Olathe Northwest handed the Leavenworth boys’ their first Sunflower League loss for the second straight year on Friday night, taking a 45-36 win in overtime. The loss drops the Pioneers’ record to 10-2 overall and 4-1 in conference play with the 45-36 loss.
“It was played the way they wanted it to be played,” head coach Larry Hogan said. “They had spread the floor and held the ball. They wanted it in the 30s and we wanted it in the 70s. They just kept us at bay until the end.”
The Pioneers trailed for most of Friday’s contest, charging back in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Leavenworth was down 12-8 after the first eight minutes of the game and Olathe Northwest extended their advantage over the top-ranked Pioneers to 26-19 by halftime. The blue and white matched the Ravens in the third quarter to take a seven-point deficit into the fourth quarter, but tied the game at 34-all by the end of regulation to give themselves a chance at the win.
“The positive was that we forced overtime, but then we self-destructed,” Hogan said. “We got down early then came back in the fourth to tie it up. When we got it into overtime we scored the first basket and then we turned it over three of the next four possessions we had and they all turned into layups for them.”
Olathe Northwest put up 11 points to just two by the Pioneers in overtime to take the win.
The key to the comeback in the fourth quarter, Hogan said, was the Pioneers creating better opportunities for themselves.
“We defended better and we got out a little on the break and got some better looks,” the Leavenworth coach said. “We scored some points when we got shots.”
The free-throw line wasn’t kind to the Pioneers on the night. Leavenworth hit just 3-of-10 attempts from the charity stripe while Olathe Northwest sunk 22-of-29 from the free-throw line.
Nino Williams was the only Leavenworth boy to score in double figures in the game, the senior putting up 17 in the loss. Kyle Wiggins added six points for the Pioneers and Preston Padgett chipped in five. Jarrid Dean and Alec Zeck scored three points apiece and Grant Greenberg added a pair for the blue and white in the loss.
Leavenworth falls out of first place in the Sunflower League with the loss, Olathe East not holding court as the only team remaining with an unscathed league record. The Pioneers get a shot to take back a share of first on Tuesday when they host the Hawks for a 7:15 p.m. contest. Olathe South and the Pioneers are tied for second with one league loss each.
The blue and white travels to Mill Valley for a nonconference game on Monday first, however, and Hogan said the boys will look to use that game to rebound from Friday’s tough loss.
“Hopefully we’ll go up there and have a strong game,” the Leavenworth coach said.
