No. 8-seeded Salina South kept up with the now 24-0 Shawnee Mission South Raiders for the first quarter, but after that, it got ugly fast. The Raiders were able to build a 31-18 at halftime and didn't look back in an 82-38 bludgeoning. It was the widest margain of victory in the history of the 5A state basketball tournament.
The Cougars first basket of the second half came at the 3:30 mark when SM South was up by nearly 30 points. SM South showed up, thanked Salina South for coming and left the floor to move on to play the winner of the No. 4 Mill Valley (18-3) vs. No. 5 Andover (17-5).
SM South's Dainan Swoope led all players with 18 points as teammate Jake Caldwell added 17. The only Cougar to break double digits was Connor Ryan with 11 points. SM South will meet No. 4 Mill Valley in the second round.
No. 4 Mill Valley finishes off No. 5 Andover
A back-and-forth first half led to a tight second half. Andover started the second half on a 6-0 run to get within two and took the lead midway through the third quarter. Mill Valley outscored Andover in every quarter except the third when the two teams both finished with 13 points. Mill Valley advanced to the second round with a 56-46 win.
Andover couldn't find any rhythm on the offensive end until it was too late. The Trojans pulled to within five with two minutes left in the game, but couldn't get any closer and were forced to foul. Mill Valley sank its free throws to end the Trojans' season.
Mill Valley's Logan Koch led all players with 16 points and Andover was led by Adam DeKong with 14. The Jaguars will face No. 1 Shawnee Mission South in the second round.
Lansing came out of the gate fast as it ran up and down and all around an overmatched Hays squad. The Lions advanced to the second round with a 59-42 beatdown. Lansing will face No. 6 Kapaun Mt. Carmel in the second round.
Hays simply couldn't keep up with Lansing, the third-place finisher in last season's 5A state tournament. The Lions knew what it was like to play on the Expocentre floor and showed it was hungry for a shot at the championship.
Lansing led for the entirety of the game and was led in scoring by Roy Clayter with 19. He led all players. Hays' Adam Deterding was the only Indian to score in double digits with 13 points.
No. 6 Kapaun holds on for win over No. 3 Emporia
It was tied at 25 at halftime. Both teams scored 13 points in the first quarter and 12 in the second quarter. But after a tough back-and-forth third quarter, Kapaun held just a four-point lead after three quarters. But Kapaun hit most of its free throws in the last half of the fourth quarter to come away with a 62-56 opening-round win.
Kapaun shot just seven three-pointers and made just one of them; a Braden Hullings triple in the first quarter.
It wasn't pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but Kapaun made all the right shots in the final quarter and stopped Emporia all the right times. Kapaun drew key fouls like Damien Akao taking a charge late and Crusaders stepping up at the free throw line were the difference.
Emporia's Jackson Perez led all players with 24 points in the loss and Kapaun's Toby Baxter dropped 23 points and Hullings added 18 in the win. Emporia's Garin Vandiver scored 19 points. Kapaun will play No. 2 Lansing in the second round.
