vs. paola

The Emporia boys basketball team used big second and third quarters to defeat Paola, 58-28, at Emporia High School on Tuesday night. 

Paola kept the game close in the first quarter, with the score being 9-8 Emporia after the first eight minutes. Emporia led 9-5 before the Panthers hit a three-pointer toward the end of the frame. Head coach Lee Baldwin said the Spartans struggled against their zone defense early. “They were prepared for us in the first quarter,” Baldwin said. “They’re predominately a man team and we thought they might come out in zone but we struggled with it early. When we’re not hitting threes, for whatever reason, we start to panic a little bit so it was close in the first quarter.” 

But Emporia started to pull away in the second quarter, going on runs of 10-1 and 11-0 in a 21-6 frame. Fred Jackson had six points in the quarter, while Jalyn King and Drew Hess had four each. But Baldwin credited his team’s defensive effort in securing the win. “We just moved some guys in some different spots to start the second quarter and we knew we were going to have to win this game defensively,” Baldwin said. “It was pretty clear early on we weren’t shooting the ball well from the three-point line, so we did a good job in getting live ball turnovers which resulted in layups for us, and that kind of snowballed.”

Emporia began the second half with an 11-0 run and Sheldon Stewart knocked down three three-pointers in a row toward the end of the third quarter to open up the Spartans’ lead to 52-23. On a roster full of playmakers, Baldwin was glad to see Stewart start to heat up. “It was huge for Sheldon to knock down those shots,” Baldwin said. “We’ve needed him to shoot well this year. He hasn’t shot well yet, but hopefully, tonight is a sign of things to come from him.” 

Emporia outscored Paola in the fourth quarter, 6-5, with the running clock in effect. Stewart and Hess led Emporia with 12 points. Seven Spartans scored on the night, with six scoring at least seven points. Coach Lee Baldwin says the Spartans found a way to put themselves in a position to win the game after the game was tight early. 

Emporia (8-1) will host Junction City on Friday night after the Winter Sports ceremony, which will take place between the girls’ and boys’ games.

Emporia JV 45

Paola JV 28

JV Record: 5-3

Emporia C 48

Paola C 46

C Record: 3-2