WICHITA, Kan. (Catch It Kansas) – The Kapaun Mount Carmel Crusaders came into Thursday night’s Class 5A semifinal game against Topeka Seaman as two-time defending state champions and riding a 43 game win streak. The streak barely extended to 44 with the 54-52 win that wasn’t settled until the final buzzer. Kapaun survived to play for its third straight state championship.
Perhaps no point in any of previous 43 games were as stressful as the final on Thursday. The Crusaders led by as many as 18 points in the second half. But Seaman, led by senior star Kaevon Bonner, rallied to get within two points on the final possession.
Needing a stop to keep their search of a threepeat alive, Kapaun junior Blaise Dalian blocked a game tying layup attempt from Bonner, who got his own rebound and shot a three point attempt while falling out of bounds that spun out, giving the Crusaders the win, finally, outlasting the Vikings at Charles Koch Arena to advance to Saturday’s 5A state title game.
“It was exciting,” Kapaun junior Cole Rapp said. “It was a little stressful at the end because we couldn’t hit free throws. But we got the dub so it feels really good.”…