the Thunder in the ball game with the Falcons, even though they would try time and time again to pull away.
Despite the flurry of three pointers from McCullough and Tom Huppe (three triples), the Falcons used a dominating inside presence from Ellis and Terrence Moore to give them an 18-11 lead at the end of the first.
Even though the Thunder were down by seven, they still didn’t give up hope as they attempted to knock off the team with the longest winning streak in the country.
The second quarter would be a bit more balanced on both ends as both squads exchanged turnovers and empty possession, while the Thunder and head coach Mark Huppe attempted to use their perimeter play to keep up with the Heights quickness and size.
The Thunder finished with six three-point field goals in the first half, but 54 percent shooting from the Falcons allowed them to keep their seven-point lead heading into halftime.
Moore, who is headed to Emporia State, finished the first half with 14 points, while the Kansas Jayhawk commit, Ellis, wound up with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
Wichita Heights came out of the locker room for the second half with the intention to run and make St. James keep up, which the Thunder had a difficult time doing.
Just when the Thunder thought they had a game, the Falcons used multiple mini-runs to help stretch out their lead as the St. James shooters had trouble finding space amongst the trees inside of the Falcon defense.
Heights would outscore the Thunder 11-7 in the third to extend their cushion to 11 points, thanks to six points in the quarter from Ellis.
One area that continued to hurt the Thunder was their inability to outrebound the Falcons, as Heights held a 12 board advantage through the first three quarters, with 14 of those coming from Ellis and Moore.
The fourth quarter would continue to be all Heights, as they continued to impose their will on the glass, as Ellis showed why he is one of the best players in the country, towering up and beyond the Thunder defenders.
There is a reason why this team has now won 53 games in a row.
As the clock reached three minutes, Heights had pushed their lead to 18 as their big combo tore apart the interior defense of the Thunder.
Heights won the game without much production from Gavin Thurman, who is committed to go to Missouri State next year.
It was a valiant effort from St. James, who found themselves outsized from the moment the ball was tipped off.
The Falcons were led by Ellis, who capped off a wonderful evening with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Moore hit 9-of-13 shots for 21 points and intercepted five Thunder passes.
“These are two guys that have played in three straight State championship games, so they have more experience than any kid in Kansas,” Auer said. “So, we expect them to identify and execute right away. Terrence had a terrific start tonight, lot of transition plays that got us going very early, so I thought he set the tempo for us early, no doubt.”
For the Thunder, McCullough finished with 19 points and five rebounds.
Now, Heights will move on to the 8:30 p.m. game tonight to play Dodge City, while St. James will play Hays at 3:30 p.m.
As the patrons began to file into the United Wireless Arena, there was a buzz in the air. However, the Demons didn’t play for another two hours.
Thursday night’s contest between Wichita Heights and St. James Academy featured a multitude of collegiate talents, including Perry Ellis (Kansas) for the Falcons and Clint McCullough (William Jewell) for the Thunder.
The Thunder gave it all they got, but it will be the Falcons who move onto to the semifinals after dispatching St. James 60-43.
“St. James shot 6-of-12 from three in the first half and I told my guys to be up seven against a team shooting 50 percent from three is great,” said Wichita Heights head coach Joe Auer. “I feel we played better the second half, and a lot of that had to do with getting acclimated to the floor, the new environment and our kids diid a good job.”
While many pundits were favoring the Falcons to run away with the tournament crown, the Thunder opened up the first quarter with a statement of their own — letting Ellis and company know that they weren’t backing down without a fight.
The Falcons opened the scoring up after Ellis followed up a Heights miss with a slam, giving the “home” Falcons a 2-0 lead over Clint McCullough and St. James.
However, the opening period would be a back and forth battle, as McCullough showed why he was being highly recruited before choosing William Jewell.
A couple of buckets from him and a slew of three pointers from his teammates had the Thunder in the ball game with the Falcons, even though they would try time and time again to pull away.
Despite the flurry of three pointers from McCullough and Tom Huppe (three triples), the Falcons used a dominating inside presence from Ellis and Terrence Moore to give them an 18-11 lead at the end of the first.
Even though the Thunder were down by seven, they still didn’t give up hope as they attempted to knock off the team with the longest winning streak in the country.
The second quarter would be a bit more balanced on both ends as both squads exchanged turnovers and empty possession, while the Thunder and head coach Mark Huppe attempted to use their perimeter play to keep up with the Heights quickness and size.
The Thunder finished with six three-point field goals in the first half, but 54 percent shooting from the Falcons allowed them to keep their seven-point lead heading into halftime.
Moore, who is headed to Emporia State, finished the first half with 14 points, while the Kansas Jayhawk commit, Ellis, wound up with 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting.
Wichita Heights came out of the locker room for the second half with the intention to run and make St. James keep up, which the Thunder had a difficult time doing.
Just when the Thunder thought they had a game, the Falcons used multiple mini-runs to help stretch out their lead as the St. James shooters had trouble finding space amongst the trees inside of the Falcon defense.
Heights would outscore the Thunder 11-7 in the third to extend their cushion to 11 points, thanks to six points in the quarter from Ellis.
One area that continued to hurt the Thunder was their inability to outrebound the Falcons, as Heights held a 12 board advantage through the first three quarters, with 14 of those coming from Ellis and Moore.
The fourth quarter would continue to be all Heights, as they continued to impose their will on the glass, as Ellis showed why he is one of the best players in the country, towering up and beyond the Thunder defenders.
There is a reason why this team has now won 53 games in a row.
As the clock reached three minutes, Heights had pushed their lead to 18 as their big combo tore apart the interior defense of the Thunder.
Heights won the game without much production from Gavin Thurman, who is committed to go to Missouri State next year.
It was a valiant effort from St. James, who found themselves outsized from the moment the ball was tipped off.
The Falcons were led by Ellis, who capped off a wonderful evening with 27 points and 11 rebounds, while Moore hit 9-of-13 shots for 21 points and intercepted five Thunder passes.
“These are two guys that have played in three straight State championship games, so they have more experience than any kid in Kansas,” Auer said. “So, we expect them to identify and execute right away. Terrence had a terrific start tonight, lot of transition plays that got us going very early, so I thought he set the tempo for us early, no doubt.”
For the Thunder, McCullough finished with 19 points and five rebounds.
Now, Heights will move on to the 8:30 p.m. game tonight to play Dodge City, while St. James will play Hays at 3:30 p.m.
