Nickerson’s Quintin Crandall felt right at home at the charity stripe. Crandall converted 17 of 19 free throws to spark Nickerson’s 59-50 basketball upset of Central Kansas League co-leader Halstead.
“I take two dribbles and focus on knocking them down,” said Crandall, who scored 27 points. “I like being in that situation where I’m shooting free throws.”
Nickerson scored 25 points in the fourth quarter to hold off Halstead’s furious rally. Nickerson (5-9, 1-2) posted its first league victory. Halstead (6-8, 2-1) was knocked out of a first-place tie.
Ryan O’Toole chipped in 13 points to go with a solid defensive game against Halstead’s leading scorer Andrew Pjesky. Freshman supersub Ethan Belden added 11 points. The Panthers made 23 of 38 free throws.
“We had some guys step up and play their best games tonight,” Crandall said. “We finished strong tonight.”
The Panthers maintained control from the outset, building a 22-15 halftime lead behind a solid defensive effort against Halstead’s shooters. But Nickerson coach Ryan Duft had seen the Panthers lose leads against league contenders Sterling and Hillsboro.
“We’ve played similar first halves against Sterling and Hillsboro, so it was nice to finish the job and make plays in the fourth quarter,” Duft said. “We were able to finish the game tonight. It was one of our best games of the season. Everyone we played contributed to the victory.”
Nate Hiatt gave the Panthers a physical presence inside without injured starter Austin Phillips, Nickerson’s best inside player.
Nickerson kept attacking Halstead’s pressure defense over the top as Crandall, Belden and O’Toole scored off transition. Crandall’s attacking style set up his teammates and kept the Dragons on their heels. His ballhandling helped foul out both Ryan Bibb and Devan Bibb.
“As long as Quintin had the advantage, we wanted to stay aggressive and continue to make plays,” Duft said. “Quintin is quick and he’s strong to the basket. It was Ryan O’Toole’s best game of the season. Not only did he give us some scoring and rebounding, he did a great job defending their best offensive player. Ethan Belden gave us great energy off the bench.”
Nickerson’s scrappy defense held Halstead without a field goal four minutes into the fourth period. The Panthers rebuilt the lead to 46-35 when Tucker Kaufman scored Halstead’s first basket of the fourth period. Anthony Santiago converted a pair of 3-pointers and Pjesky added a trey, but could draw no closer than eight points.
Blake Bohling and Santiago each scored 10 points. Kaufman scored nine points and Pjesky added eight points.
Nickerson travels to Pratt Friday and Halstead plays Smoky Valley at home.
