Meade Hammers Oswego; Ness City Upsets Lyndon

Manhattan, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It was a good day Wednesday for the Southwest Kansas area teams at the Class 2A State Basketball Tournament in Manhattan’s Bramlage Coliseum. Undefeated Meade was able to hammer Oswego 80-43, while Ness City provided the tournament’s first upset with a 53-48 win over Lyndon.

The top seed and undefeated Buffaloes put the clamps down on Oswego early on and never looked back. Meade led 19-5 after the first period, and 41-22 at the break. They also finished the final eight minutes on a 22-5 run, and put themselves into the semi-finals for the second straight season. Randy Friesen, the 6-8 senior, finished with a triple-double, collecting 22 points, 12 rebounds and 12 blocked shots. Trevin Wiens had 19, Morgan Davis pitched in 16 and Jett Little added 11 for the Buffaloes (24-0). The Indians (14-10) got 12 from Tag Oldham. Meade advances on to face the Moundridge Wildcats Friday, who defeated Heart of America League foe Inman 48-41.

In the third game of the evening, it was a balanced scoring attack that helped the Ness City Eagles upset Lyndon. The Eagles led 14-12 after the opening quarter, and maintained that two-point lead going into the final period, before outscoring the Tigers 12-9 to advance on to the semi-finals. Three players scored in double figures for Ness City (17-7). They were led by Koltyn Ratliff with 15 points, while Dalton Gantz and Colin Foos had 11. Lyndon (22-2) got Scott Farwell with 11. The Eagles will play the Republic County Buffaloes Friday night, as they knock off Jefferson County North Chargers 78-68.