Courtesy of KSHSAA website game recap
HUTCHINSON, Kan- The Hesston boys want to clear one thing up -- as great as back-to-back state championships are, they aren't even the first basketball team in school history to do that.
Coach Greg Raleigh and senior forward Brayden Schilling mentioned it Friday, and senior guard Cason Richardson brought it up Saturday that the Hesston girls already had consecutive state titles.
These Swathers still made history, as their 51-41 win over Royal Valley on Saturday at the Sports Arena wrapped up the Swathers' second straight Class 3A title, joining the Hesston girls, who won in 2014 and 2015.
Hesston's Cason Richardson (14) hoists the Class 3A state championship trophy after the Swathers won their second straight title Saturday in Hutchinson.
"It's amazing. Incredible," said Richardson, who came back from a torn ACL in January to help Hesston win another title.
"It feels great," said Raleigh, who has now won three titles in 12 years at Hesston. "It never gets old."
Hesston returned a strong group from last year's winning team, but that may have been the only problem for Hesston in its quest to repeat - the pressure and expectations of doing so.
"We've played good teams, and they were effective," Raleigh said. "But I feel we've been a little tight all year. They wanted to win a second (title) all year, and they knew they would have a tough substate. Maybe getting to the final made them relax."
Hesston had one of its most complete games of the season, shooting 47.1% while holding Royal Valley to 39%. The Swathers outrebounded Royal Valley by three, had four more assists and turned it over one less time.
"We knew they only played big guys, and our mentality all year is to get up and play in a way that makes them uncomfortable," Richardson said. "All year, they walked the ball up the court, and we didn't want them to do that today."
Hesston used a strong first half to build a 28-15 lead, and that advantage swelled to 19 in the second half.
"I would say their size," said Royal Valley senior guard Nahcs Wahwassuck about the challenge Hesston presented. "We hadn't played a team like that all year. That's a good team, so props to them for getting it done."
The Panthers, playing in their first state championship game in team history, made a run. Behind a strong game from the lightning-quick and savvy Wahwassuck, who had 22 points, five assists and four steals, Royal Valley got as close as seven points in the second half.
No other Panther had more than eight points.
Nahcs Wahwassuck scored 22 points, but it wasn't enough to deliver Royal Valley the first state title in school history. The Panthers still posted their best state finish ever, taking second to Hesston after a 51-41 loss in Saturday's title game.
"We subbed some guys in to defend him," Raleigh said. "We ran some double on him around the basket, and we didn't want to foul him."
Hesston steadied after a Richardson basket, and then he swished a couple of free throws.
From that point, it was just a matter of time before Hesston could celebrate another title, the fifth in program history.
"I think a lot of people thought we were a thing of the past, but we came out and showed we were the best team in 3A," Richardson said.
The best in 3A. Again.
SOUTHEAST OF SALINE 57, TMP-MARIAN 44
Behind a balanced attack and 51.1% shooting, Southeast of Saline earned a third-place trophy.
Eli Sawyers and Nakari Morrical-Palmer had 12 points each for Southeast of Saline, two of eight Trojans who scored. The Trojans also enjoyed a plus-one advantage on the boards, had six more assists, eight more steals and three more blocked shots.
Jace Wentling had a game-high 17 points for TMP, which struggled shooting, making just 17 of 43 from the floor and 2 of 8 from 3-point range.
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
HESSTON 51, ROYAL VALLEY 41
Hesston ... 20 ... 8 ... 9 ... 14 ... -- ... 51
Royal Valley ... 12 ... 3 ... 10 ... 16 ... -- ... 41
Hesston (25-1) -- Schroeder 2-6 5-8, Werner 0-0 0-0 0, Proctor 4-11 1-2 11, Schilling 4-4 5-5 13, Waltner 0-0 0-0 0, Richardson 4-9 3-4 12, Arnold 2-4 2-5 6. Totals 16-34 16-24 51
Royal Valley (24-2) -- Murata 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 3-7 0-0 8, Coleman 0-0 0-0 , Wahwassuck 8-20 6-8 22, Kelly 1-1 0-0 3, Klotz 2-7, 0-0 4, Miller 2-6 0-0 4. Totals 16-41 6-8 41
3-point goals -- Hesston 3-10 (Proctor 2-6, Richardson 1-3, Arnold 0-1). Royal Valley 3-14 (Thomas 2-5, Kelly 1-1, Klotz 0-1, Miller 0-1, Wahwassuck 0-6). Rebounds -- Hesston 24 (Schroeder 6), Royal Valley 21 (Miller 9). Assists -- Hesston 9 (Richardson 4), Royal Valley 5 (Wahwassuck 5). Total fouls: Hesston 14, Royal Valley 20. Fouled out -- Thomas
CONSOLATION GAME
SOUTHEAST OF SALINE 57, TMP-MARIAN 44
TMP-Marian ... 8 ... 14 ... 8 ... 14 ... -- ... 44
Southeast of Saline ... 13 ... 13 ... 18 ... 13 ... -- ... 57
TMP-Marian (20-6) -- Harris 1-2 0-0 2, Mindrup 0-0 0-0 0, Schumacher 0-1 0-0 0, Scwhartz 1-2 0-0 2, Wentling 5-9 7-7 17, Unrein 4-10 1-2 10, Ginther 1-5 0-0 3, Balthazor 0-0 0-0 0, Seib 1-5 0-0 2, Rome 0-0 0-0 0, Werth 4-9 0-0 8. Totals 17-43 8-9 44
Southeast of Saline (22-4) -- Sawyers 6-14 0-0 12, Morrical-Palmer 5-7 2-2 12, Augustine 2-4 4-6 8, Kejr 3-5 0-0 8, Richardson 0-3 0-0 0, J. Gebhardt 1-1 0-0 3, Lilley 1-3 0-0 2, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, L. Gebhardt 4-7 0-0 9, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Isaacson 1-1 0-0 3, Heller 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 23-45 6-8 57
3-point goals: TMP 2-8 (Ginther 1-5, Unrein 1-2, Schwartz 0-1). Southeast of Saline 5-15 (Kejr 2-4, J. Gebhardt 1-1, L. Gebhardt 1-1, Isaacson 1-1, Lilley 0-1, Sawyers 0-2, Morrical-Palmer 0-2, Richardson 0-3). Rebounds -- TMP 23 (Wentlin 8), Southeast of Saline 24 (Morrial-Palmer 8). Assists -- TMP 11 (Unrein, Harris 3), Southeast of Saline 17 (Sawyeres 6). Total fouls -- TMP 12, Southeast of Saline 15.
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