By LIONEL TIPTON
TOWANDA, Kansas – Celebrations galore were in the air Thursday night at Circle High.
The Thunderbirds ran their winning streak to four games, holding off a relentless Mulvane attack for a 63-61 victory Thursday night.
Coach Jordan Crawford said he likes the way the T-Birds have been playing as of late.
“Absolutely,” he said. “Everything we’ve talked about all year – play your best basketball at the end of the year when it matters most – I believe we’ve done that. (We) finished out the season (winning) seven of eight, and to be playing the way we’re playing right now feels really good.
“But we’re not done. The ‘real season’ is now beginning, and the preseason is over. So, it’s ‘win or go home’ (and) fortunately for us, we’ve played our way into hosting at least one game here at sub-state. Then, we’re going to go win a game on the road and punch our ticket to State.”
In addition to being the final regular-season game, it was also Winter Homecoming and Senior Night.
“What a hard-fought game, what an environment, what an atmosphere,” Crawford said. “Our guys, they didn’t need motivation; they had everything they need in front of them to play hard, and they did.”
And Circle definitely made it a Senior Night to remember.
Only five T-Birds scored in the game, but seniors Landon Boldra (23 points), Hunter Cowman (22) and Keaton Koenigsman (12) combined for 58 of Circle’s total points (92 percent).
“Those three seniors have been stepping it up so much here down the homestretch. Landon, Keaton and Hunter are leading this team not only on the scoreboard, but with their effort, their defense, their practice habits, their leadership,” Crawford said. “I’m very proud of the way these guys are finishing out their careers here at Circle.”
Boldra ignited the attack in the first half, scoring 16 points and helping stake Circle to a 34-27 halftime advantage.
“These last 5-6 games, I can’t put into words how well he’s playing, how well he’s conducting the offense, how well he’s running the point-guard position,” Crawford said of Boldra. “He is in a zone, and not many guys in their career get it. I know that has to feel good.
“His first half was special (Thursday night), and his entire game is special.”
When the Wildcats defense began to shut down Boldra in the second half, Cowman took over, getting open right under the basket for easy layups and scoring 14 points after halftime. The majority of his points came on shots at point-blank range.
Koenigsman essentially filled in the gaps, scoring nine of his 13 points in the second half, many of them coming at key instances and providing Circle sufficient breathing room.
“I thought our entire front line played extremely well (Thursday night), Hunter and Keaton both,” Crawford said. “It was a concerted effort to get those guys the ball. It’s fun when you get to put guys in a certain spot and just watch them roll.”
In the game’s final minute, Boldra helped to maintain the lead by hitting three of four free throws, rendering a three-pointer by Mulvane junior Canon Lazier meaningless. Lazier finished with a game-high 26 points, including four three-pointers.
Boldra said the festive nature of the night – assistant coach Braden Kirkpatrick, who is taking a leave from the team after the recent death of his daughter, and his wife were also in attendance – provided extra motivation for the team.
Not that any additional motivation was needed.
“It was just a big night for us,” Boldra said. “We’ve had a lot ofmotivation lately after this (Kirkpatrick) tragedy happened to us. We’re just playing for something a lot bigger than basketball right now.”
The team’s confidence has never wavered, he said.
“The way the season started, we started a little bit rough,” Boldra said. “But we knew were going to bounce back.”
The three seniors have a nice bond, Boldra said.
“Keaton, Hunter and I, we’ve got good chemistry,” he said. “We don’t care who gets the credit right now; just whatever it takes to win.”
The 6-foot-5 Cowman has shaken off the early-season rust from having sat out last year and has been finding another gear of late. Hesaid this team is completely different from the one that started the season and at one point had a 6-6 record.
“We’ve had a very hard late season with some tragedies,” he said. “And that has kind of pushed us to play hard.
“I think that we’re a very versatile team from any level on the floor, and any one of us can play anywhere on the floor, so that makes us real dangerous.”
The Thunderbirds (13-7) have the eighth seed in the Class 4A West sub-state. Circle has already earned the right to open sub-state play at home but will be facing a team that split the regular-season series. TheT-Birds will open sub-state play Tuesday at 7 p.m. against Winfield (11-9) – the last team to beat Circle before Thunderbird road victories at Buhler, McPherson and Augusta. Should they beat Winfield, they would advance to the sub-state final Friday against the winner of top-seeded Andale (17-3) and No. 16 El Dorado (4-16).
Winning in overtime at Buhler was the turning point, Crawford said.
“To have that big lead going into the fourth (quarter) and to lose it… Without that shot, without that win, who’s to say we get on this roll that we’re on now,” he said. “But, we found a way to win that game; we found a way to continue to rally, and great things are happening.”
Boldra helped get Circle off to a quick start, scoring nine first-quarter points and helping stake the T-Birds to a 15-9 lead at the end of the period.
The Thunderbirds kept clicking and a late second-quarter flurry helped them to the seven-point lead at halftime.
Mulvane (6-14) refused to go quietly and rallied in the third quarter to tie the game with 4:40 left in the period and take its first lead, 40-38, on a Lazier layup with 3:34 left. The Wildcats outscored Circle in the quarter, 21-16, and hit three of their eight three-pointers in the third period.
Back-to-back buckets by sophomore Jack Entwisle staked Mulvane to a 49-47 lead with 6:34 left in the game.
But a Cowman layup tied the score, 49-48, and the Thunderbirdstook the lead for good on an and-one by Koenigsman with 4:44 to play.
Four straight layups led to a 58-54 lead with 2:21 remaining, and Boldra’s three free throws gave Circle just enough of an advantage to hold on.
An ability to hold on and emerge with the triumph is a common thread that runs through the four-game winning streak, Crawford said.
“Each of these wins here lately, we’ve had to continue to play wellthrough some adversity late in the game,” he said. “That builds experience, so when those moments do come, they’re not too big.
“They continue to show the heart of a champion. That’s all you can really ask for – find ways to win. You’re not always going to win them pretty; sometimes you’ve got to win them ugly and everything in between.
“And we’re finding ways to do that right now.”
Entwisle (12 points) also finished in double figures for Mulvane, which also had only five players scoring in the game.
Thursday’s game was a rubber match between the two schools. Circle had won the earlier game at Mulvane, but the Wildcats had prevailed in the Chaparral Classic in a very frustrating game for Crawford and the T-Birds.
“We had a 39-point night,” Crawford said. “We didn’t guard very well … Mulvane is one of those teams that we’ve probably played 10-plus times in my three years here, and that’s no exaggeration.”
Tuesday’s sub-state opener will also be a rubber match as the T-Birds have split with Winfield, each winning on the home court.
The streak has given Circle a sudden reversal of fortune that has changed everything completely, Crawford said.
“A couple of weeks ago, we were on the verge of probably breaking as a team,” Crawford said. “Rapport was getting low; effort was down.
“Sometimes, life throws you a curveball – and it definitely threw us one. And our guys have rallied behind the tough times and come together as a team.
“And we are 100 percent a different team now than what we were just not even two weeks ago.
“It is, by far, the most remarkable thing that I have seen in my coaching career.”
Circle’s girls team will be on the road Wednesday as the 10th seed and will face No. 7 Pratt (11-9). The Thunderbird girls finished the regular season 9-11 – only the second time in Brian Henry’s 18 years at the school that his team has finished below .500.
Circle boys 63, Mulvane 61
Mulvane 9 15 21 16 – 61
Circle 15 16 16 16 – 63
MULVANE – H. Myers 2 (1) 1-2 6, M. Myers 4 0-2 8, Lazier 10(4) 2-2 26, Slayton 3 (1) 2-2 9, Entwisle 5 (2) 0-0 13. Totals 24 (8) 5-861.
CIRCLE – Cowman 10 2-4 22, L. Boldra 9 (1) 4-5 23, Koenigsman 6 1-1 13, Jordan 1 0-0 2, K. Boldra 1 (1) 0-0 3. Totals 27 (2) 7-10 63.
Mulvane 61, Circle girls 41
Mulvane 8 19 18 16 – 61
Circle 10 3 10 18 – 41
MULVANE – Ellis 3 (1) 4-4 11, Peschel 6 (1) 11-14 24, Cain 4 (3) 1-1 12, Ensley 2 2-2 6, Schwanke 1 1-2 3, Lazier 1 (1) 2-2 5. Totals 17 (6) 21-25 61.
CIRCLE – G. Tucker 1 0-1 2, Coble 1 1-2 3, Johnson 2 4-6 8, Swilley 4 3-3 11, Wartick 1 0-0 2, Vogts 6 (3) 0-0 15. Totals 15 (3) 8-12 41.
