Eagles soar by Dighton in Lane County showdown

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In the week leading up to the Lane County showdown, Vance Shay kept telling his Healy High School squad “this is just another game.”

It’s doubtful his team really bought into that idea.

As much as the Eagles wanted to win their championship game in the Western Kansas Liberty League tournament, it could be argued that Tuesday’s game with cross-county rival Dighton meant a little more.

This battle between two of the top teams in Class 1A-Division 2 lived up to expectations with the Eagles claiming a hard-fought 48-42 road win.

“You try not to treat this game any differently than any other game, but it is a big game for the boys and for the two communities,” says Shay. “I kept reminding the boys not to get caught up in all the hype, and the Healy-Dighton rivalry, and just do your job and focus on your teammates. I thought we did that tonight.”

The key to this game were patience. After falling behind 10-2 in the first 2-1/2 minutes of the game, the Eagles quickly switched from man defense to their 2-3 matchup zone and slowly climbed back into the game.

“We didn’t lose our composure when the crowd was really into the game. We had to remain patient and create our scoring opportunities,” Shay says.

Dighton junior Ryan Kuhlman had the hot hand early, scoring eight of his team’s first 10 points - including a pair of treys - as the home crowd enjoyed watching their team grab the early advantage. Healy responded with an 11-2 scoring run of their own, taking their first lead of the game, 13-12, following senior guard Damyan Wright’s basket early in the second period.

Both teams were then locked in a defensive battle over the next eight minutes.

Holding a 19-17 lead at the half, Dighton coach Earl Steffens wasn’t surprised at the lack of scoring by either team.

“I expected a tight, low scoring game,” he says. “I knew Healy was patient and we’d have to be patient against their zone.”

While the first half went about as Steffens expected, the second half certainly didn’t. 

When Isaac Alinor drained a three-pointer at the 5:59 mark to give Dighton a 22-21 edge that signaled the start of a dry spell in which the Hornets were held scoreless from the field for nearly eight minutes.

Healy senior Kylan Bennett, who was 5-of-6 from two-point range, gave his team a 23-22 lead and they never trailed again.

“I don’t know that there was anything in particular that hurt us in the third quarter. It was a combination of things,” says Steffens. “The officials let the game get a little more physical and we just didn’t make the shots that we normally do.”

The Hornets were just 3-of-10 at the free throw line, including four missed free throws early in the third quarter.

“We had a couple of drives to the basket when we were fouled and we couldn’t take advantage at the free throw line,” says the Dighton coach.

Instead, it was the Eagles who began taking control of the game when Lucas Ellis drained a pair of free throws and Wright drove the baseline for a basket that put the Eagles on top, 27-22.

That’s when the frustration began to surface for the Hornets who were hit with a pair of technical fouls during the next 2-1/2 minutes as Healy extended its lead to 31-22. When Dighton starters Kuhlman and Matthew Mulville picked up their fourth fouls in the final minute of the period that made their hopes of a fourth quarter comeback even more difficult.

“We didn’t make any conscious changes in the third quarter. We just wanted to do the things we do better,” Shay says. “In the third quarter it seemed we were able to get our hands on a few more passes, get some deflections and force some steals. I think that raises the frustration level for the other team.”

Healy finished off its 16-1 scoring blitz when Bennett’s rebound and putback with 6:49 left in the game gave his team a nearly insurmountable 37-23 advantage.

Dighton did make a final scoring run, cutting the lead to six points, 42-36, on a basket by Alinor with just under two minutes remaining. Wright answered with a clutch basket that put his team back on top by eight points and senior pivot Darrick York, who scored a team high 11 points, added another basket in the final minute that again made it an eight point game and sealed the win.

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