Year in and year out we are blessed in Northeast Kansas with some of the best basketball around the state in some the best leagues around the state.

The 2019-20 season was no different with big upsets, close games and buzzer beaters throughout ending with seven area teams punching their tickets to their respective state tournaments.

 With the ending of high school sports for the year and nothing taking place nationally we have decided to count down our top 10 high school basketball games from the 2019-20 season.

We will begin our countdown today with games 7-10 with game six to be released Friday and the top five games next week. 

No. 10: Feb. 7 Jeff County North Girls vs. Oskaloosa (OVERTIME)

Our countdown begins with No. 10 which happened back on Feb. 7 with the Jeff County North girls getting by Oskaloosa in overtime 59-53.

JCN got a last second bucket by Madison Vaught to force overtime and outscored Oskaloosa 8-2 in the extra period.

Josie Weishaar led the Chargers with 30 points while Madison Vaught added 14. Regan Curry led the Bears with 18. 

No. 9: Feb. 27 Centralia Boys vs. Burlingame in 1A Regional Semifinals

At No. 9 on our countdown the Centralia boys rallied from a 3-point deficit going to the fourth quarter to move on to the 1A regional finals in a 60-52 win over Burlingame back on Feb. 27th.

Things didn’t start great for the Panthers who got down by as many as 10 points in the first quarter before a big 3-pointer from junior Ian Haverkamp at the buzzer to pull within 15-8 after one.

Haverkamp hit another big triple to start the second quarter, but the Bearcats continued to feed their big sophomore post Trevor Quaney who scored 12 points in the first half giving Burlingame a lead by as many as 14 points in the second.

Centralia responded with another big run to end the half as senior Cooper Deters along with fellow senior Colby Arnold each hit a pair of triples to pull the Panthers back within 31-26 at the half.

The Panthers pulled even closer in the third quarter and pulled within 44-41 going into the fourth outscoring Burlingame 15-13 in the third.

In the fourth it was time for Centralia senior Colby Arnold to take over as he scored a quick 10 points in the quarter giving the Panthers the lead before Kamble Haverkamp sealed the win with a 4-of-5 shooting effort from the free throw line in the fourth.

The Panthers forced 22 turnovers in the win and knocked down nine 3-pointers as Cooper Deters and Ian Haverkamp each hit three.

Centralia was led in scoring by Arnold who finished with 18 points while Haverkamp added 13.

No. 8: Dec. 10 Centralia Girls vs. Hanover (OVERTIME)

Moving on to No. 8 on our countdown it was an early season thriller with the Hanover girls outlasting Centralia 59-55 in overtime back on Dec. 10 which was just the second game of the year.

The Wildcats started fast and forced eight turnovers to lead 21-14 after the first quarter before Centralia battled back in the second.

The Panthers were within five with only 10 seconds to go in the first half and had a chance to pull within one possession, but Hanover’s Tianna Lohse collected a steal and converted a lay up at the buzzer to give the Wildcats a 33-26 lead going into the break.

In the third quarter Centralia got the offense rolling off the back of senior Morgan Kramer who was held scoreless in the first half dealing with foul trouble early for the second straight game. Kramer came alive scoring six points in the third pulling the Panthers back to within one going into the fourth quarter.

The fourth was back-and-forth with neither side taking control before Centralia missed a shot in the final seconds which forced overtime.

In the extra period the Wildcats took advantage at the free throw line and took control going 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in overtime including a 4-of-6 outing in OT by Hanover senior Cadlee Stallbaumer.

The Wildcats were led in scoring by Lohse’s 12 points while sophomore Avery Behrends added 11.

Centralia got a big night from senior Kennedy Becker who scored 15 points but fouled out in overtime.

No. 7: Jan. 20 Frankfort Girls vs. Hanover (Upset in TVL Tournament)

In our final game for today for our countdown it’s No. 7 on our list and was a major upset in the Twin Valley League mid-season tournament as the Frankfort girls as the 8-seed upset No. 1 Hanover 44-41.

The game was back-and-forth throughout with Frankfort taking a brief eight points lead in the third quarter before Hanover quickly erased that deficit and tied the game.

In the fourth quarter the Wildcats knocked down 7-of-12 shots from the charity stripe to take the victory while shooting 17-of-24 for the game.

Kennan Brandt was a monster on the glass for Frankfort with over 15 rebounds while she led the team in scoring with 12 points along with Alli Tommer adding 11. Mariah Broxterman added eight for the Lady Cats on a perfect 4-of-4 shooting from the line in the fourth quarter.

Hanover was led by Tianna Lohse’s 16 points while Cadlee Stallbaumer added 12.