Behind Harrison brothers and Jackson, Lee’s Summit West pulls away from Sumner Academy

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

In what was billed up as the main event of the Thursday night session of the Hy-Vee Shootout, Lee’s Summit West used a 47-point second half to put away Sumner Academy by nine points.

In the Titans 77-68 victory Thursday night, brothers Shaq Harrison and Monte Harrison and fellow guard Nathan Jackson delivered just enough body-blows to defeat Sumner Academy.

During the first half, it was the Benny Parker show for Sumner Academy.

Parker hit four borderline circus shots, displaying a great ability to hide the ball from the bigger Titan team and putting it in when he just enough space.

Benny Parker, Sumner Academy

Parker dominated the first quarter of play, as Sumner Academy zoomed off to a 13-3 lead.

However, Lee’s Summit West responded with a counter-punch.

Trevor Gregory scored five points for Lee’s Summit West during a quick run that gave the Titans the lead after the first quarter.

Sumner Academy regained the advantage behind Parker and a couple of three-pointers from Jowell Daniels off the bench. Sumner would take a 32-30 lead into the half.

But that lead quickly evaporated in the third quarter.

Jackson led a 10-0 run for Lee’s Summit West that ended up a 50-42 lead for the Titans. Jackson scored eight of his 19 points during that run.

The story for Sumner Academy was Benny Parker in the first half. In the second half, it was Marcus Allen.

Allen forced a steal off after a basket and converted a three-point play to tie the game at 52.

However, that was the last tie Sumner enjoyed.

Monte Harrison, the sophomore brother of star Shaq Harrison, displayed brilliance.

His 8 fourth quarter points were the death-blow for the Sabres. Harrison hit a three-pointer and converted a three-point play on a dunk that extended the lead back to eight points.

Parker finished with a game-high 23 points. Allen had 19 points.

Jackson finished with 19 points, leading the way for the Titans. Shaq Harrison finished with 17 points, while Monte had 12.

Sumner Academy falls to 3-2 on the season.

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Washington drowns Raytown with aggressive defense, dominance inside

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

Occasionally, teams making their first appearance in the Hy-Vee Shootout in some while tend to show some nerves on the big stage and on the metro-wide television broadcast of the game.

For the young Washington Wildcats, nerves never entered the picture in Thursday's dominating victory against Raytown.

Dominique Wilson, Washington

Washington jumped out to a 12-0 lead and really were never threatened as they pounded the Blue Jays 61-39 to kickoff of the Kansas City, Kansas triple-header Thursday night.

The Wildcats' cause was strengthened by three players who played their best varsity games since they began their Washington careers - Dominique Wilson, Deandre King and James Jappa.

Wilson, scoring a KCK-career high of 22 points, was the big story of the night.

Wilson, a 6-9" senior who's ranked in ESPN's Top 100 recruiting list, made his presence known on both sides of the ball.

First, his footwork and movement in the post set him up for some easy shots and put-backs after missed shots. Wilson also displayed a nice mid-range jumper, hitting two jump-shots in the first half.

The junior Jappa, who played far and away his best varsity game, hit the glass and cleaned up some trash around the rim.

Following a nice run from Raytown that cut Washington's initial 16-point advantage down to nine, it was junior guard Deandre King who picked up the slack on Washington's offense.

King converted two consecutive three-point plays to extend Washington's lead late in the first half to 30-13. King scored 12 points in the victory.

"He played a wonderful game for us," said Eric King, head coach of the Washington Wildcats and the father of Deandre. "He's growing up and becoming a team leader."

For both Kings, the night was an opportunity to celebrate Washington basketball.

"Being at this event is big for KCK and the Washington High School community," Eric King said. "It let's the metro area know that good things are happening at Washington, too. We wanted to bring pride to Washington and KCK."

Washington expressed more pride in the second half as the Wildcats eventually build a 28-point lead.

When Wilson, King and the other starters were in the lineup, it was no contest.

Deandre King, Washington Wildcats

Wilson and Jappa provided presence inside, as Wilson had multiple blocked shots and forced the issue.

Raytown stud forward Trent Richardson was held to a season low nine points, though he had two of the better dunks of the night.

Defensively, the story of the night was King. He forced several turnovers and his long arms often caused deflections and bad passes.

Washington's defense was stiff all night - they held Raytown to below 30 points all night until King pulled his starters early in the fourth quarter.

"It was real fun tonight," Deandre King said. "I tried to play and do what was best for our team. It was very important for us to play well tonight and gain confidence before Schlagle comes here."

No Blue Jay scored in double figures.

Jappa added eight points and 10 different Wildcats put in a basket.

Overall in the game, King played 12 different Wildcats. While they performed very well tonight, King said he's still evaluating the young squad he has.

"We're finally starting to grow-up some," King said. "We're so young and we're trying to get everyone some minutes. We're hoping to get a solid rotation before league and hopefully the state tournament."

Washington improves to 2-3 on the season. Raytown falls to 1-5.

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Hawks fade after strong start against Lee’s Summit North

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

For those who watched both of the Harmon Hawks last two games against Emporia last week and Lee’s Summit North Thursday night at the Hy-Vee Shootout, there was a similar script.

First key part – Branden Roark is receiving not enough help from his supporting cast. The star guard for Harmon scored 24 points in Harmon’s 65-52 loss to the Broncos.

Second key part – Harmon played well in the opening stretch, only to see bad shot selection and bad defense inside the post haunt them.

Branden Roark, Harmon Hawks

Without starter Tory Miller to begin the game, Lee’s Summit North failed to pull away from Harmon in the opening 10 minutes of the game.

Roark’s two-point bucket provided Harmon an early 11-9 advantage.

However, the duo of Miller and Tyler Anderson proved to be too much inside eventually.

Miller scored four-straight points to give Lee’s Summit North a 16-11 advantage, capping off a 7-0 run.

Anderson (11) and Miller (9) scored a combination of 20 points inside. Will Harrington’s 18 points were a team high for Lee’s Summit North.

Following a Mike Carson basket that cut the Broncos’ lead to four points, Harmon began to lose control.

The Broncos eventually built an 11-point lead in the first half, taking a nine-point lead into the locker-room.

Lee’s Summit North controlled the third quarter, outscoring Harmon 23-14 and building a near 20-point lead to close out the third quarter.

Carson was the only other Hawk in double figures with 10 points.

Harmon falls to 2-3 on the year. They play Wyandotte tomorrow to close out the pre-holiday schedule.

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Hy-Vee Shootout: KCK drops two of three games

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

It was Kansas City, Kansas night at the Hy-Vee Shootout Thursday night.

Unfortunately, a couple of powerhouse teams from Lee’s Summit, Missouri were the story of the night.

The first game of the night saw a contest between the Washington Wildcats and Raytown Blue-Jays.

Washington held up their end of the bargain, cruising to a 61-39 victory in a game that really wasn’t that close.

The second portion of the KCK triple-header saw Lee’s Summit North hand Harmon a 65-52 defeat. Lee’s Summit North, leading at half-time, put away the Hawks with a 23-point third quarter.

In the final game of the night, Lee’s Summit West survived a fast-paced game with Sumner Academy, defeating the Sabres 77-68.

Full recaps soon.

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Ojeleye, Ottawa too much for Stallions in overtime

By NICK SLOAN, NJSloan212@gmail.com

The bad news is the Schlagle Stallions lost their third consecutive game.

The good news is the Stallions displayed some major signs of life after a disappointing fourth-place finish in the Eudora Invitational.

Jameon Cal and J’veyon Browning were the leading scorers for the Stallions, who fell in overtime to 4A perennial power Ottawa 69-58.

Cal’s 14 points and Browning’s 12 points led the balanced Stallions throughout the night.

LaRay Young added eight points, along with Houston Shackelford.

The Stallions shot better from the three, hitting seven three-pointers on the evening as they took a 26-21 lead into the half.

After falling behind in the fourth quarter, Schlagle knotted the game back up and forced overtime.

However, Semi Ojeleye and the Cyclones were too much.

Ojeleye finished with a game-high 34 points, which is actually lower than his 36.5 average coming into the game. Ojeleye was one of just two Cyclones in double figures. Dallas Natt finished with 10 points.

Ottawa outscored Schlagle 18-7 in the overtime period. Schlagle will finally play a home game next Monday night as they host Benton.

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