Just like the girls the night before, the Sabetha boys needed a fourth quarter comeback and had to hit free throws down the stretch to hold on for a first round victory at the 3A State Basketball Tournament in Hutchinson.  

Sabetha 50, Riverton 46

The first quarter had six lead changes, but the Bluejays held a 14-13 advantage and then went ahead by 10 points twice in the second quarter with the last coming at 27-17.  Yet, Riverton scored the final five points of the first half and carried momentum into the third quarter where they outscored Sabetha 12-5 and took a 34-32 lead.  The Bluejays went cold from the outside and making four treys in the opening two quarters and the Rams led by 2 or 4 points for about 6 minutes in the final frame.  Kellen Russell hit a three-pointer to give Sabetha the lead back 45-44, and the Bluejays went 7 of 8 at the line to end the game and hold on for the win.  

Russell scored 7 of his game high 16 points in the fourth stanza and was perfect at the line, while Kegan Schumann also made 5-5 at the charity stripe and scored 10 points while battling foul trouble throughout the contest.  Calder Keehn was huge with 6 of his 8 points in the second half and Brock Frey helped Sabetha get out to a quick start with 7 points in the first half as they went 12 of 20 at the line.  The top seeded Jays improved to 23-1 on the season with their 13th straight win. Riverton ended their second consecutive trip to state with a 18-6 record as cousins Grant and Landon North each scored 14 points, but the Rams were only 6 of 8 at the line and 2-9 behind the arc.      

Sabetha will play the 8:15 semifinal game in Hutchinson on Friday evening against Wichita-Collegiate with live coverage on KNZA 103.9 FM and www.mscsports.net.  The Sabetha girls have their semifinal versus Hesston at 6:15 Friday also live on KNZA from the Sports Arena.