Southeast boys wallop Kapaun
During the past two seasons, substandard by Southeast’s lofty standard, Buffaloes coach Carl Taylor may have found himself dreaming of the good old days, when he led Southeast to three Class 6A championships between 1999-2008.
Taylor didn’t have to imagine on Friday. The Buffaloes resembled their great teams of the past, using defense, offensive efficiency and balanced scoring to throttle Kapaun Mount Carmel 72-54.
Southeast wore down the Crusaders, outscoring them 43-30 in the second half. Five Buffaloes scored in double figures.
"We have to have that for us to win," Taylor said. "I’m proud of them. They played as a team, they were unselfish, they played defense, they rebounded. We moved the ball without being selfish."
Kapaun couldn’t keep up with Southeast’s quickness and the Buffaloes’ preference to play a faster game.
Southeast learned early that a thriving defense would give it limitless transition opportunities, and by the second half the Buffaloes were taking full advantage. They went after every Kapaun pass and shot, using their long arms to force hesitancy from the Crusaders.
Kevin Gunter, Southeast’s 6-foot-6 senior forward, was the leader of those efforts. When his hands were up, Kapaun couldn’t shoot over him; when his arms were out, no Crusader could drive past him.
"We all communicated on defense tonight," Gunter said. "With me being long and lengthy, I was able to tip a few passes and lead the fast breaks."
Gunter, EJ Garnes, Keegan Oyugi, Reggie Smith and D’Avonte all reached double figures for Southeast by combining their fast-break abilities with patience in the halfcourt offense.
The defense of Gunter and others led to easy baskets for Garnes and Smith, who outran Kapaun to the other end. When the Buffaloes couldn’t break, they still had no trouble getting to the basket.
All of Gunter’s 16 points came near the basket, including a trio of dunks that energized Southeast in the third quarter. The five double-digit scorers combined to make 29 of 43 shots. The Buffaloes took just two three-pointers.
"The defense really made (Kapaun) uncomfortable," Garnes said. "Our defense was really tough tonight."
Southeast led 29-27 early in the third quarter before the Buffaloes’ athleticism began to overwhelm the Crusaders. Gunter’s dunks built momentum, and Kapaun proved no match for the pace Southeast set.
"We were all unselfish with the ball," Gunter said. "We had five in double figures. We played old-school Southeast basketball."
| Southeast (5-3, 4-3) | 14 | 15 | 21 | 22 | — | 72 |
| Kapaun (4-5, 4-4) | 12 | 12 | 14 | 16 | — | 54 |
SOUTHEAST: Garnes 7 0-2 14, Nolan 1 0-0 2, Oyugi 4 2-4 10, Gunter 8 0-2 16, Smith 6 0-1 12, Garland 4 8-10 16, Henderson 1 0-0 2. Totals 31 (0) 10-19 72.
KAPAUN: Hullings 3 0-0 7, Baxter 0 0-2 0, Lickteig 5 2-3 12, M. Martin 6 2-4 16, Cook 5 2-4 13, Young 1 2-7 4, Akao 1 0-0 2, Hagan 0 0-4 0. Totals 21 (4) 8-24 54.