True to the name of an all-star game, everyone on the Home side of the boys Flint Hills Optimist All-Star Basketball Classic was a star.
So in the game’s final minutes, with the Home squad wrapping up what would be an easy 134-101 victory over the Away squad on Saturday at White Auditorium, it wasn’t at all clear who would take the MVP award for the Home side.
But Jacob Torres’ near-NBA-distance 3-pointer as time wound down gave the Emporia High guard a team-high 20 points, and likely was the deciding factor in him earning co-MVP honors with Burlington’s Ryan Louia from the Away side.
“It was a lot of fun,” Torres said. “Everyone worked hard and stuff, everyone ran and played defense, and when it’s like that, it’s always gonna be a lot of fun.”
Torres also handed out four assists and blocked two shots, but before his late three, you could’ve made an MVP argument for any number of standout performers on the Home team. Brandon Litch of Marais des Cygnes Valley and John Kraft of Southern Coffey County both provided stellar bench production, with Litch scoring 17 points and knocking down three 3-pointers and Kraft adding 16. Louia’s Burlington teammate, Corey Smith, was hot early for the Home squad, hitting three 3s and scoring 11 of his 15 in the first half. Olpe’s Josh Klumpe had 14.
“I was joking around (about) how great of a coach I was,” said Home coach Brett Stewart, “but it wouldn’t take much to be a great coach with these kids. Because they came out, they were unselfish, they passed the ball real well, and they... got out to a big lead.”
The Away side never recovered after an 18-0 first-half run by the Homeboys that made an 8-8 game 26-8. A putback and 3-pointer by Litch sandwiched around a score inside by Council Grove’s Sean Carr completed the run, and at halftime, Home had pushed its lead to 30 after Northern Heights’ Kenneth Bronson banked in an off-balance 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Away side — despite a 29-point, 12-rebound effort from Louia and the presence of other stars such as Emporia High’s Taylor Euler, Olpe’s Cole Krueger and Lebo’s Adam Laflin — never drew closer than 23 points in the second half. Euler finished with 26 points and eight assists. Krueger had 16 points and Laflin had 14, with most of his points coming on several late baskets after a make-it, take-it rule for the trailing team went into effect for the final two minutes.
Despite their best efforts, neither team could pull off any Showtime-esque circus plays. Twice late in the second half, Hartford’s Craig Woods tried to toss the ball off the glass to Smith for a dunk. The first time, Smith missed a lefthanded jam; the second time, he caught the ball and settled for a layin to make it 112-83. The Home team tried its hand later with two attempted alley-oops between Osage City’s Josh Carson and Laflin, but neither resulted in a dunk.
“We had talked about (trying some special plays),” Louia said, “but kind of froze when game time came around, we forgot how to do it.”
Earlier in the evening, the girls Classic featured Emporia High’s Hilary Heinrichs playing out of her head. Heinrichs, mainly a rebounder and defender on the Spartans, put up an 18-point first half for the Away squad, leading it to a 39-34 halftime edge. But Heinrichs’ EHS teammate, Lexi Hileman, led the Home team back for a 78-63 win, and the two ended up sharing co-MVP honors. Heinrichs finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, Hileman with 18 points and nine boards.
“I didn’t really see it coming,” Heinrichs said, “because I’ve never scored that much in my life before. It was really fun.”
With Heinrichs guarding her, Hileman took her former teammate off the dribble and drove into the lane for a scoop shot to make it 57-52. Heinrichs answered with a basket to pull the Away team back within three, but Hileman then got fouled on a basket at the other end and made the free throw to make it 60-54. That play kicked off a 15-4 run for the Home squad that put the game away. A putback by Olpe’s Katie Moyer, a 3-pointer by Danielle Siegel of Council Grove and another three by Moyer made it 70-58, and Siegel then drove for a score to push the lead to 14. The final score made the first half, in which Away led by as many as 13, a distant memory.
“I’m glad I got to be in it, and I liked the team that I had — they were all great,” Hileman said. “And we all got along together right when we first got here, and that’s always a plus. And I thought we played well together, especially in the second half.”
Siegel ended up with 16 for the Home side, and another EHS representative, Rachelle VanGundy, added 14 points. Amanda Bixel of Santa Fe Trail had eight rebounds, and Moyer had seven, along with four assists.
For the Away team, Northern Heights’ Andrea Miller backed Heinrichs with 18 points and nine rebounds, and Allyx Barnhart of Burlington had 14 points.
Roman Murray of Northern Heights was victorious in the boys 3-point shooting contest earlier in the day, making 10-of-12 treys. VanGundy’s victory in the girls 3-point shooting contest gave EHS a sweep of the girls awards; she made 13-of-15 threes.
Saturday at White Auditorium
Home girls 78, Away 63
Away 39 24 — 63
Home 34 44 — 78
Away — Andrea Miller 18, Kady Paul 2, Paige Hamman 4, Hilary Heinrichs 22, Allyx Barnhart 14, Sarah Boline 2, Brenna Wilson 1, Hannah Rush 0.
Home — Lexi Hileman 18, Paige Fort 2, Kelsey Sturdy 4, Amy Lee 8, Danielle Siegel 16, Rachelle VanGundy 14, Katie Moyer 6, Amanda Bixel 0, Kylee Scott 4, Meghan Atchison 6.
Home boys 134, Away 101
Away 37 64 — 101
Home 67 67 — 134
Away — Adam Laflin 14, Ryan Louia 29, Greg Davis 2, Taylor Euler 26, Josh Carson 9, Cole Krueger 16, Justin Meyer 3, Nick Tabares 2.
Home — Josh Klumpe 14, Craig Woods 8, Jacob Torres 20, Corey Smith 15, Michael Luthi 10, Roman Murray 8, Kenneth Bronson 15, Brandon Litch 17, John Kraft 16, Sean Carr 11.