Northern Heights boys win title, 57-54
Ken Easthouse
Monday, January 22, 2007
The Northern Heights boys basketball team upset top-seeded Yates Center 57-54 on Saturday to win its first Flint Hills Shootout crown since 1999.
The Wildcats had advanced as far as the third-place game in recent history, but Northern Heights coach Lanny Massey said his team was hungry for the championship.
“We’ve been knocked out in the semifinals and then won the third-place game, which is like kissing your sister,” Massey said. “We finally broke through and won the championship game.”
In a defensive struggle early on, Yates Center led after the first quarter, 8-6.
“We were still trying to feel out what they were trying to do,” Massey said.
In the second quarter, however, Northern Heights blew open to score 19 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers from J.W. Roeder, which gave the Wildcats the lead. Northern Heights held a 25-22 advantage at halftime.
“We just picked it up defensively,” senior guard Cody Niedfeldt said. “When we start playing as a team, our D goes up.”
Niedfeldt led a defensive stand that allowed the offense to eventually pass Yates Center.
“Watching the girls’ games, we’ll watch (Niedfeldt’s) head bounce at the same rate as the ball, and we’re not even playing yet,” Massey said. “You see that and you know we’re going to get a good night out of Cody.”
Most of the night was a struggle down low, with both teams pushing the ball into the post, which led to an intensely physical match.
“We wanted to get down low because we have good posts,” said senior forward Rick Hobson, who led the Wildcats with 13 points.
The physical play led to several free-throw attempts, where the Wildcats thrived. Northern Heights scored 15 points from the charity line, while Yates Center only scored five.
“In a close game, you want every break you can get,” Massey said.
In addition to winning the championship, Niedfeldt, Hobson and junior center Hayden Parks all were named to the All-Tournament team. However, all three downplayed the honor.
“We played as a team the whole tournament,” Hobson said. “It’s not a big deal to me.”
In the third-place game of the tournament, Herington’s Coty Miller scored seven of his game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Railers past Osage City, 46-42. Also Chris Barnes went a perfect 4-for-4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter in helping Herington turn a 30-29 third-quarter deficit into a win.
In the consolation championship game, Trevor Bausch scored 14 points to lead Royal Valley to a 50-47 victory over Wabaunsee, which gave Royal Valley a fifth-place finish in the tournament.
NORTHERN HEIGHTS boys 57,
YATES CENTER 54
Northern Heights 6 19 15 17 — 57
Yates Center 8 12 14 18 — 54
Northern Heights (10-1) — Glass 3, Roeder 11, Neidfeldt 7, Weakley 3, Hizar 2, H. Parks 6, D. Parks 7, Hobson 13, Heins 5.
Yates Center (10-1) — Matile 3, Beitega 19, Ireland 9, Faulkner 12, Fullerton 2, Stockebrand 6.
Halftime — NH 25-22. Total fouls — NH 16, YC 19. Fouled out — None.