Getting to the State tournament is never an easy task and on Thursday night the Doniphan West and Centralia boys moved a step closer to a Class 1A-Division I State bid but had to fight hard to stay alive in the postseason. Doniphan West held off a big Frankfort comeback to notch a tight 58-56 win, while Centralia trailed most of the game to Onaga but used a strong fourth quarter to pick up the 48-40 win. 

After a bit of a slow start to the game Doniphan West held a 13-9 advantage after the first quarter and the second quarter would belong to the Mustangs as they outscored Frankfort 18-9 in the frame to lead 31-18 at halftime. Austin Taylor and Cooper Leach combined for 16 of Doniphan West's 18 points in second quarter. Frankfort didn't go away quietly as they answered the bell battling to within five points several times in the third quarter, but trailed 43-34 after three quarters. The Wildcats continued to swing the momentum and with a 22-15 fourth quarter pushed the game to the brink drawing to within one-point late and had the ball for potentially the last shot. Brendan Levi drove into the paint in the final seconds of the game and dished it off to Jedd Rose on the baseline for a jumped which fell off the rim and Leach grabbed the rebound and was fouled with a little time left. Leach made one free throw but missed the second and the rebound was collected by Doniphan West preserve the win for them 58-56. 

Frankfort with the loss wraps up the season with a 7-16 record and was led by Adam Kenworthy who had a strong 16 points, while Ryan Kraushaar chipped in 12 points and Rose contributed 10 points. 

Tying a season-high with 22 points Austin Taylor led Doniphan West scoring 11 points in each half earning him Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA. While, Lane Spiker posted 13 points and Leach added 12 helping the Mustangs move to 18-4 on the season. 

In the nightcap it was another matchup that would go down to the final seconds of the contest as Centralia used a strong fourth quarter to pick up the win. The Buffaloes led 11-8 at the end of the first quarter after Ben Kufahl hit a floater at the buzzer. Again Kufahl struck in the second quarter with a three-pointer heaved up at the buzzer before halftime going down to give Onaga a 22-17 lead at halftime. The Buffaloes pushed the lead to 34-25 going into the fourth quarter as they got the ball back with a few seconds remaining in the third and a three-quarter court pass from Jackson Glessner found an open Brendan Melvin who scored the layup at the buzzer to end the third for the Buffaloes. In the fourth Centralia battled to take a 35-34 lead with 5:18 left and while Onaga retook the lead shortly the Panthers quickly pounced back on the lead and didn't give up the rest of the way securing the win with free throws down the stretch by Braden Deters, leading Centralia to the 48-40 win. 

Onaga closes out the season 9-13 with the loss and was led by Kufahl who had 12 points, while Tanner Marten chipped in nine points. 

Centralia with the win improves to 15-7 on the year and was led by Deters who scored 16 points and was 8-9 from the including 7-7 from the line in the fourth quarter earning him Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA. Dustin Talley chipped in 11 points for the Panthers in the win.

That setups up two of the top three teams in Class 1A-DI ranked by the KBCA to meet up for the Sub-State title as Doniphan West will take on Centralia Saturday night at 7:30pm in Onaga. (Game will be on 92.1 KMZA and MSCSports.net along with the girls Championship game)