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Vikings ride big plays to 57-46 come-from-behind 5A win over Maize South
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The Seaman boys turned in momentum-changing plays in every period of their 57-46 Class 5A quarterfinal victory over Maize South Tuesday in Wichita.
Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner dunks the ball for two of his 24 points in the Vikings' 57-46 Class 5A state tournament win over Maize South Tuesday night in Wichita. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
The fourth-seeded Vikings’ come-from-behind win gives them a shot at top-seeded Kapaun Mt. Carmel on Thursday. The Crusaders are the defending champs in 5A and extended their undefeated 2025-2026 streak to 26 games by knocking off Shawnee Heights Tuesday.
Seaman had to withstand a shaky first half and a hot start by Maize South. The two teams traded punches the entire first half. The Vikings got a shot of adrenaline from a driving two-hand dunk by KaeVon Bonner to close the first quarter. Still, the Mavericks led essentially the entire first half, building a six-point lead with 1:25 before halftime.
The Vikings closed the first half with back-to-back buckets to cut the deficit to 22-20. A Bonner 3-pointer with just three seconds left would have sent the Vikings to halftime in the lead, but an official ruled Bonner stepped on the sideline on the catch-and-shoot attempt.
Despite being denied the big shot before the half, the Vikings felt the momentum shifting. Senior Landon Wiltz seized the opportunity. He buried a 3-pointer to open the second half to give the Vikings a 23-22 lead. Two minutes later, he knocked down another to put Seaman up 28-25. The Vikings never trailed again.
“My final comment before we took the floor was we’d been a really good second-half team this year,” said Seaman coach Craig Cox. “We were 0-6 (on 3-pointers) in the first half. The only one we actually made, we stepped out of bounds. So, we were a little bit frustrated. So, for (Wiltz) to step up and make them was very huge momentum-wise.”
“We play defense to offense,” said Bonner. “So, when we get stops and just run down the court, I feel like we’re a good running team, so that starts our momentum. When Landon started (the second half) with those threes, yeah it was a big momentum change for us for sure.”
The Vikings outscored the Mavericks 18-8 in the third period and closed the quarter leading 38-30 on a rim-rocking fast break dunk by Bonner. Cox said the dunks and 3-pointers were not the only highlights.
“You know, those are big momentum plays, but also like Matthew McConnaughey stepping up and taking a charge. That’s a huge momentum play,” Cox said. “We made a lot of big, big plays that allowed us to build that lead.”
Once the Vikings were in the lead, they didn’t surrender to a late run by the Mavericks. The Vikings knocked down 11-12 free throws in the final period, including 8-8 from Bonner, to close out the game.
Facing a variety of defensive looks, Bonner was just 3-6 from the field in the first half for eight points. He focused on breaking down the Maverick defense and distributing the ball. In the second half, he found his scoring touch. The senior finished with 24 points. Wiltz scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime. Griffin Zuniga added 10.
Seaman basketball poses for a picture with its student section after Tuesday's 57-46 Class 5A state tournament win over Maize South. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Seaman's basketball team celebrates with its student session after Tuesday's Class 5A state tournament win over Maize South. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
Darting's coaching career comes to an end with 53-38 loss to Kapaun
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- The Shawnee Heights T-Birds hung with the top-seeded team in Class 5A for as long as they could.
But eventually, two-time defending state champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel pulled away, their size, experience and depth just too much. The T-Birds’ season ended with a 53-38 loss in the quarterfinals in Wichita.
Shawnee Heights senior JaiMarion Cook led the T-Birds with 11 points in Tuesday's Class 5A 53-38 loss to Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
Shawnee Heights knew it had its hands full when it was seeded eighth in the bracket. Kapaun Mt. Carmel has followed up its back-to-back state titles with a 26-0 season thus far.
The T-Birds trailed just 12-10 after one period. But the Crusaders quickly hit on seven as their lucky number. They put together two 7-0 runs in the second period, then added another 7-0 run in the third period.
Heights slowed the Kapaun offense to a grind, giving up just 28 points in the first half. When the T-Birds scored first in the third period, they trailed just 28-20. But the eighth seed just couldn’t generate enough offense to pull off an upset. Shawnee Heights hit just 13-38 field goal attempts.
“We had a game plan. The kids tried to execute. They did execute – Kapaun had two-thirds of their average points,” Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting said. “At halftime, we were down 10 and in the game. But they got a couple of runs there.”
Kapaun Mt. Carmel’s height posed a problem for the T-Birds. The T-Birds were out-rebounded, 33-20.
The Crusaders got a handful of second-chance buckets on offensive rebounds while locking down the paint at the other end.
“It’s not a surprise if you look at (both teams’) records,” Darting said. “If you look out on the floor, the size and the athleticism. Just physically, they’re just better at every position.
“I always tell the kids, ‘Make sure you get beat, not lose. And when you get beat, it’s just because you weren’t good enough.' ”
Shawnee Heights advanced to the tournament by amassing a 15-8 regular-season record, then defeating De Soto and Leavenworth in sub-state. But that résumé was deemed only eighth best in the bracket, forcing the T-Birds into the dreaded 1-8 matchup.
“We lost eight games coming in. Seven of those eight are in the 5A or 6A tournament, and the eighth one is De Soto, who we eliminated,” Darting said. “So that shows you that we could probably play with just about every team in this tournament. We just got the draw we did.”
Senior Jaimarion Cook led the T-Birds in his final game with 11 points. Two other seniors – Ja’Veon Alston and Aiden Scott – also played their final games Tuesday.
Eagles hold off Hesston for 54-45 quarterfinal win behind Hanni's 29 points
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- No. 2 seed Silver Lake never trailed in Wednesday's Class 3A girls quarterfinal against Hesston at White Auditorium after scoring the first six points of the night.
But the 26-1 Eagles had to fight off multiple Swather runs before finishing off a 54-45 win to advance to Friday's 3:30 p.m. semifinal at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Silver Lake senior Kailyn Hanni (4) scored 29 points with six steals in Wednesday's 54-45 Class 3A quarterfinal win over Hesston Wednesday at White Auditorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"Huge credit to Hesston,'' Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter said. "They're a great basketball team and I think they played up to their potential tonight. They played at a really high level, especially their bigs, their young bigs. They did a great job.
"The first half I felt like we were about ready to break it open and then they went on that run in the second quarter to finish it. They did a much better job of trying to play through their bigs the third quarter. We got in foul trouble and we had to adapt and improvise there and we were able to take their best punch and then throw one of our own and finish the game out. I'm super proud of our team.''
Silver Lake, which is in the 3A Final Four for the fifth straight season, including a state title in 2024 and a runnerup finish a year ago, will face No. 3 seed Holcomb (25-2) on Friday after the Longhorns advanced with a 45-32 quarterfinal win over Ellsworth.
Silver Lake led 15-9 at the end of the opening quarter after a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from sophomore Karys Deiter and went up 27-13 after a traditional three-point play from Eagle senior star Kailyn Hanni.
But Hesston ended the half with an 8-1 run to cut its deficit to 28-21 and after falling behind 36-23 at the 5:35 mark of the third quarter the Swathers put together a 16-3 rally to tie the game at 39 with 6:16 remaining.
Silver Lake junior Savanah Wende reacts after hitting a big 3-pointer in Wednesday's 54-45 Class 3A quarterfinal win over Hesston at White Auditorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The tie lasted just 21 seconds, however, with junior Savanah Wende draining a 3-pointer to give Silver Lake a 42-39 advantage, part of a 10-2 Eagle run that put them back in control.
Hanni connected on three of four free throws over the final 49.6 seconds, closing out a game-high 29-point performance while hitting 11 of 16 free throws and coming up with six steals.
Silver Lake sophomore Karys Deiter had nine points, seven rebounds and four steals in Wednesday's 54-45 Class 3A quarterfinal win over Hesston at White Auditorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Deiter added nine points with seven rebounds and four steals as Silver Lake forced 26 Hesston turnovers, while Wende had seven points with a pair of 3-pointers.
