810 Varsity's Best of the Midwest Showcase lived up to the hype and more, with three overtime games in the first four contests, and thrilling shots, dunks and more throughout the day - and night.
Girls
Olathe East 38, St. James 32
Olathe East pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 38-32 win over St. James Saturday in the opener and lone girls game of the 810 Varsity Best of the Midwest Showcase at Johnson County Community College.
The Hawks led 30-29 early in the final frame, then held St. James scoreless for a five-minute stretch while extending their lead to six.
Caroline Hoppock scored 15 points and Regan Schumacher added nine to lead Olathe East, while Kayla Staley paced the Thunder with 12.
BOYS
St. James 77, Liberty 71 OT
Zach Thornhill poured in 31 points and Keenan Fitzmorris tallied 18 for St. James in a wild 77-71 overtime win over Liberty.
St. James’ Will Mckee rebounded his own intentionally missed free throw and made a buzzer-beating layup at the end of regulation to force overtime.
Liberty, which hit 10 three-pointers and received 19 points from Joe Kinder, trailed by 12 at one point in the second half before taking its first lead midway though the fourth.
Lawrence Free State 83, Lee’s Summit North 81 3 OT
Hunter Gudde’s driving layup with 1.3 seconds left in the third overtime spurred Lawrence Free State to an 83-81 win over Lee’s Summit North.
Gudde scored 14 of his team-high 23 points in the extra sessions, including seven in the third overtime alone.
Cameron Hairston, whose layup with no time left in the second overtime forced a third extra session, led all scorers for Lee’s Summit North with 28 points.
Sloan Thomsen added 14 points for Free State.
Blue Springs South 82, Christian Brothers College 79 OT
KJ Robinson hit three free throws in the final 30 seconds and scored 28 points as Blue Springs South defeated Christian Brothers College, 82-79, in overtime.
Tyler McKay’s three with 5 seconds left in regulation forced the extra session for the Jaguars, who also received 22 points from Briley Moore-McKinney. Blue Springs South never led in the game until Robinson drilled a three-pointer to start overtime.
CBC's Jordan Barnes set an event record with 35 points,
Robinson owns the event career record with 51 points.
Lee’s Summit 80, Shawnee Mission North 76
Five Lee’s Summit players scored in double figures as the Tigers overcame 27 points from Shawnee Mission North’s Marcus Weathers and defeated the Indians, 80-76.
Weathers’ basket with just under three minutes to play brought North within 70-69, but Lee’s Summit went 10-of-11 from the free-throw line down the stretch to secure the win.
Isiah Sears paced the Tigers with 17, while Blake Spellman (15 points), Delshaun Presley (14), Marquawn Wilson (14) and Nick Larkin (10) all reached double digits.
Olathe North 54, Park Hill South 42
A 19-4 second-half run keyed Olathe North’s 54-42 win over Park Hill South.
Danny Baker hit two shots from beyond the arc to start the run, which turned the Eagles 26-24 deficit into a 45-30 lead.
RJ Smith tallied 13 points and Haran Thompkins added 10 to lead Olathe North. Park Hill South’s Ryan Welty marked the game’s high-scorer with 15.
Full box scores later today...
