Panthers hold off Red Raiders
Trailing by just four points with three minutes to play in the game, the Wamego Red Raiders rolled the dice and started sending the Concordia Panthers to the free throw line.
That gamble did not pay off for Wamego.
Concordia connected on 15 of 16 free throws, including 14 straight, over the final 2:59 of the game to secure a 49-41 North Central Kansas League victory over Wamego Friday night in the Concordia Junior-Senior High School gymnasium.
Senior Joey Henderson made 9 of 10 free throws over that final stretch and junior Peyton Retter was six for six.
Wamego, which had trailed nearly the entire game, cut a seven-point deficit to 34-30 when Spencer Hecht hit a three-point shot with 3:56 on the clock.
With the Red Raiders sitting on four team fouls, Concordia coach Derek Holmes made the decision to run some time off the clock.
The Panthers took the clock down to 2:59 and Wamego started to foul.
“I pulled it out because they had four team fouls. I pulled it out a little earlier than I normally would,” Holmes said. “I am very confident in our kids handling the ball and shooting free throws. We have three experienced guards.”
Henderson went one of two from the line to give Concordia a 35-30 advantage.
The Panthers got a defensive stop, and Henderson hit two more free throws to make it 37-30 with 1:54 to play.
Wamego scored on three straight offensive possessions, Concordia answered each time with Henderson making four free throws and Retter making two.
Concordia was able to come up with two straight stops on the defensive end, and Henderson and Retter went four of four from the line combined in a span of 17 seconds to up the lead to 47-36.
Hecht scored off an offensive rebound for the Red Raiders to make it 47-38 with 21 seconds left.
Retter knocked down two more free throws and the Panthers again led by 11 points.
Dusty Monroe made a three-point shot in the final seconds for Wamego to make the final margin eight points.
“We took great care of the ball at the end of the game and made our free throws and closed the game out,” Holmes said.
Concordia, now 10-7 overall and 5-2 in the league, made 18 of 20 free throws in the fourth quarter and finished the game 22 of 24 for a sizzling 92 percent.
Retter, who made all eight of his free throws, led the Panthers with 14 points.
Henderson went 11 of 12 from the line in scoring 13 points and had five assists.
Payton Breese hit three of four three-point attempts and scored nine points.
Jonathan Turner pulled down 14 rebounds for Concordia.
The Panthers shot just 39 percent (12 of 31) from the field and made 3 of 10 three-point attempts.
Hecht led Wamego with 17 points.
Retter scored six of his points in the opening four minutes and Concordia got out to an 11-2 lead on the Red Raiders.
Wamego, 5-13 overall and 2-6 in league play, got a bucket by Kolton Cooper and a three by Monroe to get within six points, 11-7.
The two teams traded baskets to open the second quarter.
Two free throws by Lewis VanMeter and a basket by Chane Parker gave Concordia a 17-9 cushion.
The Panthers went scoreless the final 4:01 of the first half.
“They play good defense,” Holmes said. “We just kind of had a drought where we had a few turnovers and we didn’t shoot the ball great for part of the game,” Holmes said.
Wamego tossed in six straight points to close the gap to 17-16.
Cooper scored 26 seconds into the second half to give the Red Raiders their only lead, 18-17.
Two free throws by Henderson and a three by Breese put Concordia on top to stay, 22-18.
Concordia upped the lead to 29-24 going into the final eight minutes of play.
Wamego, falling behind by seven points in the fourth quarter, got to within four before the Panthers began the parade to the free throw line.
Concordia plays three games this week to finish the regular season.
The Panthers travel to Chapman for a makeup game tonight, host Clay Center on Tuesday and have a rematch at Wamego on Thursday.
WAMEGO (41)
Smith 1-0-3 2, Hecht 6-1-1 17, Monroe 2-0-4 6, Cooper 2-0-3 4, Isch 0-0-3 0, Johnson 1-0-3 2, Lull 0-0-1 0, Kueker 1-0-0 2, Newell 4-0-2 8. Totals: 17-1-20 41.
CONCORDIA (49)
Henderson 1-11-1 13, VanMeter 0-0-2 0, Parker 3-0-2 6, Retter 3-8-2 14, Breese 3-0-1 9, Turner 2-1-0 5. Totals: 11-22-6 49.