Sports
Big second half boosts Humboldt over Crest
The Humboldt Cubs boys basketball team remains undefeated after a 72-50 victory over Crest on Saturday. Crest actually had a five-point lead in the game at halftime, but the Cubs came back and outscored their opponents 28-10 in the third quarter. Noah Thornbrugh led Humboldt offensively, scoring 26 points, while Tanner McNutt had 24. Each player hit three three-pointers. The Humboldt squad, 14-0, will try to maintain its undefeated status, wh...
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Chanute girls fifth in latest KBCA rankings
After scoring a victory in the Tonganoxie Tournament over the weekend, the Chanute girls basketball team (11-2) has been selected as the fifth best 4A basketball team in the state by the weekly KBCA poll. Girard was the only other team in the southeast Kansas region besides the Comet girls to make the rankings. The Trojans, who lost to Chanute earlier this season, were selected seventh. Holton was picked first in the poll, with Wamego, McPher...
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NCCC men lose to Labette in double overtime
Brian McDowell Sports Editor NCCC men’s basketball coach Jeremy Coombs predicted that his team’s Saturday night showdown with Labette County on Saturday night would be a “dogfight.” The showdown proved him correct as the Panthers extended the match-up into double overtime, but weren’t able to win it in the end. Neosho County lost the game 74-71. “That’s a good team,” Coombs said. “They’re not at the top of our conference for nothing. They’re ...
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Emporia wins rematch with Emporia to be crowned Ralph Miller champs
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Emporia Spartans got their revenge on the Andover Central Jaguars on Saturday night. The two squads met in the championship game of last year’s Ralph Miller Classic, with Andover Central winning the final contest. This year’s meeting between the two highly ranked Kansas squads turned out differently, as Emporia powered its way to a 66-52 victory over Andover in Saturday night’s final Ralph Miller Classic game....
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Thunderbirds cruise to third place victory over Leavenworth
The Shawnee Heights Thunderbirds picked up third place in the Ralph Miller Classic with a 72-62 victory over the Leavenworth Pioneers on Saturday evening. The Thunderbirds jumped out ahead early in the contest, starting the proceedings with a 14-0 run, and fending off a comeback attempt by the Pioneers to come away with the win. This early Shawnee Heights run was powered by juniors Braeson Sester and Jovan Barksdale. Leavenworth did eventual...
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Emporia players win Ralph Miller skills contests
Emporia not only won this year’s Ralph Miller Classic action on Saturday, but the team’s players also fared well in the skills contests that started the final day of action at this year’s tournament. Jerel Morrow won the slam dunk contest for the second year in a row, and senior Garin Vandiver won the three-point contest by a wide margin. Coaches from participating teams started the proceedings with a seven-up free throw competition. Chanute ...
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Olathe North seventh place at Miller
The Olathe North Eagles started off Saturday play at the Ralph Miller Classic, winning the 7th place game over Goddard 58-38. The Eagles took a lead early in the first quarter and never lost it the whole game. Olathe North saw early scores on three-pointers by senior Jack Todd and junior Byron Cubit. Todd added more points, as Olathe North built a 14-0 lead. Goddard briefly interrupted the Eagles’ scoring with a three-pointer and a field goa...
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Comets sixth place at Ralph Miller after loss to Joplin
Brian McDowell Sports Editor The Chanute Blue Comets were the sixth place team at the this year’s Ralph Miller Classic, after a razor thin loss in a tense and physical face-off against a Joplin Eagles squad helmed by former Chanute coach Jeff Williams. Joplin secured fifth place in the tournament with a 60-56 comeback victory. The Eagles had an early lead in the game, but the Comets dominated its middle portions to come out ahead. However, Jo...
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Chanute girls win Tonganoxie tourney
TONGANOXIE — A lockdown second half defense helped the Chanute girls basketball team win the Tonganoxie tournament. The championship was obtained through a Saturday evening victory 39-32 over DeSoto. Not only did Chanute win the tournament’s trophy, but senior Brenna Olson was named the tournament MVP. Three members of the team were named to the Tonganoxie all-tournament squad — Olson, sophomore Macy Flowers and Shelby Trout, who hit the g...
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Gilmore among All-Tournament honorees
Chanute senior Brock Gilmore was among the honorees for the 2013 Ralph Miller Classic all-tournament team. Here is the complete list of selectees for the all-tournament team. Garin Vandiver-Emporia, Jackson Perez-Emporia, Zach Winter-Andover Central, Cameron Wiggins- Leavenworth, Charlie Brown-Joplin, Jovan Barksdale-Shawnee Heights, Braeson Sester-Shawnee Heights, Collin Nevil-Goddard, Brock Gilmore-Chanute.
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Lady Panthers fall to Labette in overtime
The NCCC Panthers women’s basketball team fought tooth and nail to force its Saturday night match-up with Labette County into overtime. However, the Cardinals’ defense shut down Neosho County scorers in this overtime period and won the game 56-53 on the free throw line. The loss brings the Lady Panthers’ season record to 7-10. Sophomore Alexis Hafenstein started the scoring for the Lady Panthers in this match-up, with Katie Gorman adding a b...
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Andover Central tops T-birds for chance to be repeat tourney champ
The Andover Central Jaguars, the winner of last year’s Ralph Miller Classic, earned the right to compete in the championship game of this year’s event with a 63-49 victory over the Shawnee Heights Thunderbirds Friday night. Andover Central senior Zach Winter, who scored 30 points in Andover’s victory over Olathe North on Thursday, jumpstarted the Jaguars offense early. Jovan Barksdale scored points early for the T-Birds, and a three-pointer b...
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Twenty-point win over Goddard now pits Comets against Williams’ Eagles
Brian McDowell Sports Editor After trailing at the end of the first quarter of its Friday afternoon Ralph Miller Classic match-up against Goddard, the Chanute Blue Comets boys basketball team amped up its defensive intensity and improved its communication on defense. “Some of the things that gave us trouble in the first quarter, I thought our guys did a little bit better job of shoring up,” Chanute Coach Max Ruark said. “I thought they came o...
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Trout three-pointer helps Comet girls topple Tonganoxie
There were 7.5 seconds to go in the Chanute girls basketball team’s Friday night semifinal match-up with the host school of the Tonganoxie Tournament, and the Comets were trailing by two points. This was when senior Shelby Trout launched a game-winning three-pointer that vaulted the Chanute girls basketball team to tonight’s championship game of the tournament. Trout’s three was half of the Blue Comets’ six points during the final quarter. ...
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Perez and Vandiver drive Emporia over Leavenworth
The second day of the Ralph Miller Classic concluded with a match-up between Emporia and Leavenworth, which was close-knit early on. The contest was tied at halftime. However, the highly-ranked Emporia squad eventually ran away with the game, riding amazing offensive displays by both Jackson Perez and Garin Vandiver, and putting together a resounding 84-68 victory. With the big victory, Emporia will face Andover Central in tonight’s tournamen...
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Joplin picks up win in tourney’s ‘Battle of the Eagles’
Joplin scored a 53-46 victory over Olathe North in the afternoon meeting between two teams named the Eagles that started Friday’s Ralph Miller’s second day tournament action. Neither Eagles squad was able to score for the game’s first minute and a half, until Olathe North senior Jack Todd scored a lay-up. The first quarter developed into an offensive battle between Todd and Joplin junior Charlie Brown. Todd scored eight points in this quarter...
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View from the Sports Desk: That WAS me in the movie Legally Blonde (and other important readers’ questions answered)
Covering 12 Ralph Miller Classic games in three days and getting them into the paper has sapped all of the creative energy that it takes to write a quality newspaper editorial. So, today, I will lazily just use this column space to answer questions that I am often asked¬†by readers of the Tribune sports section.¬† QUESTION: Why don’t you cover my kids’ team? ANSWER: This is the question I am asked far more often than any other. Contrary to wh...
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Lady Panthers outshoot Allen County in heated rivalry game
Brian McDowell Sports Editor “When the ball goes through the net, this team looks totally different.” That was NCCC women’s basketball coach Kelley Newton’s reaction as improved shooting helped his squad score a 67-57 victory over its Allen County rivals, to bring the Lady Panthers’ conference record to 2-2. The Lady Panthers made 48 percent of their field goals in the match-up, while Allen County only shot 27 percent. “Now it looks like we...
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Emporia wins big over Goddard
The Emporia Spartans flexed their offensive muscle in a 74-43 rout of the Goddard Lions in Thursday evening Ralph Miller Classic action. Offensively steered by seniors Jurrel Murrow and J.L. Savage, Emporia took control of the match-up early, The Spartans opened with an uninterrupted 11-0 run, and had a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter. Emporia continued its attack in the second, going on a 9-0 run. The Spartans went into the l...
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Shawnee Heights starts Miller Classic with win over Joplin
Benefitting from dominating performances by brothers Tony and Javon Barksdale, the Shawnee Heights T-Birds opened this year’s Ralph Miller Classic with a 51-39 victory over the Joplin Eagles. Shawnee Heights was the last place team at last year’s tournament, and used this game to show off improvements that the team has made since then. Joplin, helmed by former Chanute coach Jeff Williams, established a small lead early in the match-up, but S...
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