EudoraNews.com

In case anyone questioned it, there is a difference between playoff basketball and that of the regular-season variety.

Case in point was Tuesday night's Class 4A sub-state regional quarterfinal game between Eudora and Gardner-Edgerton. The play was fast, physical, and laced with adrenaline from the opening tipoff.

The Eudora basketball team bench was crestfallen in the final minutes of Tuesday's season-ending 56-46 sub-state loss to Gardner-Edgerton.

It was vastly different from last Friday when the two teams closed out the regular season with a tilt that was not nearly as intense. Unfortunately for the Cardinals, the end result was much the same.

Gardner-Edgerton ended Eudora's season with a 56-46 victory in a game that saw several lead changes.

"I knew it would be a close game," said Eudora coach Chad Eshbaugh. "It came down to a few key possessions where they scored and we didn't."

Gardner-Edgerton managed to pull away bin the fourth quarter by capitalizing on missed opportunities by the Cardinals.

"It was a nice way to finish out this gym," saidd Blazer coach Don Bechard, whose team will move into a new school and a new gymnasium next year. "Give Eudora credit, they played great. Their defense made us do a lot of things we didn't want to do."

With the Trailblazers clinging to a three-point lead early in the fourth quarter, Gardner-Edgerton sophomore Davey Highfill scored a layup through a crowd of Eudora defenders. After a Cardinal turnover, Highfill struck again, sinking a pair of free throws to give Gardner-Edgerton its largest lead of the game a lead that would prove too steep a hill for the Cardinals to climb.

Eudora's Jerrad Born responded with a bucket in the paint, but Mike Mostaffa answered for the Blazers. The teams battled back and forth. They traded baskets at a time when Eudora needed some defensive stops in order to cut into the lead.

Off a steal from Cardinal Matt Fisher, Cyrus Hall stroked his second three late in the game to reduce the Trailblazer advantage to five. But it was a case of too little, too late for Hall and the Cards. The Blazers hit on five of six opportunities from the foul line in the last 30 seconds of regulation to ice the game.

"It seems like every game has been real tight like this," Eshbaugh said. "The only difference was early in the season we were winning the close games."

The close loss was Eudora's fifth straight and dropped the Cards to 12-9, putting a pall on a season that early on showed so much promise.

"It was a good season," Eshbaugh said. "It could have been a great season. Things just didn't fall the right way."

Hall finished with 13 points for the Cards, as did senior Mark Elmer. Wes Hinman contributed five, Born had four, and Fisher ended with three. he Trailblazers were led by Le'Mar Harrison who had 15. Highfill finished with 14 and Brian Rall dropped in 12.

Gardner-Edgerton, which improved to 14-7, advanced to play the winner of Spring Hill and Bishop-Ward.

With the victory over the Cardinals, Bechard recorded his 300th career win of his 22-year coaching career and was presented with a game ball by his players.