TOPEKA — For every run the McPherson Bullpups made at Emporia in the second half of Wednesday night’s Class 5A State Tournament quarterfinal, the Spartans had an even better answer.
Several times McPherson fell behind only to claw its way back, often displaying the type of play expected out of a No. 2 seed.
But each of those comebacks was met by a Spartan response, and in the end, the Bullpups wore out and the seventh-seeded Spartans pulled away, as EHS took a 75-62 victory.
“We just pushed it right back at them,” EHS senior Caydrick Bloomquist said. “We matched their every bucket, and at the end, they didn’t match some of our buckets, and that helped us pull away.”
At no time did the Spartans play like a team with nine losses, never backing down from a McPherson squad that finished second at last year’s State Tournament and entered the field this season sporting a 19-3 record. Instead, Emporia forced the issue, especially in the fourth quarter when EHS first staved off McPherson’s last rally before slamming the door closed with textbook free-throw shooting down the stretch.
“The thing we talked about, the proverbial coach-speak, is to learn from your losses,” EHS coach Rick Bloomquist said. “My kids have actually learned from the losses. I think we’ve been able to handle the adversity ... and we’ve learned to handle prosperity. That’s what I’m proud of.”
The Spartans managed to take a 31-28 lead into halftime despite playing the first half like “we were just kind of feeling the waters,” Coach Bloomquist said.
Out of the break, the score was tied once and the lead switched hands four times in the third quarter before Taylor Euler — who finished with 18 points — hit a three from the left wing and Caydrick Bloomquist knocked down a mid-range jumper that gave EHS its biggest lead of the game up to that point at 43-36 with 2 minutes left in the period.
However, McPherson closed out the frame with an 8-3 run capped by a stick-back by Tanner Hawkinson with 4 seconds left to draw the Bullpups to within two at 46-44. Less than 15 seconds into the fourth quarter, McPherson tied it at 46 when Aaron Frazier hit a driving layup.
A 6-0 run by EHS put the Spartans back on top 52-46, which set off a scoring frenzy.
From the 6:32 point to the 4:54 mark, the two teams went about trading scores, with most of Emporia’s points coming in transition when McPherson failed to recover defensively.
“They weren’t getting back on defense, and we were just getting easy shots,” Caydrick Bloomquist said. “We took advantage of that.”
The spurt was led by Emporia’s Brandon Childs, who scored six of his eventual 11 points in the stretch — a span in which Emporia matched the Bullpups point for point, as the Spartans’ lead held at six points at 60-54.
McPherson then began one last rally, only to have it come crashing down in a moment of frustration.
Hawkinson scored what would be the last two points of his 21-point night on a baseline jumper as he was fouled by Troy Pierce. He missed the free throw, but the shot brought the Bullpups to within four at 60-56.
After Bloomquist missed a pair of free throws on the other end, McPherson’s Kolin Walk hit his third 3-pointer of the night from the left wing, slicing Emporia’s lead to one at 60-59. When he released the shot, Walk fell to the ground in an attempt to get a foul call for a chance at a four-point play. No foul was called, though, and it appeared Walk kicked at an EHS player, for which he received a technical foul.
Bloomquist made both the free throws for the foul to make it 62-59, and with Emporia retaining possession, the Spartans pushed their lead back out to five when Torres hit two more free throws after he was fouled by Chad Nieman, giving EHS a 64-59 advantage with 3:53 left.
“Obviously, that was a bad time to get a technical foul,” Rick Bloomquist said. “I think it took a little wind out of their sails. I could see the look in their eyes. I think (McPherson) knew they were in for a different game with the way we played and came back and didn’t let down.”
From then on, it was all Emporia.
McPherson only managed three points the rest of the way, going 1-for-10 from the field and 1-for-6 from the free-throw line to close out the game.
Meanwhile, the Spartans — after a bucket by Greg Canales pushed the lead to 66-59 — went 7-of-8 at the foul line in the last 2:12. Bloomquist also scored on yet another fast-break layup to give him a game-high 25 points.
The Spartans finished 24-of-31 from the free-throw line, while McPherson went just 14-of-28.
Though Hawkinson finished with 21 points, the Spartans made him work for his shots, immediately double-teaming him as soon as he caught the ball.
“When he got it down low, we always made sure to get another body over on him,” said Torres, who scored 11 points to go with nine rebounds and four assists. “We wanted to keep the pressure on him.”
The victory moved Emporia into the semifinals, where it will face No. 6-seeded Bishop Carroll at 8:15 p.m. Friday. Carroll pulled off an upset of its own Wednesday, defeating No. 3-seeded Liberal 67-64 in two overtimes.
“Coach said the first one is the hardest, so coming out and winning takes a little bit of the jitters out,” Torres said. “Getting into the next game and eventually the State Championship, that’s the goal.”
Emporia 75, McPherson 62
Wednesday at Topeka
Emporia 17 14 15 29 — 75
McPherson 13 15 16 18 — 62
Emporia (14-9) — Brandon Childs 5-7 1-2 11, Caydrick Bloomquist 7-13 10-14 25, Taylor Euler 5-10 7-9 18, Jacob Torres 3-6 4-4 11, Troy Pierce 3-4 2-2 8, Marcus Jamison 0-0 0-0 0, Greg Canales 1-1 0-0 2, Eric Reimer 0-0 0-0 0, Bryce Childs 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-41 24-31 75.
McPherson (19-4) — Chad Nieman 0-6 0-0 0, Kolin Walk 3-4 0-0 9, Vince Ruxlow 2-6 0-0 6, Aaron Frazier 5-14 4-6 15, Tanner Hawkinson 8-17 5-11 21, Adam Bruner 2-8 0-4 4, Levi Gerhardt 0-2 2-2 2, Sam Stucky 0-2 0-1 0, Will Anderson 0-1 3-4 3, Tyler Burch 0-0 0-0 0, Treg Fawl 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 21-61 14-28 62
3-point goals — Emporia 3-13 (Bloomquist 1-6, Euler 1-5, Torres 1-2), McPherson 6-20 (Nieman 0-3, Walk 3-4, Bruner 0-2, Ruxlow 2-3, Gerhardt 0-1, Frazier 1-7). Rebounds — Emporia 36 (Torres 9), McPherson 34 (Hawkinson 9). Assists — Emporia 14 (3 tied at 4), McPherson 13 (Nieman 7). Turnovers — Emporia 15, McPherson 9. Total fouls — Emporia 20, McPherson 24. Fouled out — Emporia: Pierce; McPherson: Walk. Technical fouls — McPherson: Walk.