Olpe boys can't overcome slow start in loss to Crest
Diane Gasper-O’Brien, Special to The Gazette
Monday, March 10, 2008
HAYS — The Olpe boys basketball team had a hard time getting shots to fall for the second straight game Saturday.
But that didn’t stop the Eagles from thinking they weren’t finished.
Despite a valiant comeback effort, however, Olpe fell, 49-38, to Colony-Crest in the third-place game of the Class 1A State Tournament at Gross Coliseum.
It was the second consecutive top-four finish at State for the Eagles, who placed third last year but lost 10 of their top 12 players off that team.
“To finish fourth at State is a big accomplishment for this group,” Olpe coach Chris Schmidt said.
After falling in Friday’s semifinal game to Hanover, the Eagles got off to a slow start Saturday.
Olpe, which had its shooting problems Friday, especially at the free-throw line — the Eagles hit just 8 of 23 free throws — continued its shooting woes the next day.
After getting the first bucket of the game to go up 2-0 just 30 seconds into the game against Crest, the Eagles missed their next 19 field goals.
Olpe didn’t score again until senior Alex Medenciy hit a 3-pointer with 2:13 left before half.
By then, the Eagles had spotted Crest a 20-point lead at 25-5, and it looked like a rout was on.
But, Medenciy’s three gave the Eagles new life.
Olpe outscored the Lancers 9-4 to close out the half, and Crest came out after halftime with its own shooting problems.
The Lancers missed all of their field-goal attempts in the third period, with their four third-quarter points all coming at the free-throw line.
Olpe took advantage, scoring 13 points to pull back to within eight at 33-25 at the end of the third period.
That, however, would be as close as the Eagles would get.
“When you fall that far behind, it takes so much effort to come back,” Schmidt said. “But all year long, that’s what they’ve been doing. They wouldn’t give up.”
Medenciy was the Eagles’ leading scorer, finishing with 17 points to tie Crest’s Brandon Newton for game-high honors.
Newton, a junior, recorded his third double-double of the tournament, adding 12 rebounds.
At times, Newton was double- and triple-teamed by Olpe.
“We doubled down on him hard,” Schmidt said of Newton. “He’s a great athlete, and we knew we had to try to stop him.”
Also in double figures for Crest (26-2) was Newton’s younger brother, Brandon, a sophomore who had 10 points and added eight rebounds.
Other seniors besides Medenciy who closed out their careers for the Eagles were Ethan Schneider, Nathan Hammond and Bryant Duenas.
“These seniors helped set the tone this year,” Schmidt said. “They were all JV kids last year, and they came on in their senior year. I’m proud of them.”
Crest 49, Olpe 38
Saturday at Hays
Olpe 5 9 11 13 — 38
Crest 18 11 4 16 — 49
Olpe (24-4) — Krueger 4-14 1-4 9, Argabright 1-12 1-3 3, Medenciy 6-20 0-0 17, Klumpe 2-3 3-4 7, Schneider 1-2 0-0 2, Hammond 0-1 0-0 0, Vaughn 0-0 0-0 0, Redeker 0-1 0-0 0, Duenas 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-53 5-11 38.
Crest (26-2) — Bra. Newton 7-15 2-2 17, Johnston 2-8 4-4 9, Weldin 2-6 3-6 7, Bry. Newton 2-6 5-6 10, Buck 2-3 0-0 4, Stinnett 1-2 0-0 2, Milner 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 16-41 14-18 49.
3-point goals — Olpe 5-30 (Krueger 0-2, Argabright 0-7, Medenciy 5-19, Hammond 0-1, Redeker 0-1), Crest 3-8 (Bra. Newton 1-1, Johnston 1-6, Bry. Newton 1-1). Rebounds — Olpe 32 (Krueger 10), Crest 37 (Bra. Newton 12). Assists — Olpe 3 (Argabright 2), Crest 9 (Weldin 4). Total fouls — Olpe 16, Crest 12.