Council Grove battles, but falls to top-seeded Hutch Trinity
By Scott Paske, Special to the Gazette
Friday, March 13, 2009
HUTCHINSON — Council Grove’s season of highs and lows came to an end Thursday at the Class 3A state tournament. But not before the Braves flirted heavily with one last dose of euphoria.
Making its first state appearance in 29 years, Council Grove took unbeaten and No. 1 seed Hutchinson Trinity to the wire before falling 46-39 in the quarterfinals at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
The Braves (12-12), who rebounded from a six-game regular-season losing streak, led Trinity 38-37 with 1:37 remaining before the Celtics regained control down the stretch. Trinity (24-0) earned a semifinal matchup with Sabetha, a 70-66 winner over Holcomb.
“It was fun, wasn’t it?” Council Grove coach Bruce Hula said. “It was a fun game to coach in, for sure.”
With huge followings for both teams in the stands, the teams swapped the lead six times in the final quarter. Freshman Tyler Sisson squeezed past a Trinity defender on the baseline for a basket that gave Council Grove its last lead.
The Celtics answered with 6-foot-9 center Ryan Mesh. Mesh, who had 13 points and 13 rebounds, grabbed teammate Andrew Labenz’s missed shot, scored and was fouled with 1:02 to play. He made the free throw to complete the three-point play.
“Ryan didn’t play a real, real solid game,” Trinity coach Joe Hammersmith said. “But he came up with the big play when he needed to.”
Council Grove’s Sean Carr was fouled and made 1-of-2 free throws after Mesh’s three-point play. But it was the Braves’ final point of the season.
Council Grove’s offensive output, led by sophomore Derek Ziegenhirt’s 10 points, surpassed the 31.3-point average Trinity allowed during the regular season and substate. The Braves did it despite scoring just two points in the opening quarter.
But Council Grove stayed in the game with fierce defense. Trinity shot just 29 percent from the field (12 of 42) and committed 16 turnovers.
“I felt like we had a chance the whole game because of the way we defend,” Hula said.
Council Grove never led by more than two points, though. Trinity made 18-of-21 free throws, including 6-of-6 by Conor Reilly and Derek Racette in the final 18 seconds. Racette led the Celtics with a game-high 16 points.
“You can throw out the records at State,” Hammersmith said. “I told the guys this afternoon (Council Grove) is here for a reason.
“And to be honest, most of the game, they took it to us.”
Ziegenhirt made three of Council Grove’s six 3-pointers and Sisson had two. That helped the Braves deal with Trinity’s 34-23 rebounding advantage.
“We hang our hat on our defense,” said Hula, whose State roster included just three seniors. “I’m so proud of them for continuing to work, learning new stuff and trying to get better at our old stuff.”
Thursday at Hutchinson
Council Grove 2 14 12 11 — 39
Hutchinson Trinity 5 15 9 17 — 46
Council Grove (12-11) — Bowles 2-6 0-0 5, Sumner 0-0 0-0 0, Sisson 3-8 0-0 8, Johnson 1-4 0-1 2, Carr 3-6 3-4 9, Grimmett 0-0 0-0 0, Grafel 0-0 0-0 0, Frye 0-0 1-2 1, Dugan 1-4 0-0 2, Byrum 0-0 0-0 0, Ziegenhirt 3-5 1-2 10, Finch 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 14-35 5-9 39.
Hutchinson Trinity (24-0) — M. Mesh 0-4 0-0 0, Racette 5-8 4-4 16, Bothwell 01 0-0 0, Reilly 4-16 4-5 14, Mailloux 0-0 0-0 0, Labenz 0-5 3-4 3, Thielen 0-0 0-0 0, R. Mesh 3-7 7-8 13, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Potter 0-0 0-0 0, Ohl 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 12-42 18-21 46.
3-point goals — Council Grove 6-13 (Ziegenhirt 3-4, Sisson 2-4, Bowles 1-3, Johnson 0-1, Finch 0-1), Hutchinson Trinity 4-17 (Racette 2-5, Reilly 2-9, M. Mesh 0-1, Bothwell 0-1, R. Mesh 0-1). Rebounds — Council Grove 23 (Carr 6), Hutchinson Trinity 34 (R. Mesh 13). Fouled out — Carr.