Spartans lose temper, early lead in 62-50 loss to No. 1 Highland Park
Ken Corbitt/Special to The Gazette
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Laura Schwinn
Emporia High's Brandon Childs goes up for a layup during Friday night's game against Highland Park. Emporia lost to No. 1-ranked Highland Park, 62-50.
TOPEKA — For 23 minutes, Emporia had control of the game against Highland Park, the No. 1 team in Class 5A.
Then the Spartans lost control of their emotions with two technical fouls and the Scots pulled away to a 62-50 victory Friday at Highland Park.
“We got caught up in the emotion of the game,” Spartans coach Rick Bloomquist said.
It started in the final minute of the third quarter when Taylor Euler drew a technical foul for pushing a Highland Park player as they jostled for position on an inbounds play.
Then, in the midst of the Scots’ 13-3 run to open the fourth quarter, Bloomquist worked hard to get a technical.
Ty Modupe, Highland Park’s 6-foot-8 senior, had just scored on a dunk to give the Scots a 48-41 lead. Bloomquist called a timeout and confronted an official about a no-foul call on Modupe just prior to the dunk when he felt Modupe went over the back of a Spartan for a rebound.
Bloomquist was animated in his argument, then finally got the technical when he bumped the official.
“I went to get the technical,” Bloomquist said. “I don’t get many technicals but when I do, I do it on purpose.
“My kids battled and that was a horrid call. As physical as Highland Park was getting, you have to make a call. I’m going to battle for my kids.”
The Spartans led throughout the first half, forcing the Scots to try to beat their zone from the outside. The Scots made only 2 of 14 3-pointers and Emporia led 24-21 at halftime.
Laura Schwinn
Emporia High boys basketball coach Rick Bloomquist argues a call with an official during a timeout in Friday night's game against Highland Park.
“We accomplished what we wanted to do, making them a little inconsistent,” Bloomquist said. “We have to throw a team like Highland Park off balance and not let them get in rhythm. We disrupted their continuity.”
But Rico Richardson went 4 of 5 behind the arc in the third quarter, propelling the Scots to a 41-38 lead. Highland Park then began the fourth quarter with the 13-3 run, opening a 54-41 lead.
Richardson finished with 23 points, hitting 6 of 10 treys, and Modupe had 18 points and nine rebounds.
Emporia built the first-half lead behind 10 points from Troy Pierce and seven from Brandon Childs, but they combined for only six points the second half. Childs, Euler and Pierce scored 12 points each.
Spartans guard Caydrick Bloomquist, who has been ill with the flu, started the game but scored only three points.
“Caydrick not being 100 percent hurt us,” Rick Bloomquist said. “We tried to use his presence more than his ability because they had to guard him and then try to go four-on-four.
“My kids played well and they played hard. Highland Park had to beat a good team tonight. It wasn’t a normal walk in the park for them.”
Laura Schwinn
Emporia High's Jacob Torres dribbles around a Highland Park defender during Friday night's game in Topeka.
Highland Park boys 62, Emporia 50
Friday at Topeka
Emporia 16 8 14 12 — 50
Highland Park 10 11 20 21 — 62
Emporia (11-9, 6-7) — Childs 5-8 1-1 12, Bloomquist 1-4 0-0 3, Euler 4-10 2-4 12, Torres 3-9 2-2 9, Pierce 6-8 0-0 12, Canales 1-1 0-0 2, Reimer 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-40 5-7 50.
Highland Park (19-1, 12-1) — Ramsdell 0-2 0-0 0, Herrera 3-12 2-2 8, Inyard 2-5 0-0 4, Richardson 8-14 1-2 23, Modupe 8-12 2-2 18, Grant 0-2 0-0 0, Fields 1-5 2-2 5, Copeland 0-0 1-2 1, Ewing 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 23-54 8-10 62.
3-point goals — Emporia 5-12 (Euler 2-4, Childs 1-2, Bloomquist 1-4, Torres 1-2), Highland Park 8-27 (Richardson 6-10, Fields 1-4, Ewing 1-2, Ramsdell 0-1, Herrera 0-9, Grant 0-1). Total fouls — Emporia 9, Highland Park 15. Fouled out — None. Technical fouls — Euler, Emporia bench.
Comments
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
Posted by hartford (anonymous) on February 24, 2008 at 12:12 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Bloomquist really should have been ejected from the game. I understand he was stressed and really needed this win, but that doesn't make it right.
Posted by exspartan (anonymous) on February 24, 2008 at 1:56 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Brandon is coming out of his shell , he is the most athletic player on the team , too bad it took so long for the coach to realize it. Oh I forgot he does the tear them down build them back up approach ! 19 years and no Championship and he is still coaching Why ? He only cares about making his son a D-1 Player and Making Money !
Posted by create (anonymous) on February 24, 2008 at 8:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Money? Money? You're kidding, right? After all the time involved with practices, road trips, planning, the games themselves, and dealing with problems, it all comes out to about a buck an hour. I wonder what people would be saying if the team had won.
Posted by exspartan (anonymous) on February 25, 2008 at 7:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If you only knew !
I only know if he had Luke Barnwell , Seth Torres , Jacob Davies ,
They would have a better run for State but he wanted to make sure his Son could have the spotlight and the greenlight to shoot 20-28 times per game , .thats why he ran them off or treated them like Sh-t
Posted by patience (anonymous) on February 25, 2008 at 12:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Bloomquist is a power unto himself. He is a pompous you know what and the administration and board have let him run amok. He has committed infractions that the regular staff would be fired for!
Posted by playbook (anonymous) on February 25, 2008 at 1:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
They know, but are afraid to step up and do anything.
The words that come out of his mouth towards the players are insane.
Posted by exspartan (anonymous) on February 27, 2008 at 12:27 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I totally agree patience. But Britton stood up to him , so please give him credit .
Post a comment
We allow registered users to post comments on this Web site. Our goal with this feature is to encourage thoughtful discussions about the news stories. Using the comment feature to make random attacks on people is not acceptable. Emporiagazette.com neither endorses nor guarantees the accuracy of any user contribution. Responsibility for what is posted or contributed to this site is the sole responsibility of each user. To learn more about our posting policies please read our User Poster Agreement Policy.
(Requires free registration.)