Though it was no fault of its own, the Emporia High boys basketball team simply had no way to prepare for the type of team Leavenworth brought into Emporia’s gym Friday night.
The Pioneers used their superior speed and athletic ability to wear down the Spartans, as Leavenworth pulled away in the fourth quarter to win, 60-51, in the season opener for both teams.
“We could not emulate their physicality and their athleticism in practice,” Emporia coach Rick Bloomquist said. “That’s the first time we’ve seen that kind of quickness and that kind of athleticism, and consequently, we were way out of sync.”
Leavenworth’s Isaac Johnston scored 12 of his 15 points in the fourth quarter to help the Pioneers rally from a two-point deficit at the end of the third quarter. Thanks to Johnston’s effort, Leavenworth (1-0) turned what had been a 35-33 Spartans lead into a 48-40 advantage with 2 minutes left in the game, and the Pioneers sealed the game by hitting 12 of 13 free throws down the stretch.
“They got real physical with us, and we didn’t match it,” said EHS senior Brandon Childs, who finished with 14 points. “We let up a little bit.”
The fourth-quarter letdown by Emporia negated what had been an impressive rally by the Spartans to start the second half.
Emporia trailed, 27-20, at halftime after shooting just 38 percent (8-of-21) from the floor in the first half while committing 10 first-half turnovers. Emporia’s offense looked ragged from the start, as EHS turned the ball over on its first two possessions.
“I just think we were all too giddy. We were too anxious,” EHS senior Caydrick Bloomquist said of Emporia’s offense in the first half. “It was our first game out, and we all wanted to come out and put up a lot of points on the scoreboard. We just got too giddy with the ball.”
The Spartans came storming out of the locker room, however, going on a 10-2 tear to take a 30-29 lead, their first lead since it was 2-1 less than 2 minutes into the game. Childs scored on a pair of pull-up jumpers and Taylor Euler hit a free throw to cap the run with 4 minutes left in the period.
“We got our offense going real nice and had everything clicking,” Childs said.
Emporia kept the lead until Johnston began his fourth-quarter outburst.
Zack Riggins tied the game at 35 less than a minute into the final frame, and then a floating shot in the lane by Johnston off a feed from Riggins gave Leavenworth the lead. Childs cashed in on another three-point play to put Emporia ahead, 38-37, on the Spartans’ next possession, but Johnston hit on a driving layup immediately after that to give Leavenworth the lead for good.
Caprest Rhone hit a guarded 3-pointer from the top of the key on the Pioneers’ next possession to make it 42-38, and Leavenworth staved off the Spartans from there.
Caydrick Bloomquist led Emporia with 15 points, while Euler also scored in double figures with 12. Troy Pierce had a game-high 8 rebounds.
“We had chances to win it, but we couldn’t sustain anything,” Rick Bloomquist said. “The reason we couldn’t sustain was because of a little bit of inexperience and a little bit of fatigue ... and that’s what hurt us in the fourth quarter.
“I want people to know I’m not discouraged over this game even though it was a very ugly game for us. We were not in sync with one another, but they caused that. Leavenworth caused that.”
Leavenworth boys 60, Emporia 51
Friday at EHS
Leavenworth 13 14 6 27 — 60
Emporia 13 7 15 16 — 51
LEAVENWORTH (1-0) — Johnston 4-9 7-9 15, Rhone 7-12 0-0 16, Kowalewski 2-6 2-2 7, Riggins 5-8 3-4 14, Bowlin 0-5 0-0 0, Greenburg 1-2 0-0 2, Langen 1-3 2-2 4, Hunt 1-2 0-1 2, Hill 0-0 0-0 0, Adams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-47 14-18 60.
EMPORIA (0-1) — Childs 5-7 4-4 14, Bloomquist 6-18 2-3 15, Canales 1-3 0-1 2, Euler 4-9 2-3 12, Pierce 4-9 8, McAnarney 0-0 0-0 0, Torres 0-1 0-1 0, Roberson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-47 8-12 51.
3-point goals — Leavenworth 4-12 (Johnston 0-2, Rhone 2-5, Kowalewski 1-2, Riggins 1-1, Greenburg 0-1, Langen 0-1), Emporia 3-17 (Bloomquist 1-10, Euler 2-7). Rebounds — Leavenworth 30 (Kowalewski 7), Emporia 28 (Pierce 8). Assists — Leavenworth 6 (Rhone 4), Emporia 4 (4 tied with 1). Turnovers — Leavenworth 16, Emporia 19. Total fouls — Leavenworth 16, Emporia 19. Fouled out — Emporia: Euler.
minorityinemporia (anonymous) says...
Good game ! Brandon and Troy were looking good !
December 1, 2007 at 7:36 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )