Wellington staves off Conway Springs upset in 1st round of Chaparral Tournament

January 20, 2023 Cueball

Conway Springs Taylor Wykes scores 16.

by Tracy McCue, Sumner Newscow — The Wellington boys basketball team has laid enough eggs over the years in the first round of the Chaparral Roadrunner Classic Tournament to make a nice omelet for the whole family.

Many would argue Thursday afternoon, another one of those eggs was laid. But it may have also been the tenacious defensive play of Conway Springs that nearly toppled the 9-2 Dukes.

No. 2 seed Wellington survived No. 7 Conway Springs 56-48 to advance to the second round of the Chappy Tournament. It will play Reno County Homeschool tonight at 7 p.m. in the Championship semifinals. Belle Plaine, which lost to Reno 64-57, will battle the Cardinals in the consolation semifinals at 3:30 p.m.

Class 2A Conway Springs, 2-9, implemented a 2-3 zone defense that gave the Crusaders fits for three quarters. The Cards led 36-29 going into the fourth.

Montel Tate with the basket midway in the third.

Wellington then went on a 17-0 run to stave off the upset.

“I thought we played great containment defense, and not get out of position,” said Paul Lange, Conway Springs head boys basketball coach. “It was no question the best first half of basketball we played all year. So proud of the way we battled.”

As for Wellington, a win is a win.

“Not all games are works of art,” said Joe Newman, Wellington’s head boys basketball coach. “We came out flat and were forcing shots. Our intensity has to be there for four quarters.”

Conway Springs came out on fire, establishing a quick lead built to double digits by the end of the first quarter, 19-9.

Using a combination of Taylor Wykes and Nash Johnsen, who both combined for 30 points, Conway Springs methodically built its lead by spreading the floor and keeping Wellington out of the paint.

Wellington surmounted a comeback in the second and pulled within three. But a Grant Fisher 3-pointer and Wykes layup made it 26-18 at the half.

Things didn’t get much better in the third for the Crusaders. Wellington would pull within two before Conway Springs hit five consecutive points to take a 36-19 lead going into the fourth.

Wellington finally got the run it was looking for. Carter Burnett scored on a deuce, stole the ball, and then made a layup to tie the game with 6:15 to play in the fourth. The Crusaders made steals on transition and finally broke the Conway Springs zone code, getting the ball to the short corner and high post.

“We tried to speed the game up all game and finally did so in the fourth,” Newman said. “With this group, we should have the dudes who should be able to shoot over a zone, but our three-point percentage has been abysmal lately.”

Conway Springs would make one last run late in the game and pull within four. But the Crusaders pulled away, scoring free throws to win 56-48.

Ah, free throw. After three games of struggling mightily, Wellington was 19-of-25 Thurdsy, many of those in the critical fourth quarter.