Santa Fe basketball: Chiefs return to district finals

Senior Billy Martin's third bomb of the first half gave the 'Hounds a 29-18 lead. (Chris Allen/Democrat-News) [Click to enlarge] [Order this photo]

SWEET SPRINGS -- Just when it appeared the Sweet Springs boys' basketball team was on the verge of avenging seven straight losses to Santa Fe, it all slipped away.

"It was the toughest one," head coach Tim Smith rued following the Greyhounds' 53-48 loss to the defending champions Thursday in the semifinal round of the Class 2, District 15 Tournament at Sweet Springs. "It ends a great run by these five seniors we have."

The Chiefs have six seniors, who mostly waited in the wings during last year's I-70 Conference title campaign, and they found a way to win when it appeared this wasn't their night.

"It was all that I thought it could be," remarked Chiefs head coach Travis Zahl.

Things were going well for Santa Fe in the early going, three-pointers by seniors Jeff Knipmeyer and Matt Lovercamp and back-to-back buckets from senior Jake Hollingsworth producing a 14-9 lead with a minute left in the first quarter.

The Greyhounds, though, found the groove which had sustained them while winning nine of the previous 10 games. Senior Billy Martin stuck back a missed shot to end the opening period and buried a pair of three-pointers to spur a 20-4 binge.

Sophomore Colby Dohrman contributed on the offensive boards following two missed free throws, for a conventional three-point play and a Martin bomb, for a 29-18 lead. Knipmeyer reduced the Chiefs' deficit to nine points with a buzzer-beating three.

"We made some silly plays," Zahl conceded. "They were really 'on' in the second quarter, got some transition buckets and got a little confidence."

After shooting 40.7 percent from the field during the first half, including five of 13 from long range, Sweet Springs cooled off to 22.2 percent after intermission. But Santa Fe could only tread water, trailing 44-33 after senior Nick Peeples' stick-back with 2:18 to go in the third frame.

"It seemed like we had a good offensive line-up and a good defensive line-up, and we weren't getting both of those things," Zahl said about the shifting combinations on the floor during that stretch. "We kept looking for who had the hot hand."

None of the Chiefs ever truly got in a zone, but junior Corey Fitzwater provided a spark. After making two free throws, he stole a pass in the press and hit a quick jumper -- and the race was on.

Santa Fe scored 13 straight points, going in front 46-44 on a Knipmeyer trey with 5:40 remaining in the game. Dohrman answered a minute later with a tying lay-up.

"When we got into full-court man-to-man defense, it got the tempo of the game more frantic," Zahl explained, "which was good for us."

Martin drove the lane to give the 'Hounds the lead with 3:10 left, but senior Hunter Rolf came up with two big plays for Santa Fe. He penetrated into the paint on consecutive possessions, dishing off to senior Noah Stoll in the low post and then pulling up at the free-throw line to make it 51-48 with 2:17 remaining.

Although the Chiefs missed the front end of a pair of one-and-one opportunities from the charity stripe down the stretch, Sweet Springs missed three threes and three freebies. The 'Hounds didn't make a triple in seven tries during the fourth quarter.

"They went to that 1-3-1 zone [defense] and we missed shots we made in the first half," Smith said.

Martin finished his career with a game-high 18 points, while Peeples closed with nine points and 14 rebounds for Sweet Springs (17-10).

Knipmeyer had 15 points and sophomore Jeff Kuntz added 11 for the Chiefs (19-7), who will play in the district finals for the third year in a row Saturday -- a rematch of last year's title clash with third-ranked, undefeated Wellington-Napoleon, a 57-32 winner over St. Paul.

The Tigers beat Santa Fe by 52 points the first time they met this season in mid-December and by 20 points last month, so this will be a challenge for the Chiefs.

"They showed that they're a resilient bunch," Zahl noted. "They dug down [Thursday] and showed they had a lot of heart."