Aurora – Another victory came into focus for coach Ken Shaw and the Smoky Hill boys basketball team Saturday, but only after the Buffaloes lost and then rediscovered their focus.
Smoky Hill jumped to a big lead in the first quarter, only to watch the Spartans gobble up the deficit. But the Buffaloes regained their footing, slipped into an unconscious state at the free-throw line and defeated Thomas Jefferson 65-51 at the Tournament of Champions at Grandview.
“We just lost our focus. We didn’t finish the way we should have,” Smoky Hill senior Scott May said. “We always have to make sure we stay focused and do the little things. When we stop doing that, things fall apart.”
The Buffaloes (10-2) will play Abraham Lincoln in the championship game Monday at Metro State. The tournament started in mid-December but was postponed after the wave of snowstorms moved through the state.
May led all scorers with 20 points, including a 10-for-10 performance at the foul line. Smoky Hill made 26-of-31 free throws and TJ hit 13-of-24. The Spartans (7-5) were especially foul at the foul line in the fourth quarter, sinking just 6-of-16 shots as well as any hopes for a rally.
“We didn’t shoot free throws very well, and when they got to the line they made them count,” said TJ senior Lawon Benford. “We had the motivation to fight back, but we were down too much and we tried to do too much.”
Benford scored a team-high 19 points, big man Bryan Greer added 11 and Mychal Bellamy hit two 3-point shots to finish with nine.
Smoky Hill’s Josh Cassaday was 7-for-7 on free throws and scored 13 points. Sam Huebner had 13 rebounds.
The Buffaloes tore up TJ’s 3-2 defense in the first quarter, running to a 16-4 lead by constantly moving on offense and attacking the basket.
The Spartans tried to answer by feeding Greer in the paint or dishing outside to the long-range shooters, but they had little luck. Thomas Jefferson soon was putting up bad shots or losing control of the ball. It all changed in the second quarter as the Spartans opened with an 8-0 run, cutting their deficit to two points (21-19). But every time TJ got close, Smoky Hill responded.
“We need to work on our consistency,” Shaw said. “Any good team you play is going to make some runs. … There are day-by-day, season-by-season things that need to be ironed out, and, hopefully, we’ll be a better team down the road.”
Smoky Hill 21 9 17 18 – 65
Thomas Jefferson 11 10 13 17 – 51
Smoky Hill – Agyei 0 0-0 0, May 4 10-10 20, Ross 2 5-7 9, Cassaday 3 7-7 13, Huebner 3 2-4 8, Carter 0 0-0 0, Perry 2 0-0 4, Stroth 1 2-2 4, Whittington 3 0-1 7. Totals 18 26-31 65.
Thomas Jefferson – Benford 6 7-12 19, Bellamy 3 1-2 9, Lewis 2 0-0 4, McCullough 1 0-0 2, Greer 3 4-4 11, Kane 1 1-6 3, Sprague 0 0-0 0, Walsh 1 0-0 3, Ratcliff 0 0-0 0, Workie 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 13-24 51.
3-point goals – May 2, Whittington; Bellamy 2, Greer, Walsh. Total fouls – Smoky Hill 20, Thomas Jefferson 22. Fouled out – McCullough. Technicals – None.
