Senior Cole Parker walks off the court for the final time in his high school career as he is embraced by head coach Kyle Deterding. Photo by Dylan Funk." />
Senior Cole Parker walks off the court for the final time in his high school career as he is embraced by head coach Kyle Deterding. Photo by Dylan Funk.
Heading into the final game of the season, the Cardinals knew they had 32 minutes left to give everything they had for the team.
Head coach Kyle Deterding said the team couldn’t have asked for better effort in the third-place game of the state tournament.
“I’m proud of the kids, man,” Deterding said. “We’ve always said, ‘Hey, 32 minutes, compete your butts off and see what happens.’ We didn’t come up right on the scoreboard, but we got a bunch of winners in there.”
The Cardinals fell short against Bishop Miege by the score of 65-55 Saturday afternoon. The loss means the Cardinals place fourth at the state tournament.
Deterding said the effort the team gave during this game speaks volumes of the senior leadership.
“I mean, since they were little bitty, they just put in time,” Deterding said. “I mean, what a great group of young men. Four years we haven’t had one discipline issue with them. They show up, they do their work on the court, in the classroom. They’re good students. They are just great role models for people. They just do things the right way.”
Senior Kale Hammerschmidt said Saturday’s game showed how the Cardinals separate themselves from other teams.
“I think a lot of people thought maybe we weren’t going to be the same as last year,” he said. “But I think what separated us was our effort and just playing together and like it showed out there.”
With their constant effort throughout the game, the team was able to hang around with perennial powerhouse Bishop Miege for most of the game.
Senior Conor Dunback secured two offensive rebounds to help the Cardinals score their first points of the game on a senior Cole Parker 3-pointer. Parker hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter, and the team only trailed by two at the end of the period.
To start the second quarter, the Cardinals turned the ball over, but Hammerschmidt stuck with the play and forced a foul on the other end.
However, putting Bishop Miege at the free throw line became a common theme from this point. Bishop Miege shot 14 foul shots, making 13 of them, in the first half. The Cardinals trailed 31-26 at the break.
Bishop Miege started the third quarter on a 9-0 run, expanding their lead to 12.
The tide started to turn for the Cardinals though after six quick points from Dunback and junior Logan Sullivan. Dunback’s defensive effort on a full court press play forced a turnover that got the Cardinals’ sideline on their feet.
Entering the fourth quarter down seven, the Cardinals got a spark after another chase down by Hammerschmidt to block a shot.
Foul trouble started to boil over for the Cardinals when Bishop Miege ignited a 10-0 run, with six points coming from the free throw line. Five Cardinals had four or more fouls in the game.
The Cardinals were then forced to foul to extend the game. Bishop Miege scored 29 points from the free throw line in the game.
The senior players for the Cardinals were emotional after seeing their high school basketball careers come to an end, but said they are thankful for all the memories they share.
“I’m going to miss these guys and this team and the bond we’ve created over the years,” Parker said. “It’s going to last a lifetime, and I love them so much.”
The brotherhood the senior players have formed dates back quite a while, according to Dunback.
“We’ve been together as long as I can remember,” Dunback said. “We’ve played all sorts of sports together. I’m really proud of the way we’ve played together and been a family.”
Senior Maddox Votaw said he will remember all the big things and the little things the team did together.
“This entire state trip is something I’ll never forget,” he said. “I mean, obviously, every away game going, hanging out with guys in the locker room, listening to music, all that sort of stuff.”
Deterding hopes the underclassmen on the team learned a lot from the seniors this year to take into next season.
“In 15 years, like we talked about the other day, like they’re going to be good people, they’re going to have good families, they’re going to be good husbands, they’re going to be good dads,” Deterding said. “So I hope the younger guys really take note of that and recognize what they got to witness for the last couple years.”
The Cardinals finish the season with an overall record of 19-5.
No. 1 seed Hugoton defeated No. 2 seed McPherson 67-58 Friday night to claim the 4A state championship.
Here is the final bracket. Watch our videos with the seniors here and with Deterding here.
Reach reporter Jack Denebeim at [email protected].
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