Northwest (Olathe) survives at Olathe East

After surviving a first-half scoring onslaught by East (Olathe) all-state guard Tyler Kalinoski and dealing with a raucous Hawk crowd all night long, Northwest (Olathe) made just enough plays down the stretch to pull out a key 47-45 Sunflower League win over its crosstown rival last week.

With the win, the upstart Ravens jump a spot in the latest Kansas Class 6A state basketball rankings to fourth, and move into the all-class Top 10 for the first time this season at No. 7. But more importantly, Mike Grove's squad remains unbeaten atop the Sunflower League standings.

"It was a good win against our crosstown rival," Grove said earlier this week. "It was a win with implications for us down the road as far as our league goes, our sub-state ranking and that sort of thing. But we still have a lot of room for improvement."

Northwest grabbed the game's largest lead at 10-4 in the opening quarter. But Kalinoski evened the score when he made three straight free throws, after getting fouled while he was attempting a 3-pointer. And then he drilled a 3-pointer on East's next possession to even the score at 10 after a period of play.

The 6-foot-3-inch senior guard scored 22 of Olathe East's first 25 points before finishing with 27 points and eight rebounds. He was 4-for-13 from beyond the arc and finished 9-for-20 from the floor.

"They were doing a little high ball screening and we were trying to figure out how we wanted to stop it," Grove said of Kalinoski's hot hand. "I think we just got caught a little."

Once East tied the game going into the second quarter, neither team could muster more than a three-point advantage in a contest that featured seven ties and 17 lead changes. As was expected, the contest was tight late in the fourth quarter when the Ravens blocked Cole Cook's 3-pointer at the end of regulation to force overtime tied 43-43.

Raven senior Austin Fisher then knocked down a 3-pointer with 2:46 remaining in the extra period to give Northwest the lead for good at 46-43. Cook connected on a pair of free throws to pull the Hawks within 46-45 before Davis Reid hit the second of two free throws late to give the Ravens a 47-45 advantage.

Following a Raven timeout with 10-seconds remaining in overtime, Northwest did not allow the hosts to get a good look at the basket.

"Coach just said that he didn't want Kalinoski to shoot the ball," Olathe Northwest big man Willie Cauley said after he scored 16 points, pulled 12 rebounds and blocked three shots. "Everybody over played on him and nobody else stepped up for them and tried to shoot."

Nelson earns win No. 700

With a 69-11 win over Lebo Tuesday, Olpe girls basketball coach Jesse Nelson captured the 700th win of his 33-year career at the small school basketball power. The win also secured the school's 43rd Lyon County League title, which includes both regular season titles as well as tournament championships.

Nelson is averaging 21 wins a season for the Eagles, who are the defending Class 2A state basketball champions. Olpe sits atop the Class 1A-1 rankings again this week.

"I think the biggest thing is that I've had the right kind of kids that just match me and buy into what we're trying to do," Nelson told the Topeka Capital Journal. "I've been fortunate. I've had only three assistants in my career and each has given me different things. And I've had great parents during my time here, and my family has been tremendous through it all. It's just been the right fit."

Below is a look at the latest Kansas boys and girls basketball rankings.

KANSAS BOYS BASKETBALL RANKINGS

TOP 10
1. Heights-Wichita (8-0) 1
2. McPherson  (9-0) 2
3. Blue Valley Northwest-Overland Park (7-0) 3
4. Washington-Kansas City (6-0) 4
5. East-Wichita (7-1) 5
6. Harmon-Kansas City (6-0) 6
7. Northwest-Olathe (7-1) –
8. Basehor-Linwood (7-0) 7
9. Highland Park-Topeka (7-1) 9
10. Washburn Rural-Topeka (6-1) –

CLASS 6A
1. Wichita Heights (8-0) 1
2. Blue Valley Northwest (7-0) 2
3. Wichita East (7-1) 3
4. Olathe Northwest (7-1) 5
5. Topeka Washburn Rural (6-1) 7
6. Leavenworth (6-1) 8
7. Olathe East (6-2) 4
8. Olathe South (6-2) 10
9. Dodge City (6-2) 6
10. Topeka High (5-2) –

CLASS 5A
1. McPherson (9-0) 1
2. Kansas City-Washington (6-0) 2
3. Kansas City-Harmon (6-0) 3
4. Topeka Highland Park (7-1) 4
5. Kansas City-Schlagle (6-1) 6
6. Lansing (6-2) –
7. Andover Central (6-2) 5
8. Salina Central (5-3) 10
9. Liberal (6-3) –
10. St. Thomas Aquinas (5-3) 9

CLASS 4A
1. Basehor-Linwood (7-0) 1
2. Abilene (8-0) 4
3. Holton (8-0) 5
4. Wichita Trinity Academy (8-0) 6
5. Kansas City-Sumner Academy (8-1) 2
6. St. James Academy (5-3) 7
7. Topeka Hayden (4-3) 3
8. Ottawa (7-2) 9
9. Buhler (7-1) 10
10. Towanda-Circle (8-1) 8

CLASS 3A
1. Scott-Scott City (8-0) 3
2. Hutchinson Trinity (8-0) 5
3. Hoisington (8-0) 6
4. Wichita Collegiate (7-1) 1
5. Beloit (7-1) –
6. Sterling (8-1) 7
7. Minneapolis (7-1) 2
8. Silver Lake (6-2) 8
9. Atchison County (8-0) 10
10. Riley County (6-2) 4

CLASS 2A
1. Washington County (9-0) 1
2. Berean Academy (8-0) 2
3. Pittsburg-Colgan (6-1) 3
4. Plainville (10-0) 4
5. Syracuse (7-1) 6
6. Meade (7-1) 7
7. Herington (9-1) 5
8. Nemaha Valley (6-2) 8
9. Sublette (7-1) 10
10. Oswego (7-1) –

CLASS 1A-1
1. South Gray (9-0) 2
2. Ashland (9-0) 3
3. Pretty Prairie (9-0) 4
4. Hanover (6-1) 1
5. Quinter (7-1) 5
6. Baileyville B&B (8-1) 6
7. Stockton (8-0) 8
8. Lakeside (8-0) 9
9. Macksville (8-1) 10
10. Waverly (9-1) 7

CLASS 1A-2
1. Wilson (6-1) 1
2. Caldwell (7-1) 2
3. Hope (8-1) 4
4. Elwood (5-1) 5
5. Chase (8-1) 6
6. Fowler (6-2) 3
7. South Barber (5-3) 10
8. Tribune-Greeley County (8-3) –
9. Weskan (7-2) 8
10. Elyria Christian-McPherson (6-3) –

KANSAS GIRLS BASKETBALL RANKINGS

TOP 10
1. South (9-0) 1
2. Heights (8-0) 2
3. Aquinas (8-0) 3
4. West  (7-0) 4
5. Newton (9-0) 6
6. Cheney (9-0) 7
7. McPherson (8-1) 8
8. Washburn Rural (7-2) 9
9. Northwest (6-1) –
10. Bishop Miege (6-1) 5

CLASS 6A
1. Olathe South (9-0) 1
2. Wichita Heights (8-0) 2
3. Shawnee Mission West (7-0) 3
4. Topeka Washburn Rural (7-2) 4
5. Olathe Northwest (6-1) 7
6. Dodge City (7-1) 9
7. Wichita Northwest (6-1) 10
8. Olathe East (5-2) 5
9. Maize (6-2) 6
10. Manhattan (5-2) 8

CLASS 5A
1. St. Thomas Aquinas (8-0) 1
2. Newton (9-0) 3
3. McPherson (8-1) 4
4. Bishop Miege (6-1) 2
5. Salina South (8-1) 5
6. Blue Valley (5-2) 7
7. Andover (6-1) 8
8. Emporia (5-2) –
9. Wichita Bishop Carroll (6-2) 6
10. Topeka Highland Park (5-2) –

CLASS 4A
1. Cheney (9-0) 1
2. Holton (8-0) 2
3. Colby (10-1) 3
4. Girard (7-0) 9
5. Towanda Circle (8-1) 4
6. Rose Hill (8-1) 6
7. Ottawa (7-1) –
8. Basehor-Linwood (6-1) 7
9. Haven (9-1) 5
10. Abilene (7-1) 10

CLASS 3A
1. Jefferson County North (8-0) 1
2. Smith Center (8-0) 2
3. Riley County (7-1) 3
4. Southwestern Heights (7-1) 4
5. Holcomb (8-1) 5
6. Southeast of Saline (8-0) 6
7. Sabetha (7-1) 7
8. Osage City (9-1) –
9. Atchison County (7-1) 8
10. Thomas More Prep Marian (6-2) –

CLASS 2A
1. Berean Academy (7-0) 1
2. Washington County (9-0) 2
3. Hill City (6-1) 3
4. Cimarron (8-1) 4
5. Oskaloosa (7-1) 5
6. Oakley (8-1) 6
7. Ell-Saline (7-2) 7
8. Moundridge (7-2) 9
9. Chase County (7-1) –
10. Republic County (7-3) 8

CLASS 1A-1
1. Olpe (7-0) 1
2. St. John (8-0) 2
3. Claflin (9-1) 4
4. South Central (8-1) 6
5. Macksville (7-1) 7
6. Sylvan-Lucas (7-1) 3
7. Little River (8-1) 8
8. Hanover (6-1) 5
9. Hoxie (8-1) 9
10. Spearville (8-2) 10

CLASS 1A-2
1. Argonia (9-0) 1
2. Hutchinson Central Christian (8-1) 2
3. St. John's (7-1) 5
4. Thunder Ridge (8-2) 6
5. Frankfort (6-2) 7
6. South Barber (8-3) 4
7. Quivira Heights (6-3) 3
8. Bucklin (6-3) 8
9. Wilson (5-2) 9
10. Norwich (6-3) 10