Hays 61 – Wichita East 51 DODGE CITY — Something had to give. Two 11-0 teams in the championship of the Dodge City Tournament of Champions represented in Hays and Wichita East.
The hype and build up of the game became realized after Hays went on a 9-0 run in the first quarter to take a 12-8 lead. Hays led after the first quarter 14-12 despite Brady Werth picking up two fouls in the first 58 seconds of the game.
Hays led 22-21 heading towards half time but the Wichita East Blue Aces scored the last three points of the half to take 24-22 lead at half.
The big quarter for Hays came in the third. Tied at 29 Hays went on a 14-2 run taking the biggest lead of the night 43-31. East cut the lead down to seven on several occasions and eventually down to five at 56-51, but never got any closer with Hays winning 61-51.
Hays made 17 of 21 free throws and shot 44% from the field at 19 for 43. East shot 37% 20 of 54.
Brady Werth led the Indians with 17 points, Jordan Windholz scored 13 and Clayton Riedel scored 11 off the bench. Werth and Windholz were named to the all tournament team. Werth was name the tournaments Most Inspirational Player. Hays moves to 12-0 on the season. The Blue Aces are 11-1.
Wins sometimes come easy…sometimes it seems like even the rim wants you to lose. When trying to move to 11-0 on the season, at some point the wins don’t come easy. Friday night at the Dodge City Tournament of Champions semi-finals NOTHING came easy for Hays High.
Hays jumped out to an early 10-6 lead half way through the first quarter over Manhattan. The Indians had several opportunities to pull away but a cold night shooting and an even worse night at the free throw line allowed Manhattan to take the lead early in the second quarter at 14-12. Neither team was stellar in the first half and were tied at 17 a piece through the first two quarters.
Manhattan again lead by one or two points for a majority of the third quarter when Isaiah Nunnery and Jordan Windholz each hit a three pointer to give Hays a 26-21 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Those two three gave Hays a lead they never let go of.
Manhattan hit a three to open the fourth, before Hays pushed the lead up to six again. Manhattan again pushed back getting with in one at 34-33 with 2:30 to go in the game. Manhattan started to foul Hays High, who had been terrible at the free throw line making just 6 of 15 attempts. But over the final 2:21 Hays made 8 of 10 free throws and allowed just a single three point field goal allowing Hays to escape with a 42-36 win and stay undefeated at 11-0. Manhattan falls to 7-3.
Hays was led by Jordan Windholz scoring 19. He was the only player in the game to score in double figures.
Hays shot just 38% 12 of 32 and made just 4 of 16 threes. Manhattan was 14 of 36 for 39% and 5 of 16 beyond the arc. Hays made a living a the line finishing 14 of 25. Manhattan was just 3 of 6.
Hays will play undefeated Wichita East in the finals of the tournament Saturday night at 6:00. East is ranked #2 in 6A. Hays is ranked #3 in 5A.
Hays 62 – Hutchinson 41 The final margin of Hays High’s opening round win over Hutchinson in the Dodge City Tournament of Champions was 21 points. The game however was much closer than the score indicated.
Neither team scored over the first two minutes of the ball game when Kade Parker and Lane Clark hit back to back three pointers to take a 6-0 lead. Hutchinson got with in one point at 8-7 but never was able to take the lead after Clark hit another three pointer, this one with three seconds left in the first quarter to give Hays a 14-9 lead.
The Indians turned that three pointer into a 13-2 run and lead by as many at 13 in the first half and settled for a ten point halftime lead 29-19.
Each team scored 11 points in the third quarter. Eight of those points came from Brady Werth who had scored only six points in the first half and none in the first quarter.
Less than two minutes into the fourth quarter, Hays built their lead to 12, but Hutchinson scored six straight getting within six at 45-39 with 5:00 to go in the game. That is when Hays High played their best ball of the night out scoring the Salthawks 17-2 rest of the way for the 62-41 win.
Brady Werth led the team with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks. Werth was 10-11 from the free throw line. Lane Clark added 14 and was 4-5 on threes.
As a team Hays shot 59% in the second half and 46% for the game 18-39. Hays was 7-18 on threes and made 19 of 22 free throws. Hutchinson was 15-42 from the field for 36% and made 6 of 16 beyond the arc. The Salthawks shot just 10 free throws and made 5.
Hays moves to 10-0 on the year and moves onto the semi-finals of the Tournament of Champions where they will take on Manhattan who upset #5 in 5A Wichita Heights in over time.
Hutchinson drops to 3-7.
Game time is set for 7:00 from the United Wireless Arena in Dodge City.
DODGE CITY — The Hays High Lady Indians hit the midpoint of their 20-game regular season schedule with the same number of wins it started with unfortunately… zero. The Lady Indians saw Dodge City use a 16-0 run to start the game then add runs of 12-0 and 11-0 before the first half was over, giving the Lady Demons a 30-point lead at the half and eventually a 71-28 victory Tuesday night in Dodge City. The Red Demons outscored Hays High 20-6, 23-7 and 20-5 in each of the first three quarters. The Lady Indians outscored Dodge 10-8 in the fourth.
Dodge City improved to 4-4 on the season and 1-2 in the Western Athletic conference, shooting 52% from the field (26-50) and made eight their 13 three pointers. The Lady Demons also shot 11 of 14 from the free throw line. Hays made just 10 of 43 shots and 1 of 16 threes while dropping to 0-10 on the season and 0-4 in the conference.
Hays is off until next Thursday when they play at the Mid-America Basketball Tournament in McPherson. Those brackets are due out sometime today. Hays is likely to play the #1 overall seed Manhattan.
The game Friday night between Hays and Garden City started the same for Hays the previous four did…a big hole to dig out of. Down 8-0 Hays twice rallied to get within four points, but could not get any closer. Early in the second quarter Hays was down 16-10 and had the ball twice trying to get closer. Hays though turned it over and Garden City out scored Hays 53-17 rest of the way.
Mattison Schlaefli scored a career high ten points in the loss as Hays falls to 0-9 on the year and 0-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. Garden City improves to 7-3 and 3-1 in the WAC.
The Lady Indians will travel to Dodge City on Tuesday for a girls only game that will tip around 7:00 before having time off until the McPherson tournament on January 30th, 31st and February 1st.
Boys: Hays 47, Garden City 33
Hays had proven through their first eight games they could win an up-tempo style of game. Friday night Garden City slowed the ball down and Hays had to fight for their ninth straight victory to open the season. Hays led 2-0 over the first two minutes when Garden City took a 5-2 lead and pushed the lead up to five at 11-6. Hays trailed 12-8 after the first quarter, the first time this season Hays had trailed at the end of the first.
The Indians though found the shooting touch in the second quarter taking the halftime lead on a 14-2 run and led 22-14 at half time capped off by back to back Jordan Windholz threes.
Hays took a brief ten point lead, but Garden City pushed back getting within two points at 30-28 early in the fourth quarter. On the next possession Kyler Nierenberger lobbed an inbound pass from the baseline for an alley-oop to Brady Werth igniting the deciding 17-3 run and a 47-33 victory.
Hays was led in scoring by Lane Clark with 13, Jordan Windholz had 12 on four three pointers, and Brady Werth added 11.
The Indians move to 9-0 on the year and 3-0 in the WAC. Garden city drops to 6-4 and 2-2.
Hays will be at the Dodge City Tournament of Champions next Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Hays will face Hutchinson at 2:00 in the tournaments first game. The games live from the TOC will be radio only, as streaming is prohibited due to contractual agreements.
Hays High Indian senior Layne Downing signed with Dodge City Community College to continue his baseball career. Downing has played second, third and shortstop in his time at Hays High, but has excelled the most at pitching.
At the plate, Downing is a career .347 hitter with 10 extra base hits, three of which were home runs, all in his senior year.
As a pitcher, Downing went 2-1 last season in six appearances, scattering just seven hits over 19.2 innings. Layne’s best performance came against Liberal when he pitched a complete game no hitter allowing just two walks and striking out nine.
Downing also played a key role in helping the Hays Eagles win the American Legion AAA state championship the past two summers. In 2012, Layne pitched the sixth, seventh, and eighth innings in the championship game helping the Eagles hold their lead and win the title. This past summer, Downing was one of the workhorses on the pitching staff, helping the Eagle make the regional tournament in Arkansas.
Downing said the coaches at Dodge City have talked about playing him at pitcher, third and possibly first base.
GIRLS: Great Bend 70, Hays 43 While the score doesn’t look good, the Hays High Lady Indians showed much needed signs of aggression and willingness to shoot the ball Tuesday night in their loss to Great Bend. The Panthers led Hays early 5-0, but Hays scored back to back field goals to get with in one and had possession of the basketball. Hays however turned the ball over, starting a 12-2 Great Bend run creating a deficit the Indians could never over come falling 70-43.
Hays shot well beyond the arc hitting 5 of 10 three point shots, and 10 of 16 from the free throw line. Great Bend however shot 45% for the game and made 8 of 16 beyond the arc. The Indians achilles heal again was turnovers committing 30 in the game.
The Lady Indians were led by Audra Schmeidler with 15 points, including three of the Indians treys.
Hays falls to 0-8 on the year and 0-2 in the WAC. Great Bend ranked 8th in 5A moves to 6-1 and 2-0 in the conference. Great Bend was the fifth state ranked opponent the Indians have played in their first 8 games.
Game Highlights
Kirk Maska Postgame Interview
BOYS: Hays 70, Great Bend 25 Hays started the game on a 15-0 run and never looked back beating their rival Great Bend 70-25 on Tuesday night. Great Bend scored only two field goals in the first half at the :40 mark of the first quarter and the :25 mark of the second. Hays went on a 17-0 run in between the shots and pushed their lead to 34-5 at half. Hays opened the second half on another 15-0 run and lead midway through the third quarter 49-5. The Indians biggest lead came in the fourth quarter by fifty points.
Hays shot well all night making 25 of 56 shots and 6 of 12 from beyond the arc. Hays was also a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line. Great Bend shot just 27%, 9 of 33 and made 5 of 12 threes. Hays out rebounded Great Bend 40-15 in the game.
Seven players scored seven or more points in the game for Hays and only one made it to double figures, led by the 13 of Clayton Riedel.
The Indians move to 8-0 for the first time in 43 years and first time ever under head coach Rick Keltner. Great Bend has lost six in a row and is now 1-6 on the year. The Indians also move to 2-0 in WAC play.
The Hays High Lady Indians failed to score in the first quarter against Liberal on Friday night and never could make up the difference falling to 0-7 on the season. Hays trailed 10-0 heading into the second quarter and twice cut the lead down to eight but could never get any closer. The Indians trailed by 19 at half time and lost by 49-31. Liberal has now won three straight games and moves to 3-4 on the year. It was the first game for both teams in Western Athletic Conference play.
Hays shot just 26% from the field making 12 of 46 shots while Liberal shot 30% going 16 for 54. Both teams made four three pointers. The teams totaled 50 turnovers 30 for Hays and 20 for Liberal.
Audra Schmeidler and Haley Wells each scored six to lead the Indians in the loss.
Boys: Hays 78, Liberal 49
For a second game in a week the Hays Indians trailed early but used a big first quarter run to put separation between them and their opponent. Liberal led the Indians 5-3 before Lane Clark made a three to give the Indians 6-5 lead and then Clark stole the ball in the back court and laid it in for an 8-5 lead. Hays would never trail again as that sparked a 12-0 run including an alley-oop jam from Kyler Niernberger to Brady Werth. Werth was fouled on the play and made the free throw. Liberal though fought back to be within nine midway through the second quarter, when Hays went on a 25-0 run over the final four minutes of the first half and first three minutes of the second taking a 51-17 lead. Hays moves to 7-0, 1-0 with the 78-49 win. Liberal drops to 3-5, 0-1.
Hays shot 52% in the victory going 25-54. Liberal made 15 field goals on the night, seven of which came in the fourth quarter. Both teams went 6-17 on three point field goals. Neither team was stellar from the free throw line on the game. Hays was 13-24 and Liberal was 11-27. On the night Hays committed just 6 turnovers while Liberal had 21.
Hays was led by Brady Werth with 18 points. He has been in double figures in each of the seven games played this year. Jordan Windholz scored 15 and Lane Clark added 13. Liberal was led by Britton Abbott scoring 13 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
Hays will be at home Tuesday taking on Great Bend.
The Hays High Indians played their first games of the 2014 portion of the basketball season in Pratt on Tuesday night with the same results each team has had all season.
Girls: Pratt 70, Hays 29
Pratt sandwiched a 9-0 and 19-0 run around a pair of Indian free throws and controlled the game from the very beginning in defeating Hays 70-29. The Indians made just eight shots on the night on 22 attempts. Pratt shot 58% making 28 of 48 and 8 of 13 beyond the arc. One bright spot on the game was free throws shooting that saw Hays make 12 of 18. The Indians were led by Haley Wells who scored eight. Pratt had six girls score seven or more points led by Missouri Southern signee Jenson Maydew.
Pratt is currently ranked 4th by the KBCA in 4A division 2. Tuesday’s game marks the fourth state ranked team that Hays has played in their first six games.
Hays drops to 0-6, while Pratt improves to 4-1.
Game Highlights
Coach Kirk Maska Postgame Interview
Boys: Hays 61, Pratt 27
It took the Indians a couple of minutes in the first quarter to shake off the holiday rust, but once they got rolling Pratt had no answer for the third rated team in class 5A. Pratt led early on a pair of free throws just 30 seconds in the game. Hays would then score the games next 15 points to lead 15-2 after the first quarter. The lead would dwindle only once to 11 points and never be close again as Hays moves to 6-0 with a 61-27 victory in Pratt on Tuesday night.
Hays shot 46% from the floor making 21 of 46 shots. Pratt made just eight field goals, two of which came in the games final 90 seconds.
The Indians put three into double figures led by Jordan Windholz scoring 14, Brady Werth added 12 and Clayton Riedel chipped in 10 off the bench. Pratt drops to 1-4 on the year.
Hays is back in action on Friday to open up Western Athletic Conference play against Liberal.
There are some jobs that are just too good to pass up. For the Hays High Indian’s football and track coach Ryan Cornelsen, this was one of them. Cornelsen has announced his resignation at Hays High after five seasons. Cornelsen will be taking over as head football coach for the Hutchinson Salthawks, who recently had their coach Randy Dreiling resign for a similar position at St. Thomas Aquinas. He also will serve as an assistant for the track program.
Cornelsen had immediate success in Hays winning his first seven games in a 7-2 season that included a loss to Hutchinson in district play. In fact, his Indians hosted Hutchinson in a 2011 opening round loss. Cornelsen went 35-12 over his five seasons in Hays and is 88-24 in his two head coaching stops in Hays and La Crosse. His 35 wins rank him sixth all-time at Hays High and his 74.5 percent winning percentage ranks first.
In a sport measured by post-season success, Cornelsen was able to do something at Hays that hadn’t been done since 1995 — make the playoffs. He led Hays to the playoffs in 2011 and 2012, the first time in school history that the Indians had made the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.
Hays was also crowned Western Athletic Conference champions three times under Cornelsen — 2009, 2011 and 2012.
In his time with the Indians, he also led boys track team to four consecutive team titles in four opportunities. Cornelsen plans to stay with Hays through the spring semester and coach the track team as well.
GIRLS: Junction City 50, Hays 32 The Hays High Indians traveled away from Hays for the first time this season taking on Junction City Tuesday night.
The Lady Indians fell behind 6-0 early, but battled back to twice get with in two points. At 10-8, Hays had two opportunities to tie or take the lead but couldn’t take advantage of Junction City miscues. The Lady Jays built their lead to 11 at halftime and moved on for the 18 point win.
Hays was led by a big night from sophomore Audra Schmeidler, scoring 19 points grabbing 11 rebounds and blocking 2 shots. Schmeidler made all but one of the Indian’s eight field goals on the night.
Hays shot just 25% on the night making 8 of 32 shots and hitting 14 of 27 free throws. Junction City shot 14 of 38 and made 19 of 24 free throws. The teams combined for 52 turnovers and 50 plus fouls. Hays falls to 0-5 on the season and Junction City improves to 2-2.
Kirk Maska Postgame Interview
Game Highlights
BOYS: Hays 46, Junction City 45
Junction City was looking for a 3-0 mark in games against the Western Athletic Conference this season after beating Great Bend and Dodge City on Friday and Saturday. Hays though would rally from four down after losing a 13 point third quarter lead.
Hays looked to be well on their way to a fifth consecutive victory to open the season after 10-0 run to take a 13-3 first quarter lead. The Indians held a nine point lead when Lane Clark was fouled and took an elbow on the top of the head that opened a gash on top of his head that forced him to miss the rest of the quarter. Hays scored just five more points in his absence, all by Brady Werth, and led 22-13 at intermission.
The Indians pushed their lead to 28-15 on back to back Kade Parker and Clark threes. Junction City though answered back with a 18-4 run to grab an early fourth quarter 33-32 lead, their first of the game. Hays would regain the lead on a pair of Werth free throws before a three pointer by the Blue Jays gave Junction City a 36-34 lead with 5:55 remaining in the game. Hays used another three pointer from Kade Parker to tie the game at 38, before falling behind 44-40 with 2:33 remaining on a Junction City three point play. The Blue Jays would score just one more point the rest of the game. In the next two minutes Hays got four points from Werth to get with in one at 45-44. Junction City had the ball but committed a turnover with 35 seconds left and fouled Jordan Windholz who hit both free throws giving Hays the 46-45 lead.
Junction City ran the clock down and after calling a time out, never got a shot off as the Indian defense forced a turnover as the clock expired.
Hays was led by Brady Werth with 22 points 16 rebounds and two blocked shots. Werth was also 6-6 from the free throw line. The Indians got a huge night from Kade Parker hitting 3 of 4 three pointers on his way to a season high 11.
Hays shot 13 of 20 from the free throw line, but made their final six over the games last three minutes to help seal the win. The Indians shot 14 of 36 in the game for 39% and made 5 of 12 threes. Junction City also shot 39% at 18 of 46 and made 6 of 15 3’s. The Blue Jays though made just 3 of 8 free throws. Hays had a season high 21 turnovers in the win.
Hays moves to 5-0 and is ranked 4th by the KBCA in class 5A. Junction City falls to 2-2.
Hays is off for the rest of 2013 and will play again on January 7th in Pratt.
Colby Girls 32, Hays 22
The Hays High Lady Indians faced their third state ranked team in four games to open up the season on Thursday night. Hays led Colby 9-2 over midway through the first quarter, but had their lead cut to one (11-10) by a three pointer from Colby at the first quarter buzzer. Hays would score just 11 more points over the next three quarters losing 32-22. Hays scored just one point over a 12 minute stretch of the game in the second and third quarter, falling behind by nine and couldn’t recover. Haileigh Shull led Colby with a game high 13 points and 9 rebounds. The Lady Indians were led by Haley Wells with 8. Hays drops to 0-4, Colby improves to 2-2.
Kirk Maska Postgame Interview
Game Highights
Hays High Boys 86, Colby 50
The fourth ranked Hays High Indians came out early and mashed the gas pedal early against Colby and never let up. Hays scored the first 11 points of the game before a 3 pointer from Colby came almost halfway through the first quarter. Hays built their lead as high as 16 in the first quarter before taking a 24-13 lead after the first eight minutes.
The Indians lead was cut to nine a little over 2:00 minutes in the second, when Hays went on a 15-2, seizing control of the game and the outcome was never in doubt. Hays led 47-23 at half time and moved to 4-0 with an 86-50 lead.
Hays shot 56% in their high scoring game of the young season. The Indians were 7 of 12 beyond the arc while turning the ball over just seven times. Colby did shoot 46% but turned the ball over 27 times and made just 3 of 14 three’s. Colby drops to 0-4 on the year with all their games so far coming in Hays.
Brady Werth led Hays with 25 points and 6 blocks. It is Werth’s sixth game with 20 plus points and now has over 500 in his career. Jordan Windholz scored a career high 21 and Isaiah Nunnery scored in double figures for the first time, the sophomore posted 10 in the win. Clayton Riedel led the team with seven rebounds.
Both Hays teams go on the road for the first time this season when they head to Junction City on Tuesday. The Blue Jays face two more WAC teams Friday and Saturday playing Great Bend and Dodge City.
For a second straight game the Hays High Lady Indians played a state ranked team at the Hays City Shootout. For a second straight time the Indians also came out slowly and put themselves in a hole to big to dig out of. Down 16-0 to start the game, Hays could muster just a single point in the first quarter against DeSoto and trailed 19-1. The Indians trailed by 2o at half time and lost by 27 for a second straight night 56-29.
Sophomore Audra Schmeidler led the team in scoring with eight for the now 0-2 Lady Indians who will face TMP in the 7th place game at Hays Middle school at 10:00 am Saturday morning.
The Hays High boys raced out to a 9-2 lead against Newton after being tied at 2 early on, then used a 16-3 run in the second quarter to build a 21 point lead at 33-12. Hays pushed the lead to 22 early in the third quarter, but didn’t score over the next 4:50 and a nine point Newton run cut the lead down to 13 (40-27) entering the fourth quarter.
Hays though responded with a 10-2 run, placing the game out of reach for Newton and went on for the 60-35 victory.
Jordan Windholz led the team scoring 13 and Brady Werth added 12.
For a second straight night the Hays defense held their opponent to just 32% shooting. Hays shot 22 of 48 for 46%. Hays once again limited their turnovers, committing just eight while forcing Newton into 25.
Hays is now 2-0 and will face Garden City in the title game Saturday evening at 7:00. Hays will try to win back to back shoot out titles for just the second time. The Indians last did it in 2003 and 2004.
