Disheartening end to Tiger Boys’ Cinderella season

The Stockton Tiger boys’ Cinderella season came to a disheartening end last Thursday evening when word was received that the Kansas State High School Activities Association had canceled all the state basketball tournaments following the quarterfinal rounds.

Stockton, the tourney’s eighth seed, was scheduled to play fifth-seeded Coldwater-South Central (21-5) in the semifinals of the Class 1A tournament in Dodge City on Friday evening, after knocking off previously undefeated and top-ranked Elbing-Berean Academy 38-35 in the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Although understandable, the decision KSHSAA made was a hard blow, especially to those graduating this May.

Stockton’s seniors, Quinn Coffey, Gage Conyac, Trevor Miller and Ben Rogers, will never be able to fulfill the dream of winning at state title in basketball, but they were instrumental in helping their younger teammates learn what it takes to be successful on the court and in life — that, in itself, is an accomplishment of which they can be proud.

To say the Stockton Tigers got off to a slow start this basketball season would be accurate. In fact, they lost four of their first five games, and were struggling to find themselves when, in early January, one of their starters, Kameran Hamel was forced to sit out due to a knee injury.

What appeared to be a bad thing for the team in the beginning, actually ended up being just what the Tigers needed as Hamel’s injury forced the other players to step up their game. Due to getting the extra playing time, the reserves were able to hone their skills throughout the rest of the season, playing at the varsity level, and they were ready to make a run when Hamel finally returned the third week of February.

Stockton lost five of its final six games of the regular season, and took a 9-11 record into the regional tournament. Although their sub-.500 record meant they didn’t get the best seeds, the Tigers, and their coaches Kyle Fox and Rick Bice, were unfazed. They won the next five games and qualified for the Class 1A State Basketball Tournament.

Again, with a 14-11 record, Stockton was forced to play the number-one seed ElbingB erean Academy Warriors, whose record was 25-0, in the first round of State. And yes, the Tigers were up for the challenge.

After owning a 16-7 lead at halftime, the Tigers fell behind and would trail 21-20 after three quarters. They were still trailing 24-20 early in the fourth quarter, but certainly not conceding to their opponents. With 5:30 to go in the game Stockton began a run, outscoring Berean Academy 9-0 over the next two minutes to take a 29-24 advantage, and the Tigers were able to hold on for a 38-33 win.

Stockton pulled off the exciting upset and was heading to the semifinals on Friday, with hopes of playing in the finals on Saturday. Unfortunately, the season came to an abrupt end due to the threat of coronavirus (COVID-19), and the players and fans are left to wonder what could have been.

The Tigers believed. They believed in their coaches, their fans, and most importantly, in each other. They believed they could bring the state championship trophy home to Stockton, and were willing to do whatever it would take to make that happen. Unfortunately they, along with all the other teams throughout Kansas who were vying for a state championship, did not get the opportunity to fulfill their dreams. But one thing is for certain, no one can take away the great memories they made, and the valuable lessons they learned along the way.

No, the Tigers never got the chance to play in the finals of the state tournament. However, to those of us who watched them come into their own as the season progressed who watched them ride a five-game win streak into the state tournament, and then upset the undefeated, number one seed — who watched them night in and night out leave their unselfish hearts on the basketball court — they are and always will be our champions! Congratulations, Tigers...it was a fun ride!

Tiger Boys vs. Berean Academy

United Wireless Arena in Dodge City was the site for the Class 1A State Basketball Tournament, with the Stockton Tigers (14-11) taking on Elbing-Berean Academy (25-0) in the third quarterfinal matchup of the night.

Berean Academy scored the first points of the game when Chase Wiebe got a steal and went in for a layup to give the Warriors a 2-0 lead a minute and a half into the game. Several seconds later Samuel Snook was fouled when going up for a shot following an offensive rebound, and was able to make one free throw to put Berean Academy up 3-0 just under two minutes into the contest.

Kameran Hamel hit a trey at the 5:19 mark of the first quarter to tie the game at 3-3, and Trevor Miller added a three-pointer with 4:35 to go in the first to put Stockton up 6-3. Both teams missed a few shots over the next three minutes with the Warriors’ Austin Thiessen finally breaking the ice when he made a free throw to pull Berean Academy within two, 6-4. The Tigers would go into the second quarter with a 9-4 lead following a trey by Ethan Means with a minute left in the first.

Means hit another three-pointer a minute into the second period to push Stockton’s lead to 12-4, and with a basket each by Quinn Coffey and Means over the next two minutes, the Tigers owned a 16-4 advantage.

With 1:44 left in the first half, Wiebe hit a trey giving the Warriors their first points since the 1:52 mark of the opening quarter (nearly 8 minutes). The teams would go into the locker room with the Tigers enjoying a 16-7 lead.

Stockton pushed the difference to double digits, 18-7, just over a minute into the third quarter when Means scored on an offensive rebound. The Tigers would maintain that lead for the next two minutes until Zachary Koontz hit a threepointer from the baseline to pull Berean Academy back within eight, 18-10. Over the next minute and a half the Warriors would tack on five more points on a shot by Wiebe and a trey by Jacob Landis, making the score 18-15.

Stockton finally put an end to the 8-0 run when Josh Coleman hit two free throws with two minutes remaining in the third. However, back-to-back treys by Landis and Wiebe gave Berean Academy its first lead since early in the game, going into the final eight minutes with a 21-20 advantage over the Tigers.

Another trey by Wiebe, his third of the game, extended the Warriors’ lead to 24-20 with 6:28 left to play, but just under a minute later the momentum would swing back in the favor of Stockton when Miller drained a threepointer from the baseline and was fouled in the process. Miller would go on to hit the ensuing free throw which tied the game at 24-all with 5:50 to go.

Two big free throws by Troy Rogers at the 4:53 mark gave the Tigers a 26-24 lead, and by the 3:02 mark the margin had grown to 29-24 thanks to Means.

With 2:47 left in the contest Jonathan Hoover hit a trey to pull Berean Academy within two, 29-27, but a three-pointer by Rogers, followed just a few seconds later with two free throws by Coleman made the score 34-27 in favor of Stockton with 1:52 to go.

Continuing to hang in there, Koontz hit a trey with 1:33 left to play to pull the Warriors within four, 34-30. The Tigers committed a turnover on their ensuing possession, but Berean Academy was unable to capitalize on it.

With 1:04 remaining, Coleman was again fouled and he made one free throw to give Stockton a 35-30 advantage. With 46 seconds left on the clock, Wiebe drained his fourth trey making it a two-point game at 35-33, but over the next 37 seconds the Tigers made enough free throws to hold on for the 38-33 win.

Rogers made one of the free throws to put Stockton up 36-33, and Coleman sank the final two with 5 seconds to go which put the Tigers up two possessions, 38-33. Berean Academy got off one final shot from behind the arc, but it missed and Stockton celebrated the 38-33 victory to advance them to the semifinals of the tourney.

Ethan Means led the Tigers in scoring and rebounds with 14 points and 10 caroms. Trevor Miller added 7 rebounds and 7 points.

Berean Academy was led by Chase Wiebe with a game-high 16 points.