Kansas: Wichita Heights does it again

Not since 1993 and 1994, when Wichita South last turned the trick, had anybody won back-to-back Class 6A boys state basketball championships in Kansas. But many roundball fans questioned whether that trend would continue as Wichita Heights returned to full health early this season.

Although the Falcons didn’t exactly run away with Saturday’s 56-40 title win over Blue Valley Northwest, Wichita Heights did keep the Huskies at arms' length once the Falcons bolted to a 28-16 halftime advantage.

"Blue Valley Northwest, they’re a good basketball team," Wichita Heights 6-foot-5 point guard Evan Wessel said of the runner-up. "I mean, obviously, to make it to the state championship … they’re fundamentally sound and they were strong throughout the whole game."

Wessel, who managed to play in the 37-3 loss to Olathe North in last fall’s state championship football game despite a broken hand, scored seven points, pulled down nine rebounds and dished out seven assists.

Dreamius Smith, another member of the Heights football team, scored 10 points in the win.

"Just to get to two state championships in one year for me, in any sport, is just amazing," Wessel said. "Especially to win this one here is just unbelievable."

Although he is the team’s leading scorer, sophomore all-stater Perry Ellis said his job going into the title game was to rebound. Ellis did a lot of each, scoring 20 points and pulling down 11 rebounds as the Falcons secured another big-school basketball title.

"It was real tough," Ellis said of repeating as basketball champions. "We were playing with a target on our backs all year. We always had to play hard because everybody wanted to give us their best shot."

Tyler Brashears and Brett Fisher led the way for Blue Valley Northwest with 16 points apiece.

Wichita Heights' Dreamius Smith (5) drives during the Class 6A championships.

Photo by Dean Backes

Class 5A Championship – Bishop Miege 71, Topeka West 47

Bishop Miege used a balanced scoring attack to run rough shod through the Class 5A bracket this year. Four Stags averaged double figures for the tournament as the Eastern Kansas League squad out scored its opposition 226-148. Alabama-bound Trevor Releford poured in a team high 58 points for the tournament, including 24 points in the championship game.

Rodney Givens scored 18 points in the championship win, while Curtis Okafor added 14 points for the Stags, who have now won the Class 4A football and Class 5A basketball titles in the same school year. Alex North and Jarrod Kruger led the Chargers with 12 and 11 points respectively.

Class 4A Championship – Kansas City-Sumner Academy 66, Ottawa 45

Sumner Academy (Kansas City) won its first state title since 2000 by extending its lead in each quarter. The Sabres were just as dominating on the boards as they were on the scoreboard, out-boarding the Cyclones 53-21. Maurice Holliday led four Sabres in double figures by scoring a game-high 22 points. Benjamin Parker added 11 points, while Davonte Chaney and Anthony White scored 10 each. Adam Hasty and Semilore Ojeleye led Ottawa with 20 and 14 points, respectively.

Three seniors scored in double figures as the Spartans defended their 2009 Class 3A title with a record-breaking margin of victory. The 40-point win vaults the Spartans past Goddard’s 3A mark of 30 points, set with an 84-54 win in 1964. The Spartans also equaled the all-class spread of 40 points, which Wichita Heights set with a 92-52 triumph over Kansas City-Wyandotte in 1977.

Bryce Cornejo (15), Blake Jablonski (12) and Brett LeMaster (10) led the Spartans, while Casy Arganbright paced the Lions with eight points.

Class 2A Championship – Berean Academy 44, Pittsburg-Colgan 32

Berean Academy (Elbing) used an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to turn a tight game into a double-digit win. Lonnie Penner led the champions in this low-scoring affair with a game-high 18 points. Christian Smith paced the runner-up with 12 points.

Class 1A Championship – Hanover 58, South Gray 49

The defending champions prevailed again. Connor Hynek and Taylor Nicholson combined for 29 points in the win, while Trevor Jueneman and Charles Alexander chipped in 10 points apiece. Chase Clancy, one of the tournament’s most prolific scorers regardless of class, paced South Gray with a game-high 28 points

Broken records

As is his slogan, Burrton senior Alex Santiago left it all on the court Wednesday when he not only broke the Class 1A record for points scored in a tournament game, but set an all-class mark as well.

Santiago outdistanced former Brewster standout Josh Reed, who scored 47 points in a contest in 1996. Reed also held the all-class record until Santiago’s finale Wednesday.

McPherson’s Christian Ulsaker was at his best in opening round action, as well. The 6-5 junior scored 38 points in the Bullpups’ 81-56 quarterfinal win over Kansas City-Washington. Martin Lewis of Liberal (1991) and Arkansas City’s Matt Brumley (1994) shared the old record of 37 points scored in a single state tournament game.

Penner and Banzhaf go head-to-head

Berean Academy’s Lonnie Penner and Lyndon’s Derek Banzhaf cancelled each other out by scoring 37 points each during Thursday’s quarterfinals. Lucky for Penner, he received a little more offensive help from his teammates than Banzhaf did, as the Warriors pulled out a 73-62 quarterfinal win over the Tigers during their Class 2A championship run.

State Tournament leading scorers by class