Turnovers spell the end for Heights boys
Brent Maycock, Special to the Gazette
Monday, March 10, 2008
HUTCHINSON — Lanny Massey didn’t need to look any further than two numbers on the stat sheet to see just how Northern Heights let Saturday’s Class 3A State consolation game get away.
Thirty. That’s how many turnovers the Wildcats committed against Holcomb.
Forty. That’s how many points Holcomb scored off those turnovers.
Do the math and it adds up to an 88-68 runaway victory for the Longhorns at the Hutchinson Sports Arena, relegating Heights to a fourth-place finish in Class 3A.
“We didn’t take care of the ball well at all,” Massey said. “We turned it over. We weren’t strong with it. We’re a better team than that.”
The final 22-4 record indicates as much. Heights finished with the most victories in school history and its highest State finish.
But ending the season with two straight losses didn’t sit too well with the Wildcats, particularly the manner in which Saturday’s occurred.
Heights was able to overcome its error-prone ways in the first half against Holcomb, trailing by just three, 35-32, at halftime despite committing 14 turnovers in the half. The Wildcat defense had a lot to do with that, forcing Holcomb into 13 turnovers and holding the Longhorns to 37-percent shooting.
An 11-0 run midway through the second quarter got the Wildcats back in the game, and Kenneth Bronson’s last-second 3-pointer helped get them back within three.
But after committing 10 second-quarter turnovers, the Wildcats tacked on nine more in the third, and they had no answer for the run Holcomb ripped off.
The Longhorns hit nine of their first 17 shots of the quarter, building a 59-39 lead with a 24-7 run. C.J. Brau scored 10 of his game-high 24 points in the Longhorn spurt and Byron O’Rourke added six of his 23.
Heights tried to respond and got as close as 13 when Haydon Parks converted a three-point play on the opening possession of the fourth quarter. But Holcomb scored six straight and had the lead back to 20 by the mid-point of the fourth quarter.
“We didn’t value the ball real well and we didn’t take good shots at times,” Massey said. “We just got out of sync. We had opportunities to stay with them. It was a game of runs and their runs were longer than ours.”
Parks finished off a stellar senior season with a 22-point outing, hitting 8 of 13 shots and 6 of 10 free throws. Pete Symmonds posted a double-double in his final game with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Parks also finished as the 3A Tourney’s second-leading scorer, averaging 21.7 points in three games.
Heights graduates six seniors and four of five starters from its record-setting squad, with Bronson the lone starter back.
“Last year, we lost a nucleus but these kids were able to step up and take us one more step,” Massey said. “Hopefully, these younger kids that have been around the program can help us along the way to taking a bigger step toward the State championship.
“Our kids are still learning what it’s like to be a top program, but I feel like we’re on the way to that point.”
Holcomb 88, Northern Heights 68
Saturday at Hays
No. Heights 10 22 15 21 — 68
Holcomb 13 22 28 25 — 88
Northern Heights (22-4) — Glass 1-7 2-2 4, Bronson 3-8 0-0 9, Symmonds 5-10 4-10 14, Hizar 4-11 0-0 8, Parks 8-13 6-10 22, Murray 2-3 1-4 6, McClellan 0-4 0-0 0, Hanks 1-5 0-0 2, R. Swanson 0-1 0-0 0, Tabares 1-1 0-0 3, D. Swanson 0-0 0-0 0, Seematter 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-63 13-26 68.
Holcomb (22-4) — O’Rourke 10-20 3-4 23, Gaede 2-5 0-0 5, Novack 2-4 0-2 4, Z. Roth 0-2 2-2 2, Carman 1-3 0-0 3, Tafoya 1-6 2-6 4, Heydman 1-3 3-4 5, Maas 0-2 1-2 1, Wilcox 2-8 2-2 7, Brau 9-13 6-7 24, VanCampen 2-4 0-0 4, N. Roth 3-4 0-1 6. Totals 33-74 19-30 88.
3-point goals — Heights 5-16 (Bronson 3-5, Murray 1-1, Tabares 1-1, Hizar 0-4, Glass 0-4, Parks 0-1), Holcomb 3-14 (Gaede 1-1, Wilcox 1-5, Carman 1-2, O’Rourke 0-2, N. Roth 0-1, Z. Roth 0-1, Tafoya 0-2). Rebounds — Heights 42 (Symmonds 11), Holcomb 50 (O’Rourke 12). Assists — Heights 15 (Glass 4, Bronson 4), Holcomb 21 (Gaede 5). Turnovers — Heights 30 (Glass 8), Holcomb 21 (Gaede 5). Total fouls — Heights 23, Holcomb 21. Fouled out — Heights: Hanks; Holcomb: Z. Roth; Novack.