The Axtell Eagles rolled past the Cunningham Wildcats 84-40 tonight in a dominating display of defense and offensive efficiency, advancing to the Class 1A Division II State Championship. Last year, Axtell defeated Cunningham 57-39 in the state championship game.

The top-ranked Eagles opened the first quarter with a hot start, jumping out to a 15-5 lead heading into the second. Bill Lybarger had an impressive seven points in the opening period, while Colin Shaughnessy got the scoring started with a mid-range jumper to put Axtell on the board. The Eagles shot 6-of-12 from the field in the first quarter.

Axtell’s dominance only grew in the second quarter, highlighted by a gym-shaking dunk from Logan Sandmann. The Eagles outscored Cunningham 24-13 in the period, shooting an impressive 10-of-17 from the floor while knocking down three more three-pointers. Axtell headed into halftime with a commanding 39-18 lead over the Wildcats.

The third quarter continued to showcase Axtell’s impressive performance, as the Eagles poured in 28 more points to extend their lead to 67-32 heading into the fourth. Axtell kept its starters on the floor until about the final five minutes, when the bench came in to close out the game.

The Eagles have now gone back-to-back games without needing to use a single timeout and have been on an absolute tear through the postseason. Compared to last year’s average point differential of 19.5, Axtell is winning by nearly 30 points per game in this year’s playoff run.

Axtell was led by Colin Shaughnessy with 22 points, including an impressive six three-pointers. Cunningham was led by Kendall Rogers with 13 points.

The State Championship is set to begin at 2:30 PM at White Auditorium in Emporia. Axtell will face Hanover for the third time this season, with both teams splitting the first two meetings and entering the championship matchup tied 1-1. Axtell won the most recent meeting, 65-62. 92.1 KMZA will provide coverage. 

Team Stats

Cunningham: 12-42 FG, 3-10 3PT, 13-17 FT, 31 REB, 8 STL, 25 TO
Axtell: 28-53 FG, 13-28 3PT, 15-19 FT, 27 REB, 11 STL, 14 TO

Axtell Individual Stats

Landon Schmitz: 6 pts, 5 AST, 3 REB, 1 STL, 2-3 FT
Joe Lybarger: 16 pts, 3 3PT, 4 STL, 3-3 FT
Wyatt Detweiler: 13 pts, 2 3PT, 3 REB, 1 STL, 6 AST, 3-3 FT
Colin Shaughnessy: 22 pts, 6 3PT, 3 REB, 2 STL, 2-2 FT (Farmers State Bank Player of the Game)
Logan Sandmann: 14 pts, 11 REB, 1 STL, 2 AST, 2 DUNKS, 2-2 FT
Lucas Talbot: 3 pts, 1 3PT, 1 REB
Bill Lybarger: 6 pts, 1 REB, 1 AST
Abram Kostal: 4 pts, 1 3PT, 1 AST, 1 STL

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