2A Top Opening Round Games

<p>2A is loaded at the top with some really impressive teams, most notably the defending champion Hillsboro.</p> <p>St. Marys dropped down to 2A this year, just in time for a talented group to make a run at the state playoffs. #3 Valley Falls and #4 Ellinwood look to make things very interesting.</p> <p>But it’s the middle of the brackets that are really interesting in the opening round, which takes place Tuesday. Here are a few opening round games that should be very interesting:</p> <p>Bennington vs Republic County:</p> <p>#4 seed Bennington has one of the top young big men in the state in 6-foot-6 [player_tooltip player_id="1270299" first="Eli" last="Lawson"]. He’s good for a double-double and has had the Bulldogs on a nice hot streak for over a month. Not to be overlooked is 6-foot-4 senior <strong>Cayden Bauer</strong>, who contributes 10 points and 6 boards a game. Republic County is just below .500 but is a senior-dominated veteran bunch that won’t go out easily. The Buffaloes are led by 6-foot-4 tough post <strong>Blake Aurand</strong>. He averages 12 points and 12 rebounds a game.</p> <p>Conway Springs vs West Elk:</p> <p>This is a matchup of two teams with really good records. 13-5 Conway Springs (seeded #4) is led by ascending big man [player_tooltip player_id="1155933" first="Nash" last="Johnsen"] (pictured in white) and long athletic guard <strong>Izic Billups</strong>. The Cardinals have been on a really nice roll after a slow start in December that probably has them undervalued. They recently pulled off an impressive win over Chaparral. 14-6 West Elk (seeded #5) is led by double-double machine 6-foot-5 <strong>Wesley Young</strong>. Conway Springs has the advantage of playing this on its home court.</p> <p>Trego vs Oakley:</p> <p>This matchup of #2 seed Trego vs #7 seed Oakley is interesting primarily because of a couple of the players involved. Trego’s [player_tooltip player_id="1139918" first="Charlie" last="Russell"] impressed so much over the summer with his toughness and ability to perform in the lane against top competition from all over the Midwest. This season he’s been ultra productive with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists. <strong>Cole Feldt</strong> and <strong>Owen Day</strong> are high quality veterans for Trego. Oakley has a 6-foot-2 guard worth watching in <strong>Will Schmidt</strong>. He’s a versatile do-it-all junior stuffing the stat sheet with 15 points. 6 rebounds and 4 assists.</p> <p>Kansas City Christian vs Central Heights:</p> <p>KC Christian gets to host Central Heights in a matchup of #4 vs #5 in the Lyndon sub-state. Neither has a winning record, but they have been decent all season. KC Christian has a long scoring leader in <strong>Alex Knernschield</strong>, a 6-foot-5 wing who can really shoot it. Central Heights is led by sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="1270304" first="Ethan" last="Rowan"], a versatile 6-foot-3 guard/forward who contributes 10 points and 7 rebounds a game.</p>