By Chad Hayworth (for OzarksSportsZone.com)
JOPLIN — Top-ranked Rockhurst held Kickapoo to just 5 points for the first 14 minutes of the second half Saturday afternoon, enough to win the Class 6 quarterfinal 42-29 and book their ticket to Columbia for the Show-Me Showdown later this week.
The Hawklets, ranked No. 1 in Class 6, led by just a single basket heading into the second half, but eventually built a 20-point lead, 41-21, before sending in the reserves with about two minutes left in the contest.
“We didn’t get a ton of great looks and that had a ton to do with Rockhurst and what they do defensively,” Kickapoo coach Mitch McHenry said. “It’s hard to keep a team that has that much size and is that skilled kind of locked down, or keep them from scoring and we just struggled in the second half with putting the ball in the hole.”
Neither team shot the ball particularly well on Saturday, thanks in part to hard-nosed defense at both ends of the floor.
“We needed to control the tempo and control the possessions,” McHenry said. “I didn’t think either team played great in the first half, but we were within striking distance.”
Kickapoo (24-6) jumped out to an early 6-3 lead, thanks in part to four made free-throws by senior guard William Winn, and led 6-5 at the end of the first quarter.
Rockhurst took a 14-12 lead with about 5 minutes to play in the half, before two more free-throws from Rylee Reid Tan tied the game with 4:02 left in the second. Two more free-throws from the senior guard cut the lead to 18-16 with just over two minutes to play in the half.
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In all, Kickapoo was 10-10 from the line in the first half, including a pair from senior Reese Kimrey midway through the second.
The Chiefs got two decent looks at a 3-pointer in the half’s final seconds, but couldn’t get either to fall and trailed 18-16 at the break.
Those two long-shots, both of which drew iron but rattled out, were a harbinger of what was to come in the second half.
After an early basket from senior Brock Thompson, the Chiefs were scoreless until Kimrey hit one of two free-throws with 45 seconds to play in the third quarter. By that point, the Hawklets had hit a basket here and there, including a pair of 3-pointers and led 30-19.
Thompson, who led Kickapoo with 6 points, hit his second basket of the half with 2:15 remaining in the game. He was the only Chief to have more than one field goal in the contest.
After each team had sent in their reserves, the Chiefs got a bit of an offensive boost, scoring 8 points in the final two minutes, with 3-pointers from seniors Robert Lee and Carter Christie, and two points from junior Jeydon Suddarth.
The loss is the first for the Chiefs since the Tournament of Champions in mid-January. After an 0-3 run at the TOC, Kickapoo rattled off 15-straight victories.
McHenry said he knew this year’s senior class had a chance to be special when they came into the program as freshmen.
“We had nine seniors stick with us for four years,” he said. “You don’t see that all the time. They have been a joy to be around and have made the program better.”
As a group, they approached the game with right way, McHenry said.
“They’re unselfish. They are program guys,” he said. “It sucks to say good-bye to them.”
Rockhurt (27-1) was led by senior Hueston Saunders, who scored 12, and senior Kevin Sullivan, who finished with 9. They will play either De Smet Jesuit or Francis Howell Central at 4 p.m. Friday at Mizzou Arena.
KICKAPOO 6 10 3 10 — 29
ROCKHURST 5 13 12 12 — 42
KHS: Thompson 6, Kimney 5, Tan 4, Winn 4, Lee 3, Christie 3, Rubidoux 2, Suddarth 2
RHS: Saunders 12, Sullivan 9, Roberts 7, Robinson 6, Green 5, Moylan 2, Curtis 1
