Herington boys basketball coach Tony Hoops might not have been thrilled with his team’s shot selection Tuesday, but he sure couldn’t complain about its shooting percentage.
Though the coach raised his voice often to tell his players to take better shots, he was left pleasantly surprised when most of the bad shots fell through in a 55-32 victory over Eureka in the first round of the Flint Hills Shootout at White Auditorium.
“I turned to my assistant coaches a few times there and said, ‘It’s a good thing he made that,’” Hoops said.
Herington finished 18-of-40 from the field, good for 45 percent. The Railers also were 6-for-11 from behind the three-point line.
“We always try to shoot with confidence,” Herington guard Coty Miller said. “We pick each other up when we’re down.”
Eli Mitchell scored the first seven points for Herington, contributing a lay-in, 3-pointer and pair of free throws in the first three minutes to help give his team a 7-2 lead.
The Railers used defense to extend the advantage, allowing just six first-quarter points in building a 13-point cushion.
“For the most part, we defended very well tonight,” Hoops said. “That’s the key for our team. When we play good defense, we can beat some good teams.”
Herington was never challenged late, starting the second half on a 10-2 run to take a 34-16 advantage. The lead never dipped under 16 after that.
Miller led the Railers, scoring 18 points, with 13 of those coming in the second half. The senior made all six of his free-throw attempts.
Mitchell added 14 points, while Anthony Scott contributed 10.
“I’ll give our guys credit,” Hoops said. “They hit some shots tonight.”
Justin Mead paced Eureka, scoring 10 points and adding four blocks before fouling out in the fourth quarter.
HERINGTON boys 55, EUREKA 32
Herington 19 9 12 15 — 55
Eureka 6 10 5 11 — 32
Herington — Coty Miller 5-11 6-6 18, Eli Mitchell 5-9 2-2 14, Anthony Scott 4-7 1-2 10, Kris Mueller 2-6 2-6 6, Chris Barnes 1-2 1-2 3, Dustin Geissert 1-5 0-1 3, Jake Meyer 0-0 1-2 1.
Eureka — Justin Mead 5-12 0-0 10, Dalton Skiles 2-10 3-7 7, Bradley Argabright 3-11 0-2 6, Zac Salazar 3-4 0-0 6, Kevin Hayes 1 0-1 2, Phillip Walker 0-4 1-2 1.
Halftime — Herington 28-16. Total fouls — Herington 15, Eureka 21. Fouled out — Eureka: Mead.
Yates Center boys 63,
Royal Valley 51
No. 1-seeded Yates Center received a scare from winless Royal Valley before pulling away in the 12-point victory.
Royal Valley (0-9) actually led 33-30 at halftime before Yates Center used a 19-8 third-quarter run to pull ahead for good.
Michael Bettega led Yates Center, posting 15 points and draining three 3-pointers. Jeff Fullerton added 12 points, and Joel Ireland also hit double figures with 11.
Royal Valley’s Wesley Hale paced all scorers, contributing 21 points and five three-point shots. Trevor Bausch scored nine, with all his points coming off made threes.
In all, Royal Valley made nine shots from beyond the arc.
Yates Center (9-0) will face Herington at 6:30 p.m. Friday in White Auditorium.
YATES CENTER boys 63, ROYAL VALLEY 51
Royal Valley 17 16 8 10 — 51
Yates Center 20 10 19 14 — 63
Royal Valley — Wesley Hale 7 2-4 21, Trevor Bausch 3 0-0 9, Shawn Seematter 2 2-4 6, Jesse Kutina 2 0-0 5, Josh Streeter 2 0-0 4, Travis Miller 2 0-0 4, Justin Hug 1 0-0 2.
Yates Center — Michael Bettega 6 0-0 15, Jeff Fullerton 6 0-1 12, Joel Ireland 5 1-4 11, Brandon Faulkner 4 1-2 9, Derek Stockebrand 3 2-2 8, Erik Karman 3 0-0 6, Russell Gehrer 1 0-0 2.
Halftime — Royal Valley 33-30. Total fouls — Royal Valley 13, Yates Center 14. Fouled out — None.
Osage City boys 44,
Mission Valley 27
Osage City allowed only two points in the first quarter and just eight in the first half on its way to the 17-point victory over Mission Valley.
Evan Faulkner provided nearly all the offense the Indians would need. The 6-foot-1 senior scored 15 points in the first half, nearly doubling the Vikings scoring output for the first 16 minutes (8).
Faulkner finished with 17 points, hitting eight shots from the field. Kyle Davis added eight in the win.
Mission Valley (0-8) had just four players score, led by Colten Lohse’s nine-point performance.
Aaron Rudeen and Justin Zielke both added eight points apiece.
No. 3-seeded Osage City (7-2) will play Northern Heights at 8:15 on Friday.
OSAGE CITY boys 44, MISSION VALLEY 27
Osage City 13 14 6 11 — 44
Mission Valley 2 6 5 14 — 27
Osage City — Evan Faulkner 8 1-2 17, Kyle Davis 4 0-0 8, Josh Carson 1 4-5 6, Eddie Oliver 3 0-2 6, Joey Giesy 1 1-2 3, Brock Thornburgh 0 2-3 2, Dalton Keeffe 0 2-2 2.
Mission Valley — Colten Lohse 4 1-2 9, Aaron Rudeen 4 0-1 8, Justin Zeilke 3 2-7 8, Dalton Branch 1 0-0 2.
Halftime — Osage City 27-8. Total fouls — Osage City 10, Mission Valley 18. Fouled out — None.
N. Heights boys 78,
Wabaunsee 46
Rick Hobson’s 18 points led the way as Northern Heights rolled to the 32-point blowout win over Wabaunsee.
The Wildcats had control throughout, taking an 18-6 lead after the first quarter and using a 24-point second quarter to extend the advantage to 26 by half.
Heights had 11 players score in the victory, with Haydon Parks (13) and Cody Neidfeldt (10) joining Hobson in double figures.
Garrick Gehrt contributed 18 points for Wabaunsee, hitting five 3-pointers. Dan Terrell added 13 in the loss.
Heights (8-1) advances in the winner’s bracket to face Osage City at 8:15 on Friday.
N. HEIGHTS boys 78, Wabaunsee 46
Wabaunsee 6 10 20 10 — 46
Northern Heights 18 24 12 24 — 78
Wabaunsee — Garrick Gehrt 5 3-5 18, Dan Terrell 6 0-0 13, Kyler Cook 2 0-0 4, Lucas Gleue 1 1-2 3, Tyler Heiman 1 1-2 3, Brandon Boeckman 1 0-0 2, Sam Ervin 1 0-0 2, Eduardo Sgorlon 0 1-2 1.
Northern Heights — Nick Hobson 6 5-7 18, Haydon Parks 4 5-7 13, Cody Neidfeldt 3 4-5 10, J.W. Roeder 3 2-2 9, Derek Parks 3 1-5 7, Jake Weakley 1 4-6 6, Michael Glass 1 1-2 4, Levi Hizar 2 2-2 4, Jordan Heins 1 1-2 3, Pete Symmonds 1 0-0 2, David Hanks 1 0-0 2.
Halftime — Northern Heights 42-16. Total fouls — Wabaunsee 25, Northern Heights 16. Fouled out — Wabaunsee: Terrell.