Olathe South 48, Blue Valley North 40

Olathe South looks to return to the state tournament for the first time since 2020. The Falcons got one step closer on Tuesday night.

Olathe South held off Blue Valley North, 48-40, in its Kansas Class 6A substate semifinal at BVN. With the win, the Falcons will take on Shawnee Mission South, the No. 1 overall see in Kansas Class 6A.

The Falcons, now 14-7 overall, were paced by senior Nic Anderson’s 19 points. The guard’s nine first-half points helped Olathe South to a 17-point second period and a 26-15 lead at the half.

Blue Valley North, which finished the season at 14-7, was led by CJ Duson’s 12 points and Will Davis’ 11 points. But despite South hitting just 3-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final period, North couldn’t close the gap. Then senior Drey Steinbacher hit his final three-pointer in the fourth quarter to help the Falcons seal the contest.

The Falcons last trip to the state tournament occurred in 2020, winning in the quarterfinals before play was stopped due to COVID.

Olathe South will take on the Raiders at Shawnee Mission South at 7 pm on Friday night.

Olathe North 62, Olathe East 36

Olathe North looks to be hitting its stride into the postseason, like it has the past four seasons.

The Eagles topped district rival Olathe East, 62-36, in its Kansas Class 6A substate semifinal on Tuesday night. Olathe North will play in the substate final at Blue Valley on Friday, with a chance to advance to its fourth straight state tournament.

Olathe North (15-6) clamped down on the Hawks from the outset, holding East to just 11 first-half points.

“Our defense was the story and our most complete game defensively for 32 minutes,” stated Olathe North head coach Adam Olerich. “We turned them over a lot and forced them to take tough shots. That was our goal going in, to play a complete game defensively and we felt we did.”

The Eagles got going offensively, sparked by Max Galindo’s game-high 15 points off the bench. The senior guard connected on a three-pointer at the end of the first quarter to push the margin to 12-6, and North didn’t look back.

“We like our depth, we like our bench. That showed tonight,” analyzed Olerich. “Max had a terrific game. Max had a big three to stretch it to six at the end of the half. When he gets hot, he gets hot and that basket was looking pretty big for him tonight.”

Galindo finished with four three-pointers in the contest.

“My mentality is no one can guard me when I come off the bench, offensively and defensively,” touted Galindo. “There’s a player from Iowa State (Curtis Jones) who is the sixth man and can come in and light it up.  He can shoot from far, like me. That’s how I see myself.”

Cam Love and Sam Simmons also netted 10 points apiece, as 10 Eagles scored in the contest.

But Galindo feels the key to advancing past Blue Valley and onto state isn’t on the offensive end.

“Defensively we played really good and need to do that every night,” Galindo stated. “We’re going to approach the game with a lot of energy, play hard defensively. Nothing’s going to be easy.”

Gooding scored 13 points to pace the Hawks, which finished the season at 11-10.