KANSAS CITY, Kan. — The Manhattan High boys ran into an offensive juggernaut in the Class 6A state quarterfinals Wednesday, falling to No. 1 seed Shawnee Mission South 94-50 at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

The Indians finished the season 17-8 with a state appearance, capping a remarkable turnaround after finishing 6-15 last year. At the heart of that turnaround was strong senior leadership from Vince Doering, Will Carpenter, Sawyer Newton and Tim Washington.

“They decided to make a difference, and when you have young men willing to do that — I could never thank them enough for what they did for me, for our program,” head coach Benji George said. “They brought the joy of basketball back for each other, and for me on some level.

“There was incredible joy in our program this year,” George continued. “All of the moments we got to celebrate, the moments we fought for. That’s what the season comes down to.”

In his final game as an Indian, Doering scored 24 points to lead the team on 9-of-20 shooting with a trio of triples. Carpenter added 10, while Newton chipped in eight and Washington scored five while going 5-of-6 at the free-throw line.

Doering finished as the school record holder for career steals with 146, including the single-season record for steals set this year. Carpenter joined the 500 career points club and Newton grabbed over 250 career rebounds.

After missing the mark the previous two seasons, Manhattan returned to the state tournament as the No. 8 seed. With the return, the Indians were looking to snap a 14-game skid in state competition, with their last win coming in 1986.

But the matchup with 6A’s top seed — the now 25-1 Raiders — was ultimately too much to handle offensively. SM South finished the game shooting 61% (35-of-57) with a 10-of-25 mark from distance.

The Raiders placed four players in double figures, led by Ben Allen’s 27 points. The 6-foot-4 senior entered the game shooting 56% on 3-pointers this season and exceeded that mark Wednesday, going 7-of-10 from deep.

“I just ran into their coach coming out of the locker room, and I told them, ‘they’re allowed to miss,’” George joked.

“I told our players a lot of things, but number one is that there’s no shame in tonight,” he continued. “The reality is we needed some things to go our way, and that didn’t happen.”

How it happened

SM South asserted itself early on both ends, taking a 10-1 lead over the first two minutes while holding Manhattan without a field goal. Newton fought through contact at the rim to break the Indians’ drought.

After a timeout, Manhattan found some momentum behind back-to-back 3-pointers from Doering and Carpenter. But the Raiders’ offense proved too potent, building a 30-14 lead after the first quarter. In the opening frame, South shot 10-of-14 from the field, 5-of-8 from deep and 5-of-5 from the free-throw line.

By halftime the Raiders had more than doubled up Manhattan on the scoreboard with a 55-27 advantage. South finished the first half 20-of-28 (71%) and 7-of-12 from 3-point range while outrebounding Manhattan 17-6, including a 13-3 edge on the defensive glass.

Doering scored 16 points in the half with three triples as the Indians went 5-of-10 from beyond the arc and only trailed 10-7 in turnovers, but the Raiders’ high-powered offense was nearly impossible to slow down.

Allen had 21 points with five 3-pointers in the half, while Davis and Kerrigan joined the sharpshooter in double figures.

Out of the break, Manhattan put together its best defensive quarter of the night, but the Raiders still extended their lead to 74-41 entering the final period.

In the fourth quarter, Allen added his seventh 3-pointer as the Raiders largely emptied their bench to close the contest. Manhattan was able to honor its seniors with one last exit from the floor as well despite the loss.

SM SOUTH 94,

MANHATTAN 50,

No. 1 SM South (25-1) — 30; 25; 19; 20 — 94

No. 8 MHS (17-8) — 14; 13; 14; 9 — 50

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

MHS — Carpenter 10, Doering 24, Sawyer Newton 8, Washington 5, Hattrup 3

SM South — Davis 14, Allen 27, Burns 2, Kerrigan 18, Debaun 20, McKenna 4, Minnick 7