The Emporia Middle School eighth-grade boys “A” team won its home opener Tuesday, defeating Northern Hills 50-18.
The “A” team played stifling full court man-to-man defense throughout the first quarter, forcing the Northern Hills Norseman to turn the ball over, which allowed the Vikings to score in transition.
The “A” team’s half-court defense was solid as well. At one point late in the first quarter, Northern Hills went 1 minute, 20 seconds without getting a shot off.
“I think our help defense was the key,” EMS coach Wade Redeker said. “Any time they attempted to get penetration, we cut it off. They had to kick it out to kids who were not ready to take outside shots.”
The score at the end of the first quarter was 7-0 Vikings.
In the second quarter, EMS continued to play full-court man and threw in some full- and half-court trapping defenses, allowing the Vikings to score 15 points in the quarter. The score at the half was 22-2.
In the second half, EMS was able to drop back and work more on half-court man and zone defenses. Northern Hills had only eight field goals all game.
“As a coach, I am always concerned with how well we will be able to mix defenses up and run offenses in the first game,” Redeker said. “We did a great job jumping from one defense to another tonight. We have to work a little on our offense. It took us a little time to get things figured out.”
Six of the eight Vikings who played in the game scored. The Vikings also were 12-for-15 from the free-throw line.
The EMS “B” team fell in its first game, losing 29-11.
Samuels takes 1st at Valley Center Open
The Emporia Kids Wrestling Club’s Dylan Samuels took home a championship Saturday at the Valley Center Open, finishing first in the 14-year-old, 145-pound weight class with a 4-1 record.
Derek Korte and Bryce Dakin added third-place performances. Korte went 1-2 in the 10-year-old, 110-pound division, while Dakin’s 1-2 mark was good enough to earn third in the 14-year-old, 95-pound ranks.
Six-year-old Luke Stone (64 pounds) picked up a victory to finish fourth, and 10-year-old Markus Knight (67 pounds) also had a win and ended in fourth place.
Twelve-year-old Kolby Washburn also competed (190 pounds) for EKWC.
Turnpike Tussle draws well
Though Emporia State Lady Hornet fans didn’t get the result they wanted, they still showed up in impressive numbers to support their team on Wednesday.
The ESU-Washburn matchup at White Auditorium drew 3,987 fans, which was more than four of the six Big 12 women’s games that same night.
ESU’s game easily topped Kansas’ showdown with No. 25 Oklahoma State at Allen Fieldhouse, which had 2,859 in attendance.
Texas at Nebraska, Kansas State at Texas A&M, and Colorado at Missouri also had fewer fans Wednesday than ESU.
Wednesday’s game was the ninth-largest crowd in ESU women’s basketball history and also the largest showing in an MIAA women’s game this year.