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Eudora’s Julian Oatis leads the way as the Cardinals leave the court following their team’s 80-67 loss to Rock Creek in the 4A state quarterfinals on March 11 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Rock Creek built an early lead and kept Eudora at arms length for most of the contest as the undefeated Mustangs defeated the Cardinals 80–67 in the Class 4A state quarterfinals at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Rock Creek showed a balanced attack on offense with four different scorers contributing at least 13 points as the Mustangs’ brand of selfless team basketball left Eudora searching for answers throughout the contest.
Eudora head coach Tyler Cleveland gave Rock Creek most of the credit for the outcome, so much so that most of his own critique of his team’s performance revolved around wishing his team could replicate the style of play displayed by the Mustangs.
“It’s kind of the same thing we battled all year,” Cleveland said. “When we play older, mature guards, older kids, they seem to … they just understand the game of basketball, and we still struggle with that sometimes.
“If you notice their team, the ball moves, it never sticks. You know, they pass, they cut, and they’re a fun team to watch and that’s what we’re striving to be.”
Eudora put together multiple comeback attempts in the second half, but were never really able to close the gap before Rock Creek stretched its lead into the double-digits in the game’s final minutes.
After trailing 44-33 at halftime, Eudora sophomore guard Sy Thomas sparked a comeback attempt early in the third quarter with back-to-back 3-pointers to trim the deficit to single digits.
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Eudora’s Sy Thomas attempts a layup during a boys basketball game against Rock Creek on March 11 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Cleveland only needed three words to describe Thomas and his play on the basketball court: “He’s a gamer.”
“He comes out, when he hits one or he hits two, the goal gets wider for him,” Cleveland said. “So sometimes that’s good, sometimes that’s bad. But yeah, he got hot.”
Cleveland said his team really needed that spark, or the game might have gotten away from the Cardinals even faster than it ultimately did.
“That’s what we needed him to do at that point,” Cleveland said.
But as the Mustangs did all game, they responded quickly to Eudora’s scoring run. Rock Creek senior guard Gavin Rosa hit a 3-pointer to stop the momentum.
Rock Creek stretched their lead back to double digits by extending possessions with offensive rebounds, limiting Eudora’s chances to close the gap further. By the end of the third quarter, Rock Creek still held a 51–44 lead.
Eudora continued to fight in the fourth quarter, with junior forward Ryan Osburn adding key rebounds and scoring from the corner to keep the Cardinals within striking distance length. But turnovers and missed opportunities prevented the Cardinals from completing a comeback.
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Eudora’s Lincoln Votaw attempts a running jump shot during a boys basketball game against Rock Creek on March 11 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Rosa scored another three-pointer stretching the lead back to double digits and putting the game out of reach. Rock Creek eventually dribbled out the clock to secure the 13-point victory.
Eudora’s only lead was in the game’s opening minutes. The Cardinals picked up a pair of offensive rebounds on both of the team’s first two possessions, helping allow them to build up a 5-2 advantage early on. But that early rebound margin would quickly give way as Rock Creek finished with a 45-31 margin in that category by the end of the game.
“I think they just, they decided to be tougher than we were going to the boards,” Cleveland said. “Early on, we got a couple of (rebounds), Ryan Osburn got a few put backs and rebounds.”
Cleveland chalked up the rebound disparity to the effort shown by Rock Creek senior forward Ethan Tonsor and senior guard Peter Martinie, as well as a slew of other guards who proved to be quite effective attacking the boards all season.
Tonsor finished with a double-double as he scored a team-high 17 points and 10 rebounds to go along with three assists and a block.
After a back and forth start to the first quarter, Rock Creek started to pull away late in the frame as the Mustangs built up a 26–15 lead and setting the tone for the rest of the night.
Rock Creek maintained that buffer in the second quarter. Late in the second quarter, Rock Creek junior guard Jaxon Pendell converted an And-one play, which would end up being his only points in the game, with just seconds remaining to help push the Mustangs’ halftime lead to 44–33.
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Eudora head coach Tyler Cleveland watches over his team’s play during a boys basketball game against Rock Creek on March 11 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
While the Cardinals did most of their work from the free-throw line in the first half, scoring 12 of 19 from the line, the Mustangs did most of their work in the paint, which also opened up an efficient effort from behind the 3-point line as well. Rock Creek held a 30-18 advantage for points in the paint, while also hitting 3 of 10 3-pointers. Eudora shot 32.3% in the first half, including going 1 of 7 from deep.
Thomas led all scorers with 24 points for Eudora, giving the Cardinals their biggest offensive spark throughout the game. For Rock Creek, offense remained a balanced scoring effort.
In addition to Tonsor’s output, Logan Klingenberg finished with 16 points and a game-high 7 assists, to go along with six rebounds and two blocks. Gill Porter added another 15 points while Rose contributed 13 points, six rebounds and a block. Peter Martinie ended one point shy of also reaching double-digits in scoring, while also giving his team both of its steals in the game.
Cleveland credited Rock Creek’s experience for helping the Mustangs maintain their control throughout the game.
“We’ve seen it on film with this team,” Cleveland said. “They have multiple older guys that step up in those moments when they need to. They got a good chance to win it all for that reason.”
The loss ends the season for Eudora and brings to a close the high school careers of six seniors — Julian Oatis, Lincoln Votaw, Cage Crabill, Alex Gonzalez, Braxton Moeckel and Brody Wenger — who left a lasting impact on their head coach, and possibly on the program overall.
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Eudora’s Julian Oatis goes up for a layup during a boys basketball game against Rock Creek on March 11 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Cleveland, a 2006 Eudora graduate, started coaching in the Eudora school district six years ago, moving up the Cardinals’ coaching ranks until ultimately being named the head coach of the boys basketball varsity team for the 2024-25 season.
“I started coaching in Eudora when that group was in seventh grade,” Cleveland said. “They have a special place in my heart. Cage, and Lincoln, and Alex, Brody, Braxton, Julian… I mean, there’s not one word I could really say. I just love those guys, and they’re going to do great things in this world.
“I just hope they got to experience something special and take this state experience with them for the rest of their lives.”
Following the loss, Cleveland expressed pride in the resilience in his team despite struggles in the regular season.
“Not many teams being 11–11 make the state tournament,” he said. “I’m proud of what they accomplished.”
While the Cardinals say goodbye to this senior class, the program will likely return a strong core of players from this group for next season. Thomas, Schneider, Osburn and freshman guard Hunter Hurtig give the Cardinals a strong returning core, along with a few rotation players like junior guard Caden Dunback and sophomore guard Keelyn Duncan who gained a fair amount of playing time this postseason.
Eudora finishes the season with a 13-12 record.
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Eudora’s student section awaits a free-throw attempt from the Cardinals during a boys basketball game against Rock Creek on March 11 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Mac Moore/Lawrence Sports
Eudora’s Hunter Hurtig prepares to shot a free throw during a boys basketball game against Rock Creek on March 11 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
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Eudora’s Jay Noble leans over with his hands on his knees while Lincoln Votaw looks back toward the Cardinals bench in the late stages of a boys basketball game against Rock Creek on March 11 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
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Eudora’s Keelyn Duncan listens to his coach’s instructions during a boys basketball game against Rock Creek on March 11 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
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Eudora’s Cage Crabill looks up at the scoreboard during a boys basketball game against Rock Creek on March 11 at Tony’s Pizza Events Center in Salina.
