CHANUTE — If there was one problem the Emporia High boys basketball team had in its 64-49 victory over Olathe Northwest Thursday night, it was that the Spartans simply trusted each other too much.
After racing out to a 34-15 halftime lead over the Ravens, the EHS boys committed 12 turnovers and played sloppy at times in the second half, which allowed Olathe Northwest to make the game closer than it actually was — and Emporia still won by 15 points to advance to the winner’s bracket of the Ralph Miller Classic.
“We trust each other a little too much, and left each other out to dry in the second half,” sophomore guard Taylor Euler said. “We took a lot of things for granted, and we can’t do that.”
Added coach Rick Bloomquist: “My guards respect each other so much that they take each other for granted. They were selling each other out.”
That the Spartans still picked up the double-digit victory despite a lackluster second-half performance was a testament to how well they played in the first half.
In building its 19-point halftime lead, Emporia (4-3) shot 57 percent (12-of-21) from the field and went 7-of-8 from the free-throw line while holding the Ravens to just 29-percent (5-of-17) shooting from the field and forcing 10 Olathe Northwest (1-7) turnovers.
“That’s the way this team should play. What we saw in the first half was Emporia basketball,” Bloomquist said. “Not only did the first half look good offensively, but we looked great defensively. Our defense was real solid.”
Euler was a big reason for the Spartans’ first-half domination. He went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field and 4-for-4 from the free-throw line to score 13 of his game-high 21 points before halftime.
“My teammates were giving me the ball where I could get good shots, and they were going in. I felt really good — in a rhythm,” he said. “I haven’t shot very well in the last couple of games, and ... in practice, I’ve really concentrated on getting my feet set, squaring up to the basket, getting a lot of arc on my shot and following through.
“When your teammates are getting you the ball in perfect position to shoot it, it’s easy to get into a rhythm, and I think that’s what happened in the first half.”
In the second half, Emporia built its biggest lead of the game on a Troy Pierce layup off a cross-court pass from Caydrick Bloomquist that made the score 38-15 just 2 minutes into the third period. Both teams went back and forth in the third quarter, and even though Olathe Northwest scored as many points in the quarter (15) as it had the entire first half, the Ravens still trailed by as much as they had at halftime — 19 points — at the end of the period.
In the fourth, Olathe Northwest managed to trim Emporia’s lead down to 13 points with 4:55 left. But a rebound and put-back by Pierce off a Euler three-point miss started a mini 6-0 run for the Spartans to push their lead back out to 19 at 58-39, and despite committing 7 turnovers in the fourth quarter alone, the Spartans closed out the game with relative ease.
“I think in the first half, we came out with a lot of energy. We just have to learn to keep our energy going through the second half,” Pierce said. “We could have played better as a team.”
Bloomquist said the way the Spartans managed to keep Olathe Northwest from making any substantial threat in the second half was a bright spot for his team.
“This is the first time we’ve had any type of true prosperity at halftime,” Bloomquist said. “We talked about guarding prosperity and about playing up to your level and not your opponent’s level. The thing is, good teams have that happen to them, but you have to learn how to handle that.
“That’s probably another step for us — learning how to handle prosperity.”
Joining Euler in double figures were Caydrick Bloomquist and Dillon Cox, who had 15 points each. Cox, who finished 6-of-9 from the field, also grabbed five rebounds, while Pierce pulled down seven boards to lead the Spartans. Leland Lindsey led Olathe Northwest with 13 points.
With the win, the EHS boys advanced to play Olathe North (5-4) at 6:15 tonight. The winner of that game will play for the championship, while the loser will play for third place. In other action Thursday night, No. 6-ranked (Class 4A) Andover Central defeated Chanute, 57-46, while Joplin beat Goddard, 48-39.
Ralph Miller Classic
Thursday at Chanute
Emporia 17 17 15 15 — 64
Olathe Northwest 6 9 15 19 — 49
EMPORIA (4-3)
K. deBlonk 1-4 3-4 5, D. Cox 6-9 3-5 15, C. Bloomquist 6-16 1-1 15, T. Euler 5-10 10-10 21, T. Pierce 2-2 2-2 6, S. Torres 1-2 0-1 2, J. Davies 0-0 0-0 0, B. Malone 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-43 19-23 64.
OLATHE NORTHWEST (1-7)
L. Lindsey 5-6 0-0 13, C. Maguire 0-0 2-2 2, E. Hoisington 0-0 0-0 0, J. Milo 4-10 1-2 9, A. Mueller 4-8 3-5 11, G. Watts 0-4 1-2 1, J. Thomas 2-5 0-0 4, K. Curry 4-8 1-2 9, R. Keener 0-1 0-0 0, N. Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-46 8-13 49.
3-point goals — Emporia 3-13 (Bloomquist 2-9, Euler 1-3, Torres 0-1), ONW 3-12 (Lindsey 3-4, Milo 0-1, Mueller 0-3, Watts 0-2, Curry 0-2). Rebounds — Emporia 28 (Pierce 7), ONW 24 (Maguire, Mueller 5). Assists — Emporia 9 (Bloomquist 3), ONW 5 (Curry 2). Turnovers — Emporia 17, ONW 18. Total fouls — Emporia 12, ONW 22. Fouled out — ONW: Milo.