Guards keep Eisenhower rolling

By Joanna Chadwick/The Wichita Eagle

Published Feb. 7 at 11:57 p.m. | Last updated Feb. 7 at 11:59 p.m.

ANDOVER Goddard Eisenhower sophomore Trevon Evans drove past the free-throw line, drawing the defense to him. He looked right but flipped the ball left to senior Zach Bush, who scored on the easy look inside.

Two possessions later, Bush stole the ball, raced up court, drawing the defense to him, then threw a pretty, no-look pass to Daniel Southworth, who scored on a layup.

Andover coach Ryan Harshaw called timeout while the Eisenhower crowd expressed its appreciation for the sweet passing.

“Passing, it’s just as good as scoring,” Bush said.

Eisenhower defeated Andover 73-41 to improve to 12-3 overall, 6-2 in the Ark Valley-Chisholm Trail Division II. Andover falls to 10-6, 4-4.

The Tigers have a pair of guards in Bush and Evans who can contribute in a variety of ways. Passing is one of the exciting ways they involve their teammates. Sometimes it’s a simple bounce pass to set up the basket. Maybe it’s a no-look or behind-the-back pass. Or it’s a pass they wrap around the defender.

“We’ve got some guys who are pretty talented,” Eisenhower coach Steve Blue said. “Sometimes we have to rein them in a little bit, but as long as they’re playing defense, we’ll let them go on offense.”

Bush, who can hit from anywhere, scored a game-high 26 points and had 11 rebounds and five steals. Evans had 12 points and a blocked shot.

Andover had an 8-6 lead with 2:12 remaining in the opening period when Bush made a jumper in the lane. He followed that with a steal and a fastbreak basket. Then Evans hit a three-point shot and so did Brennan Stemple for a 16-8 lead to end the quarter.

The Tigers, who shot 43.5 percent from the field, extended that 10-0 run, making it a 31-10 run by halftime. They forced 13 first-half turnovers.

“I’ve never been on a team that can just turn it on,” Bush said. “Somehow this team can. At some point, we just click and go. It’s so much fun. I love this team.”

Eisenhower also pounded it inside to Matt Morris, who finished with 13 points, nine rebounds.

The inside game was a concern because of Andover’s forwards – Robert Peare (6-foot-6), Adam DeKoning (6-4) and Dallas Bruner (6-6), who came off the bench. But Peare was called for his second foul less than three minutes in and Bruner had his second early in the second period. Peare finished with 11 points, seven rebounds.

“Robert is a player, he’s a tough guy to guard,” Blue said. “… Him getting two early fouls worked to our advantage, and all their posts kind of got in foul trouble. I like to think it had to do with us attacking.”

Goddard Eisenhower – Bush 26, Briggs 8, Morris 13, Southworth 5, Evans 12, Stemple 6, Jones 0, Strunk 0, Allen 1, Ndeti 0, Salmon 2, Sondrol 0, Klausmeyer 0, Hawkins 0. Totals 27 (5) 14-21 73.

Andover – Dick 0, DeKoning 3, Patrick 2, Carter 2, Peare 11, Bruner 6, Beahm 5, Boswell 8, Kvasnick 4, Klusener 0. Totals 18 (1) 4-11 41.