Piper finished minutes away from a state title a year ago. Now the Pirates will be returning to Emporia to take another shot at the crown.

The Pirates outlasted United Kansas Conference rival De Soto, 49-44, in its Kansas Class 5A substate final on Saturday evening at Piper. 

"This team has been focused on getting back to state, but knew there was work beforehand including tonight," stated head coach Steve Wallace. "We had two tough games before with De Soto, and they gave us all we wanted tonight. But everyone stepped up in the fourth quarter and fought until the end."

De Soto led early in the fourth quarter, 38-35, but senior PJ Moore took over. A steal and Moore stickback of his own miss pulled Piper to within one. Then two possessions late, Moore drove for a hoop and and-one attempt for a 39-38 lead with 2:41 left. On the missed free throw, the ball went off a Wildcat, then Moore took a pass on the left wing and drove inside for another bucket, and a 41-38 lead. Moore finished with a team-high 13 points in the game.

"PJ came up with some really big plays down the stretch," Wallace said. "Our defense really stepped up  when we needed it." 

A possession of DHS misses led to a foul, which resulted in two Johnny Vogel free throws for a 43-38 lead. Another miss led to a Alamar Brooks breakaway layup for a 45-38 cushion to seal the game.

Piper (19-3) will face another conference foe in Shawnee Heights (19-3) at 4 pm on Thursday in Emporia. The Pirates swept the Thunderbirds in two meetings this year, as well as a first-round matchup in last year's state tourney as well.

Derrick Jackson netted 12 for Piper, while Pierce Krehbiel paced De Soto with 19.

De Soto (44)
Krehbiel 19, Parks 5, Narayan 4, Johnson 16

Piper (49)
Moore 13, Walton 5, Vogel 8, Brooks 9, Jackson 12, Sayles 2

Three-pointers: Krehbiel 4, Johnson 4; Moore, Bogel, Jackson

The Pirates are embarking on their first trip to the Kansas Class 5A state tourney in school history.

Piper, which has racked up eight trips to the Kansas Class 4A tourney, moved up to 5A in 2020-21, but hadn't made the trek to Emporia since. But the Pirates pulled away from United Kansas Conference rival Shawnee Heights for a 60-46 win in its substate final on Friday night. 

Now the Pirates (18-4) will face league rival Seaman in the first round of state on Wednesday.

Piper had blitzed Heights by 20+ points in its two season meetings, but rallied to lead, 25-24, at halftime. The Pirates press started taking over in the second half, leading to a multitude of Thunderbird turnovers. 

Junior Grace McCallop capitalized with 24 points, while senior Faith McCallop racked up 22 points.

Shawnee Heights (46)
Emmot 18, Brees 3, Euwer 3, Henshaw 5, Bowers 4, Torrez 9, Vega 3

Piper (60)
Vallejo 3, Roth 7, G. McCallop 22, F. McCallop 24, Hollingshed 3, Gerber 1. 

Three-pointers: Emmot 3, Hanshaw; F. McCallop 3, G. McCallop 3, Roth