Dec. 4 vs SM North
75-48 (W)
Dec. 5 at Washington
62-59 (L)
Dec. 11 at SM South
38-35 (W)
Dec. 18 vs Lawrence
46-42 (W)
Dec. 19 vs Rockhurst
52-50 (L)
Jan. 5 at SM East
62-44 (W)
Jan. 12 vs. Free State
61-49 (W)
Jan. 15 vs. SM South
57-55 (W)
Saints Classic- at STA
Jan. 21 vs. Northeast
58-40 (W)
Jan. 22 vs. STA
58-39 (W)
Jan. 23 vs. Bishop Miege
58-54 (L)
Feb. 2 vs. SM West
41-37 (L)
Feb. 5 at Olathe East
69-62 (L) (2OT)
Feb. 6 at SM West
60-33 (W)
Feb. 9 vs. Olathe North
76-45 (W)
Feb. 12 vs. SM East
45-43 (L)
Feb. 16 at Olathe NW
57-45 (W)
Feb. 19 vs. Leavenworth
59-42 (W)

Feb. 23 at Olathe South
44-43 (W)
Feb. 26 at SM North
54-46 (W)
Sub-state Tournament at SMNW
March 4 vs. Lawrence
63-53 (W)
March 6 vs. Leavenworth
54-52 (L)

Senior Steve Carver goes up for a dunk during the second half of the last game of the season. This was his final high school basketball game.

The NW fans sat in disbelief. Leavenworth had run down the game clock to less than 10 seconds when senior Kyle Wiggins began to cross-over his dribble, slowly working closer to the basket. Suddenly, he pulled up and swished a two-point basket. Coach Mike Rose had called a timeout with 1.7 seconds left but, at that point, everyone in the gym already knew the outcome of the game. The clock would run out. The game would be over.

“Give the kid credit. He came down and knocked down a shot when he needed to, and it was a big one,” Rose said following the 54-52 loss to Leavenworth in the substate championship game.

Band members and the entire parents section stood in amazement. The only person sitting was Ben Meseke, looking out on the court with the same expression he had when the Cougars were eliminated last season by Wichita Heights in the state tournament.

Northwest attempted a last-second shot, as senior Steve Carver redirected the full-court pass to junior Trey Fruehling who heaved up a desperation three as the buzzer sounded.

It was a different Leavenworth team than two weeks before when Northwest controlled almost the entire game and beat the Pioneers 69-52 in one of their better performances of the season. Northwest also beat the Pioneers in last year’s substate championship game, which sent the Cougars to Emporia. But last Saturday, roles were reversed.

“They definitely came to play this time,” Carver said following the game. “They definitely had revenge on their mind tonight, not just because of the last game, but because of last year. I think they came out strong and wanted it just a little more than we did.”

Coach Rose also gave the Pioneers credit.

“They definitely played a heck of a basketball game compared to a couple of weeks ago. Their energy level was tremendous. They were knocking down a lot of shots,” Rose said.

The most glaring statistic of the night for the Cougars was their free-throw shooting.

“I thought our kids played well, and you hate to look at one little thing, but 8-18 from the free-throw line is going to be tough in a game like this,” Rose said.

The boys’ basketball team finished the season with a 15-7 record, not quite as impressive as last year’s state semifinal team, but it was exceptional compared to some of the Cougars’ past seasons.

“Looking back on it, I’ve really enjoyed the memories I’ve made with these kids,” Rose said. “You talk about those three seniors: Brady, who just accepted his role on this team and was there battling every day in practice; Nick, who’s going to play baseball at CMSU; and Steve, going to Holy Cross. I now get to be able to say that I coached those kids for a year in high school. They’re not just great athletes, they’re great kids, and they’re great students in the classroom as well.”

This season was a roller coaster of wins and losses. After drubbing their rival SM North to open the season, the Cougars went on to lose to Washington High School the following night.

There were other head-scratching losses to mediocre opponents SM West and SM East at home — the first losses at home over the past four seasons.

On the other hand, Northwest played some of the best teams in the metro to the final buzzer. They went on the road to Olathe South and pulled out a 44-43 victory over the Falcons. They took the nationally ranked Bishop Miege to the final seconds of the Saints Classic Tournament, and they battled the Olathe East Hawks through two overtimes.

“You know I’ll take time to sit back and reflect, and there’s a lot of good memories — beating Olathe South at their place and the Olathe East double overtime game and a lot of things that go on at practice that a lot of people don’t see. Just building that camaraderie with those kids is really what it’s all about,” Rose said.

As the final spectators left the gym, stragglers remained, crying over what they had just seen.Others cheered on each player as they entered the gymnasium.

The players were comforted by family and friends as they came together one last time as teammates.

“You know just how close we were, especially off the court,” Carver said. “I love every one of these guys, and I definitely wouldn’t trade anything for them,” Carver said.

It wasn’t the result that many expected after the Cougars beat SM North handily in their first meeting 75-48. But on the Indians last home game of the season a maximum effort was to be expected.

Although Northwest got the victory, it was easy to see that they were not clicking on all cylinders for most of the night.

“ You never want to say its good to play like that,” coach Mike Rose said, “But certainly our kids should be focused and realize you got to play hard every night.”

Northwest was in control for most of the first quarter, Junior Trey Fruehling knocked down his first two three of the night and finished the quarter with eight points.

Senior Steve Carver and Junior Drew Goodger were also both factors inside making two easy layups, close to the basket. North a made a mini-run of 5 points to end the quarter however keeping the game in arms length at 17-13.

“ We gave up too many points in the first quarter.I think it was 13. We just can’t do that will be going through the emotions defensively and just waiting for a big burst to erupt and have the points spread get out there and it never did. Give Shawnee Mission North credit they had a nice game plan,” Rose said.

In the second quarter, the Indians continued to chip away at the lead and eventually tied the game at 19-19 with 6:12 remaining.

Each team traded the lead throughout, but the telling series of the quarter was North’s determination on the offensive glass which led to 5 rebounds and eventual three pointer by Sophomore Llyod Young to give North the lead once again.

Going into halftime Northwest only led by a point against their rival 29-28.

In the second half, the Cougars tried to extend their lead again by pounding the ball inside instead of playing from the perimeter.

“ Our stats at halftime were 2-9 from behind the arc and 9-12 inside, so it was pretty simple in the second half, quit shooting threes and start dumping the ball inside,” Rose said.

Northwest continued to work the middle of the Indians 2-3 zone for much of the second relying heavily on Carver who finished the game with a team high 20 points. But the main focus of the night was on the other end of the floor.

“ I wasn’t so worried about the offensive end of the floor tonight as I was the defensive end,” Rose said.

The Cougars never trailed in the second half and were able to hit enough free throws down the stretch to secure a victory.

The team begins the sub-state tournament on Thursday, March 4 at Northwest. The other three teams in the Cougars bracket its still undetermined, but it could include any of the following seven teams: Lawrence, Lawrence Free State, Leavenworth, Shawnee Mission East, Shawnee Mission North,  Shawnee Mission South, and  Shawnee Mission West.

According to Coach Rose the most likely opponent will be the Lawrence.

Shawnee Mission Northwest:

Steve Carver 20 points

AJ Spencer 14 points

Trey Fruehling 12 points

Drew Goodger 6 points

Sam Phelps 2 points

For more information on the Sub-State tournament check back later this weekend to smnw.com or follow the link below:

http://www.kshsaa.org/BASKETBALL/bskreg.html#Class6A

Fri. Feb 26, at SMN 7 p.m.

Mon. March 1 – Fri. March 5, Sub-state Tournament at SMNW

Wed. March 10 – Sat. March 13, State Basketball Tournament in Emporia

Girls’ Basketball:

Mon. March 1 – Fri. March 5, Sub-state Week at SMNW

Wed. March 10 – Sat. March 13, State Basketball Tournament in Emporia

Wrestling:

Fri. Feb. 26, 6A State Championships, Kansas Colisseum-Wichita, 8 a.m.

Sat. Feb. 27, 6A State Tournament, Kansas Colisseum-Wichita, 9 a.m.

Bowling:

Sat. Feb. 27, Regional Tournament at Olathe Mission Bowl, 9 a.m.

A basketball matchup against Olathe East is always an intense game. There has been hostility in this series since the 3OT game two years ago that knock Northwest out of a chance to make it to the state tournament in 2008.

Even though boys’ basketball took care of the Eagles last season at home this turned out to be another entertaining contest.

The Cougars started out strong in the first quarter securing the lead early and maintained the lead for the entire first quarter. The two leading scorers for most the season, Steve Carver and AJ Spencer attempted all of the shots in the first quarter.

In the second quarter, Olathe East came back strong taking over the lead when the score reached 20-18. The Hawks were able to get balanced scoring from their back court. Junior Tyler Kalinoski and Senior Bryce Schippers each led the team with 9 points.

Carver led all scorers with 12 points in the half. Spencer contributed 7 points. Junior Trey Fruehling was the only other Cougar to score in the first half.

East took the lead into halftime with a late bucket off an offensive rebound. The Hawks dominated the offensive glass in the first half giving them a 27-22 advantage.

” Early on we were playing it because they were struggling scoring against it,” Coach Mike Rose said, ” They got some put backs late that really effected us.”

Opening up the third quarter, the Cougars came out with a more aggressive attitude attacking both ends of the floor and fighting back to regain the lead. Some key defensive plays by Senior Nick Feighner allowed the Cougars to get back in front. Two steals and outlet passes to Carver and Spencer helped Northwest take a two point lead into the fourth quarter.

Even with the effective steals, the Northwest 3-2 zone is what kept the Hawks in check. The Cougars are known for their man-to-man defense, but facing East who created a height mismatch forced an adjustment.

” The kids really felt comfortable running our 3-2 defense,” Coach Mike Rose said.

In the fourth quarter the game really started to heat up with the each team holding the lead for a portion of the quarter. Olathe East held a 50-45 lead with less than 2 minutes left in regulation, but Feighner came up with another big steal giving the Northwest a chance to win. In the following possession, Feighner was able to draw a charge just in front of the Olathe East bench.

AJ Spencer was then able to draw a foul and get to the line knocking down two key free throws to give Northwest a 51-51 tie. The Hawks then took the ball all the way down the floor and got a good look at the basket. But Junior Cole Cooks layup with 2 seconds left was called after Junior Drew Goodger took the charge.

The game then went into overtime where Northwest was able to only extend the lead to only 2 points.However, Carver was able to hit a huge basket with what it seemed to be four seconds left on the clock. Olathe East went on to call a timeout,but they were still able to to get 4 seconds put back on the clock and the ball out of bounds near half court.

East then forced a foul on the Cougars sending them to the line. The Hawks Kalinoski then hit two major free throws down the stretch to continue the game into a second overtime.

In the second overtime it was almost all Olathe East who secured a 5 point lead early in the overtime and then never let up after that making almost all of their free throws down the stretch.

The loss to Olathe East drops the Cougars to 8-5 on the season and their third consecutive loss. The three losses have been especially tough because the combined score for all three losses has only been 15 points.

” I was pleased the way we battled, we fought all night long, ” Rose said.

Northwest has a difficult bounce back today against SM West who beat the Cougars on Tuesday 41-37. The game will take place at 5 p.m. at SM West.

Northwest Point Totals:

AJ Spencer 27 points

Steve Carver 25 points

Nick Feighner 5 points

Trey Fruehling 3 points

Drew Goodger 2 points

It was a different story one year ago. Northwest and Bishop Miege played last season in the Saint Classic Championship game and ran over the Cougars 78-57. That was not the case this year.

Playing the Stags to the final buzzer, the Cougars kept the game close only trailing by double figures once in the entire game.

In the first quarter, the Cougars began the game by trying to pound the ball inside to Junior  Drew Goodger on the low block, but the Stags defense continued to alter the shots of the Cougars holding them to only 6 points in the opening quarter.

Junior AJ Spencer picked up two early fouls in the quarter putting him on the bench, but he was able to not commit another foul until the fourth quarter after that.

Down 11 points to open the second quarter, Northwest began to knockdown three pointers and claw their way back into the basketball game trailing by only three points at halftime.

Northwest also locked down on defense in the second quarter allowing only seven points and keeping Miege’s two guard tandem Seniors Rodney Givens and Trevor Releford to only 14 points.

Senior Justin McCay was the leading scorer of the half with 8 points for Bishop Miege.

The first part of the third quarter Miege continued to be in control, but never extended the lead. Finally, at 4:15 in the third quarter Junior Trey Fruehling hit a three point basket giving Northwest a one point lead.

The Cougars held the lead and even extended to four at one point. But three consecutive turnovers in the last 30 seconds of the quarter turned out to be a five point swing giving Bishop Miege a three point advantage once again.

In the Fourth quarter each team came out shooting hot, trading baskets for most of the quarter. Northwest even battled back at the 3:30 mark to tie the game at 48. But a few arrant passes let the Miege build up another lead and they never gave it back.

Miege’s Givens was the star of the quarter not missing from the field and putting up 11 of the 21 points for the Stags. Givens was named to the All Tournament team.

Trevor Releford also had some spectacular lay ups to seal the game. He finished the game with 16 points and was named tournament MVP for the second consecutive year.

The Cougars also had two players named to  the All-Tournament team. Junior AJ Spencer who finished the game with 22 points and Senior Steve Carver who had 13 points of his own were both named in the awards ceremony following the game.

Carver also finished 3rd in the Three point Competition making 42 three pointers over a three day span.

Northwest finished the 2-1 and 8-3 for their overall record.

Stats from the game:

AJ Spencer 22 points

Steve Carver 13 points

Drew Goodger 8 points

Trey Fruehling 6 points

Nick Feighner 5 points

Even with the home court advantage, Saint Thomas Aquinas posed little threat to the Cougars.

After a sluggish first quarter where a combined 11 points were scored, the Cougars pulled away in the second quarter outscoring the Saints 24-5.

” We were looking a little too early for shots rather than get a feel for the zone,” Coach Mike Rose said,” We really wanted to get people on the baseline to drag out that zone a little bit.”

The key for Northwest was driving into the zone and then kicking it out to the perimeter for open outside shots. The Cougars made seven of 11 three point attempts in the half, a staggering  64 percentage from outside the arch.

“We were better tonight against the zone,” Rose said, ” We had some big threes in the first half that were kind of a back breaker.”

But the Northwest was also impressive on the defensive allowing only one Aquinas player to score in the first half, Senior Steven Mayfield. He had all eight points for the Saints.

Cougars had a balanced attack in the first half with four of the five starters contributing at least 6 points.

Opening up the second half, the Cougars continued to shoot effectively making their first three shots of the half.

” We talked a little bit at halftime, that we need to penetrate some gaps to get that zone to collapse a little bit,” Rose said.

Throughout the third quarter Northwest sustained their lead, building it all the way up to 33 at one point. Northwest never trailed the entire game.

There was a scary moment late in the third quarter when a STA player accidentally stepped on Junior Drew Goodger’s head. After the game Coach Rose said that he had “abrasion” above one of his eyes. A decision on whether Goodger will be determined later today.

Having a comfortable 28-point at the end of the third quarter coach Mike Rose began rotating in JV players getting them valuable varsity time.

In all Northwest played 11 total players in the game giving the starters much needed rest for tomorrow . With the win Northwest improves to 8-2 on the season.

” Were gonna need as much energy as possible  tomorrow,” Rose said

The Cougars will now face the No. 1 ranked team in the state and the KC metro, the Bishop Miege Stags led by Alabama commit Trevor Releford. Northwest met Miege in the Saints Tournament Final last year only to fall to them 78-57, one of the only games last year where the Cougars looked over matched. The star of the game was Releford who scored 31 points and was named tournament MVP.

The game starts at 4:45 p.m. at Saint Thomas Aquinas.

” Were gonna need as much energy as possible  tomorrow, ” Rose said.

Senior Steve Carver also advanced to the finals of the three point competition of the tournament.

Point Totals:

SMNW:

AJ Spencer 19 points

Steve Carver 15 points

Trey Fruehling 10 points

Nick Feighner 8 points

Sam Phelps 4 points

With a half-filled gym and a sleepy atmosphere, Northwest was able to finish off the first round of the Saints Classic with a 58-40 victory over the Northeast of Kansas City, Missouri.

The Cougars were in control the entire game pulling away in second quarter and taking a 15 point lead into halftime.

Throughout the night the Cougars tried to the work the ball inside especially with the height advantage of Senior Steve Carver who finished with 20 points in the game.

Junior AJ Spencer also contributed to Northwest night with a team high 21 points with most of the points coming in transition.

” I think are problem tonight was we weren’t running very good half-court sets. We were trying to rush stuff and get stuff up too quick,” coach Mike Rose said.

After staying in control the entire game the Cougars struggled against the pressure of the Vikings. Some careless turnovers were a problem down the stretch.

” It was sloppy and those are things we won’t be able to do over the course of the next couple of games. We got make things cleaner if were gonna have success in this tournament,” Rose said.

The Cougars will play in the first semifinal of Saints Classic against the host school Saint Thomas Aquinas at 6: 30 p.m. The Saints won easily in the game proceeding Northwest 58-39 over Mill Valley.

We kinda expect some different things and we’ll talk about it a little bit. I guess the main thing is we don’t have a lot of time to practice for (the game) ,” Rose said.

The other semifinal will be the Grandview (Mo.) Bulldogs versus the Bishop Miege Stags at 8:00 p.m.

” You know, all in all, I told the boys after the game, it was ugly win, but a win and will take it and move on to tomorrow,” Rose said.

AJ Spencer 21 points

Steve Carver 20 points

Trey Fruehling 10 points

Drew Goodger 4 points

Nick Feighner 2 points

Brady Smith 1 point

Following a difficult loss to Washington High School in which the Cougar basketball team gave up a surprising 62 points, but a refocused defensive intensity propelled Northwest to squeak by Shawnee Mission South.

“ It was a physical basketball game and tough one to call,” coach Mike Rose said.

Throughout the game many questionable calls were called by the officials, but the main story of the night was shutting down Raiders sharpshooter Will Spradling. The Kansas State Signee was held to only 3 points mainly because of the suffocating defense of Senior Nick Feighner.

“We wanted to pay a lot of attention to Will, He’s a great player, ” Rose said,“ Nick had to defend hard and he defended very very well for 32 minutes.”

The Cougars began the game on a quick 6-0 run with Junior Trey Fruehling leading the attack. Fruehling led all scorers with 9 of the teams 11 points in the first quarter.

Then South countered winning the second quarter 11-8, but the Cougars still were able to hold Spradling to 2 points until 6 seconds left in the half.

Throughout the night the Raiders relied on the three point shot refusing to pound the ball inside against the much taller Cougar team. South was able to hit some threes early in the fourth quarter, but still struggled to make hit shots down the stretch.

“They relied on three point shot a lot and they can knock it down it’s a nice strategy for them,” Rose said.

At the end of the fourth quarter, the Raiders began to stall in the final minute, but some missed free throws by Shawnee Mission South and some key baskets by senior leader Steve Carver the Cougars took over the lead in the last 30 seconds.

In the final seconds both Carver and junior AJ Spencer knocked down key free throws to stretch out the lead, but a scramble by players turned out to be Spradling’s fifth and final foul eliminating him from taking the game winning shot at the end of the game.

“ It was a great battle and fortunately we came out on the winning end tonight, but things could be different down the line,” Rose said.

The Cougars improve their record to 2-1 on the year. The next game will be Friday December 18 against Lawrence High School at SMNW Gymnasium. Then on Saturday Northwest takes on Rockhurst in the HyVee Shootout at Avila University.

Scoring Summary:

Shawnee Mission Northwest

Trey Fruehling- 10 points

AJ Spencer- 7 points

Drew Goodger- 6 points

Steve Carver- 15 points

Shawnee Mission South

Will Spradling- 3 points

Jake Reid- 5 points

Andrew Winkler- 10 points

Rayner Fredrick- 5 points

Dylan Christe- 6 points

Alex Moyer- 6 points

The NW winter sports season began tonight with the Lady Cougars basketball team falling to Shawnee Mission West 48-23. Although the game didn’t appear very pretty, there were definite signs of maturity among this young squad. Watch for these girls to sneak up on some teams this year.

It’s time to get ready for another ride on the Cougar Coaster. The boys’ basketball team will begin their 09-10 campaign tomorrow night in the NW gym at 7 p.m. against the arch rival Indians from Shawnee Mission North. Be sure to wear black to support the blackout theme!

“Man, I can’t wait,” A.J. Spencer said. “I probably won’t even be able to sleep tonight. Just thinking about tomorrow gives me the chills.”

Pre-ranked third in the state, the Cougars look promising coming in to the season.

The wrestling team kicks off their season tomorrow night in Pleasant Hill, Missouri at the Steve Leslie Invitational. The team looks very solid this year, returning almost all of their roster from last winter. Be ready for the Cougars to finish strong in their first tournament of the season.

The boys swim and dive team will also begin their season tomorrow in the new and improved NW Aquatic Center. The tri-meet consists of the Cougars, Washburn Rural, and Maize. The first event will take place at 4 p.m.

Buckle your seatbelts and enjoy the ride NW. It looks to be a very exciting winter.