WICHITA, Kan. — The Hesston boys basketball team opened the Class 3A state tournament with a dominant performance Tuesday night, defeating Scott City 60-25 in the quarterfinals at the Garvey Center on the Friends University campus.
The No. 2-seeded Swathers improved to 25-2 and advanced to Thursday’s state semifinal, where they will face No. 3 Burlington. Burlington defeated Heritage Christian Academy 59-44 in the other quarterfinal. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. Thursday at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Hesston seized control early and never trailed, racing to a 17-3 lead after the first quarter and extending the margin to 35-8 by halftime.
The Swathers shot a blistering 69.4 percent from the field, making 25 of 36 shots, while holding Scott City to just 7 of 32 shooting (21.9 percent). Hesston also dominated inside, scoring 36 points in the paint and finishing with a 26-16 rebounding advantage.
Drew Bartell led Hesston with 18 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Tyler Unruh added 13 points, while Jerick Humphreys scored 11 points off the bench, knocking down three 3-pointers.
Kason Landes contributed seven points and nine rebounds, and Gavin Larson added eight assists to help pace the Swathers’ offense.
Scott City struggled to generate offense throughout the night and did not reach double digits until the third quarter. Cooper Irvin and Carlos Meza each scored five points to lead the Beavers.