The Emporia High School boys basketball team came up short against Andover Central in the Ralph Miller Classic semifinal, 41-35, in Chanute on Friday night. “

They’re really and their zone makes it tough to score,” Baldwin said. “We struggled in the perimeter offensively for the majority of the game and this was one of those games where each possession was important.” Cooper Rech opened the scoring with a free throw, but Andover Central answered with a 9-0 run to take an eight-point lead. 

The Spartans countered that with a 9-0 run on their own on a free throw from Parker Leeds, a 3-pointer from Jalyn King, a basket from River Peters and a 3 from Leeds to take a 10-9 lead after the first eight minutes. The Jaguars opened the second quarter with six straight points to take a 16-10 lead before Emporia closed the first half on a 12-3 run to take a 22-19 lead into the half. 

The Andover Central defense tightened up in the second half, holding Emporia to just 13 points, four in the third quarter and nine in the fourth. A Rech basket gave Emporia a 26-24 lead midway through the third quarter, but the Jaguars responded with an 8-0 run to take a lead they would not give up. “They play a 2-3 zone and they want you to throw the ball in the middle,” Baldwin said. “From there, they just play 1-on-1 and make you have to score against their big guys. If you can do that, you can have success and if not, you’re going to have to shoot a lot of threes. 

I thought we got some good looks, but they didn’t go in tonight.” Emporia would cut the deficit down to two points in the fourth quarter, but Andover Central was able to seal the win at the free throw line down the stretch. Rech was the leading scorer for Emporia, finishing with nine points. 

Coach Lee Baldwin said they need to be better at the end of games, Emporia is (8-3) and will play for third place tomorrow.