Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2009

Lancers continue to have Hawks boys' number

East season ends in physical affair at state

EMPORIA — Olathe East's boys knew what to expect in the Class 6A state opener Wednesday against Shawnee Mission East at White Auditorium.

The Hawks and Lancers had played a thriller Feb. 24, which featured a game-winner from SM East senior Marcus Webb that effectively split the Sunflower League crown between the two teams.

So, East knew it was in for a struggle but hoped a better result than its 47-46 loss. Unfortunately for the Hawks and their fans, another hard-fought, down-to-the-wire battle went the Lancers' way 54-51.

“I felt like we were in a street fight instead of a basketball game,” Hawks coach Jim Super said.

All the hand checks, clutching and grabbing seemed to throw East's guards off kilter, which contributed to a 4-for-17 shooting performance from 3-point range. Ultimately, that inability to hit shots ended the Hawks' season.

“I'm real disappointed,” said senior Danny Mundweiler, who scored 12 — mostly from the line. “We thought this was our year. We had a lot of experience, but it just wasn't our game tonight. Not being able to make shots made it real frustrating. We had a lot of chances to put it away, but shots just weren't falling for us tonight.”

East's last gasp — after junior Ben Schmitz unbelievably banked in a 3 from the right corner with 15.3 seconds left — came with SM East in front 54-51 following a free throw by Webb.

Senior Bruce Reed set a pick at the top of the key, hoping to free Mundweiler for a drive to the basket or a pitch back for a 3-point look. The third option was Schmitz on the right wing, which was the option the Lancers allowed.

“We got the shot we wanted, but it just didn't go in,” Super said. “But that's what we were looking for is that 3 and you've got to take it. It was an open look. When it goes in, it's pretty. When it doesn't, you end up going home early.”

East actually got an offensive rebound off Schmitz's miss, but Mundweiler's desperation 3 with 0.4 seconds left from the left corner clanged off the side of the backboard.

During the first quarter, it was Reed's world. His Hawks teammates and SM East merely were living in it.

Reed dominated both sides of the floor, swatting five Lancers shots in the first five minutes and finishing the period with eight points and four rebounds.

“I was trying to get my team fired up early and get the momentum since we lost to them earlier in the season,” said Reed, who capped his Hawks career with 16 points, 12 rebounds, seven blocks and three steals.

The East senior's performance, which included a thunderous putback dunk off a missed layup by sophomore Tyler Kalinoski and another jam off a steal at halfcourt in the quarter's closing seconds, helped the Hawks open a 12-8 lead.

Foul trouble and the turnover bug big East hard in the second quarter.

Kalinoski, who scored eight of his 10 first-half points in the opening minutes of the period, kept the Hawks in front, but the Lancers surged to the halftime lead after Reed went to the bench with his second foul at the 4:37 mark.

SM East, which benefitted from 12 East turnovers and went to the line 15 times in the first half, closed on an 11-3 run with Reed sitting and led 25-23 at the break.

“Bruce was killing them in the first half, but when he got in foul trouble and they started taking me away we struggled on offense and that changed the momentum,” Mundweiler said.

2009 Class 6A state tournament

First round

at White Auditorium, Emporia

SM EAST 54, OLATHE EAST 51

Shawnee Mission East (17-6): Marcus Webb 1-4 1-4 3, Winn Clark 7-10 12-16 26, Charlie Ludington 2-4 2-5 7, Curran Darling 0-2 0-2 0, Jack Slaughter 3-8 1-2 7, Scott Kennedy 1-3 0-0 3, Chase Lucas 0-0 0-0 0, John Delgado 2-5 3-5 8. Totals 16-36 19-34 54.

Olathe East (19-4): Danny Mundweiler 2-7 8-10 12, Tyler Kalinoski 4-11 0-0 10, Bruce Reed 6-8 4-4 16, Anthony Nemec 1-1 0-0 2, Cody Gafford 0-1 0-0 0, Bryce Schippers 2-5 0-0 5, Michael Starling 1-1 1-2 3, Ben Schmitz 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 17-38 13-16 51.

SME 8 17 15 14 — 54

OE 12 11 12 16 — 51

Three-point goals: SME 3-6 (Delgado 1-1, Kennedy 1-1, Ludington 1-2, Webb 0-2), OE 4-17 (Kalinoski 2-5, Schippers 1-4, Schmitz 1-4, Mundweiler 0-2, Reed 0-2). Rebounds: SME 19 (Slaughter 7), OE 31 (Reed 12). Assists: SME 7 (Ludington 3), OE 8 (Mundweiler 4). Turnovers: SME 8, OE 16.

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