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| Written by Gene Morris | |||
| Wednesday, 03 February 2010 08:00 | |||
Eudora had the last-second shot Friday night with a chance to spoil the Paola High School Panthers’ homecoming festivities.  Paola, however, stole the ball and drove to the lane, only to miss the layup. The Panthers had seen this before, losing four games this season by nine points or less and with a 49-46 loss to Osage City fresh on its mind from three days earlier. With less than 15 seconds left in regulation, Eudora was bringing the ball up the floor with another chance to set up for the last shot in a 47-47 tie. Guard Justin Dunmars had other ideas, stealing the ball at mid-court and driving to the basket for a layup to give the Panthers a two-point lead and the eventual 49-47 victory. Eudora had one more last-second try, calling time out with 4.7 seconds left, but the buzzer sounded a Paola victory. “Either you are getting better or you are getting worse,” Paola coach Dave Cash said. “You got better tonight. You started to climb that ladder. That last step isn’t as big, but it is a lot harder to make.” Dunmars doesn’t get a lot of the headlines, but he garnered the spotlight Friday with his steal and layup with 6.8 seconds to go. As soon as the ball dropped in the basket, the Panther student section went into the air in jubilation. “It was nerve-racking at first,” Dunmars said. “The crowd was loud. I had confidence that I was going to make the layup. When it went it, there was a sigh of relief. It was good to finally get a win.” During crowning held at intermission, senior basketball players Allison Wood and Jesse Smail were crowned queen and king of the 2010 Paola High School Winter Homecoming. The Panthers kicked off the celebration early, upsetting Eudora 49-47 to let the celebration carry over to the annual homecoming dance. Eudora came to town with all of the momentum, defeating the top-ranked Sumner Academy Sabres, 47-43, last week. Paola had been struggling to finish close games, losing three of its last four. The fans had been coming out, but they had been rather quiet. Not so Friday night, ready to cheer the boys on for a homecoming victory. “It was so loud out there, I couldn’t hear myself think,” Paola center Nick Wilson said. The victory was a team one, needing every play to come out on top in the dramatic two-point victory. Connor Kresin made one of the biggest plays of the night, the type that doesn’t end up in the scorebook but teams cannot win close games without. He stepped in front of a driving Eudora player and took a charge for Paola, not only getting the possession back for the Panthers, but also denying the Cardinals points. “It was good to finally win a close one,” Kresin said. “And, it was great to hear the fans. We were glad to have them here.” Everyone suited up for the Panthers made plays, Cash said. “I am proud of the way you played tonight,” he said. “You all contributed. Even those of you who didn’t get in the game, you guys have contributed in practice.” Isaac Cotton hit a couple of quick baskets as the Panthers took a 6-2 lead in the first two minutes. Eudora answered back with a 14-6 run to end the opening quarter with a 16-12 lead. It was a roller coaster the rest of the way. Wilson made a great spin move in the lane to make his way to the basket for an inside shot, cutting the deficit to 25-21 with 2:13 left in the first half. Paola went into the locker room down three points. Trailing 29-26, Travis Hayes took over for the Panthers. He grabbed an offensive rebound and hit the putback to make it a one-point game and then drilled a 3-pointer to put Paola on top, 31-29, with 5:34 left in the third quarter. Eudora went ahead 45-44 in the fourth quarter. Cotton fouled out with 5:30 to play. Paola turned the ball over twice and missed on two field goal attempts as the score remained the same two minutes later. Kresin took the charge with 2:49 to go. Paola got a great look at the other end, but missed a point-blank shot. Eudora hit a layup for a 47-44 lead, causing Paola to take a time out with 1:37 left on the clock. With 65 seconds left to play, Eudora left Hayes with space at the top of the key, and he burned the Cardinals’ defense for the mistake by draining a 3-pointer to tie the game at 47-47. Anthony West stole the ball with 40 seconds to play, but missed the layup. Dunmars gave Paola a do-over, stealing the ball back near midcourt, flying to the basket for the layup and scoring the game-winner. Wilson led the Panthers with 17 points. Hayes finished with 16 points. Cotton had eight points. Other players scoring for Paola were Skylar Hawkins and Kresin.
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