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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After eking out a pair of one-point regular-season wins over city and Centennial League rival Washburn Rural, Topeka High coach Robbie Sanders knew his Trojans faced a tough task against the Junior Blues in Wednesday's Class 6A sub-state semifinal in The Dungeon.

Senior Bryson McComas shared team-high honors for Topeka High with 14 points in Wednesday's 57-50 sub-state win over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Topeka High senior Elisha Guest had 13 points with four 3-pointers in Wednesday's 57-50 sub-state victory over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

But for the third time this season High was good enough to get the job done, taking a 57-50 victory to give the Trojans a three-game sweep over the Junior Blues by a total of just nine points.

"We gutted it out,'' Sanders said. "It was tough to beat those guys once, let alone three times.

"They're always so well-prepared and (John) Hoytal's such a physical presence and Cooper (Schmidt). It's just an interesting challenge that they give us, but I'm really proud of the way the guys handled it tonight.''

With the win No. 8 seed West seed Topeka High, now 13-11, is headed to a sub-state championship game Saturday at No. 1 seed Maize after winning only one game and failing to make into the 6A sub-state field in 2024-2025.

Washburn Rural, which finished the season 11-12, jumped out to a 5-0 advantage Wednesday, but Topeka High rallied to lead 18-13 by the end of the opening quarter.

The Trojans continued to fight off Washburn Rural in the second quarter en route to a 29-24 halftime advantage and led 40-35 at the end of the third stanza, ending the quarter with a 3-pointer from senior Ajalon Ross.

Topeka High got 13 points from senior Ajalon Ross in Wednesday's 57-50 Class 6A sub-state semifinal win over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Ross's trey began a 9-0 run as the Trojans opened up their biggest lead of the night, 46-35, on two free throws from senior Jalen Aldridge with 5:31 remaining.

Topeka High eventually went up by 12 points (54-42) at the 2:03 mark on a free throw from junior Dae'Veon Campbell and the Junior Blues got no closer than the final margin the rest of the way.

Senior Bryson McComas led Topeka High with 14 points while senior Elisha Guest had 13 points with four 3-pointers and Ross also had 13 points, including a pair of traditional three-point plays and his 3-point basket.

"I didn't want my final game to be tonight,'' Ross said. "I wanted to go to practice tomorrow.''

"Ajalon's been through everything,'' Sanders said. "He had to wait his turn at Topeka West and he transferred over here. He started off really hot and he had some trials and tribulations but he never gave up.

"He shows up to work every day and he showed up when we needed it the most tonight.'' 

Senior John Hoytal scored a game-high 24 points in Wednesday's 57-50 Washburn Rural loss to Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Hoytal, a senior, kept Washburn Rural in the hunt with a game-high 24 points, including a seven of eight performance at the free throw line.

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

It took some overtime heroics, but the Cair Paravel Latin boys kept their win streak – and their hopes to make the school’s first-ever state tournament appearance – alive Wednesday. The Lions edged Doniphan West 52-45 to advance to the Class 2A sub-state finals.

Lucas Marichal scored six points in overtime to help Cair Paravel post a win over Doniphan West Wednesday night. [File photo/TSN]

The Lions overcame illness, bumps and bruises and foul trouble, but they almost didn’t overcome an ugly first half that found them in a 20-14 hole.

Cair Paravel finally found its footing in the third period, but Doniphan West continued to trade blows with the home team. The Lions trailed 38-33 with one quarter left to extend the season.

Senior Caleb Cleverdon dropped a couple of big shots to help the Lions close the fourth-period gap. Missed free throws by the Mustangs opened the door, and the Lions tied the score at 42-42 in the final minute to send it to overtime.

Lucas Marichal, frequently the Lions’ top scorer, scored just three points in regulation and spent much of the game on the bench, weakened by a recent illness. But when the opportunity presented itself in overtime, the senior knew he had to step up.

“I’ve been fever-free since Monday, but I haven’t been full strength,” said Marichal, who missed school and practice on Tuesday and was held out of the starting lineup Wednesday. “I’d been pretty low energy, pretty fatigued for most of the game.

“When I got subbed out in the fourth quarter with about two or three minutes left, I was like ‘Dang, is this really it? Is my season going to end with me on the bench being sick?’ ”

The Lions’ desperation increased when sophomore Chase Hastert, the team’s leading scorer with 13, fouled out with 3:03 remaining in overtime. Marichal began finding creases in the Mustang defense and hit two driving floaters. He then hit two foul shots to give Cair Paravel a 48-44 lead.

“We just needed to score. It was, win the game and move on, or if we lose, you know, I never get to play basketball with these guys again,” Marichal said. “I realized that we needed to get some shots going. So, I just took it to the rim a couple of times and got some takes to go in. We figured it out because good teams find a way to win games.”

The Lions’ defense held Doniphan West to just four points in the fourth quarter and three in the overtime period, paving the way for the comeback.

“It’s technically March, so crazy things happen in March,” said Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer. “That was certainly not the way you want to start a game. But I’m proud of the grit they showed to finish it.”

Cair Paravel entered the game on an 18-game winning streak, seeded first in its eight-team bracket. Kueffer said the Lions might have been affected by the importance of the moment.

“I think jitters (bothered us), for certain,” Kueffer said. “I think (Doniphan West) is a good team. They hit shots, they pop you in the mouth and you’re kind of dizzy for a little bit. It felt like when we did hit shots, they responded really quickly. In the third quarter we tried to make a run there, then they’d respond with another three-pointer.

“I felt like we finally played like us in the fourth quarter. We started to pressure them a little bit. We felt like we could see the finish line. All right, probably better empty the gas tank now.”

Following Hastert’s 13 points was Cleverdon with 11 and Marichal with nine. Drew Fay and Blaine Durbin each contributed eight.

The Lions will travel to neutral-site Mission Valley Saturday to face St. Marys in a 6:30 p.m. contest with a state tournament berth on the line. Cair Paravel has only reached the sub-state final round once previously, a heartbreaking 58-57 loss to Troy in 2022.

Kueffer reflected on the now 19-game win streak and the character required to win some of those close games.

“You’ve got to win when you play bad,” the third-year coach said. “And we certainly did that today. We played bad, but I was proud of the resilience that our captains showed.

“There have been a lot of one, two possession basketball games. So, I’m really proud of our senior class. There’s a lot of games we could have very easily lost. And so, you kind of start to develop that identity as seniors of, ‘Maybe we’re winners. If we’re winning close games, maybe we can be competitive. Maybe we can be winners.’ ”

St. Marys (17-7) advanced to Saturday's sub-state final with an 89-65 win over Valley Falls. 

CAIR PARAVEL BOYS 52, DONIPHAN WEST 45

Doniphan West 8 12 18 4 3 -- 45

Cair Paravel       8 6 19 9 10 -- 52

Doniphan West (13-12) – Ko. Peterson 5-9 0-0 11, Albers 2-3 0-4 4, Keller 0-5 0-0 0, Veach 4-14 0-0 12, Ke. Peterson 1-7 2-4 4, Shelton 5-10 0-0 14, Paolino 0-0 0-0 0, Harring 0-0 0-0 0. Totals17-48 2-8 45.

Cair Paravel (22-2) – Gossard 1-4 1-2 3, Hastert 5-14 0-0 13, Durbin 3-6 2-6 8, Cleverdon 4-7 0-0 11, Fay 3-9 2-4 8, Marichal 3-6 3-6 9. Totals 19-46 8-18 52.

3-point goals – Doniphan West 9 (Veach 4, Shelton 4, Ko. Peterson 1), Cair Paravel 6 (Hastert 3, Cleverdon 3). Total fouls – Doniphan West 18, Cair Paravel 12. Fouled out – Hastert. Technical fouls – Harring. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 3 nationally ranked and 2026 MIAA regular-season champion Washburn University men's basketball will open the MIAA Tournament at 6 p.m. on Thursday against No. 9 seed Central Oklahoma in Kansas City Mo.'s historic Municipal Auditorium.

 

 

 

The game will be a rematch of last season's MIAA qarterfinal game in which the Ichabods fell 90-84 to the Bronchos.

 

And while the Ichabods have been a team that never needs any extra motivation, last year's early exit has made Washburn determined to put together a strong tournament run this time around.

 

"Especially for the returners that have been here, we know that feeling we had when we left Kansas City and came back here and we felt we were back way too early,'' said junior point guard Jack Bachelor, who was named to the All-MIAA first team for the second straight season earlier this week.

 

"We still have kind of a sick taste in our mouths, so there's definitely some extra motivation there to go play as hard as we can and try to do what we can to win that tournament.'' 

The Ichabods, 28-1 overall, 18-1 MIAA, clinched their 12th outright MIAA title and their second in a row after topping Central Oklahoma on Feb. 19.

Washburn enters the MIAA Tournament as the No. 1 seed for the second consecutive season.

The Ichabods are 21-4 as the MIAA's No. 1 seed at the tournament and are making their 19th consecutive tournament appearance -- the longest active streak in the MIAA.

 

Washburn is coming off an 84-74 win over Missouri Southern in its last regular-season game last Saturday.

Central Oklahoma, 17-15, 9-10, advanced to the MIAA quarterfinals with a 62-53 win over Pittsburg State on Wednesday.

The Ichabods snapped a five-game losing streak in Edmond in the regular season meeting this year against UCO with the largest win in program history, 82-58.

 

"Coach talked about it yesterday, we know these teams are going to be playing with a level of desperation,'' Bachelor said. "We know we're going to get their best shot, especially because your season's on the line and we've just got to come in and respond.

 

"We know they're going to throw punches, but you've just got to respond and make sure we have a good punch coming back.''

 

Washburn is looking for its first MIAA Tournament Championship since 2021 and their first one in Kansas City since March 4, 2012 when Washburn topped Pittsburg State 67-63 in the championship game.

 

"I think last year will help us from a motivational standpoint that we're a little hungrier this year to go over there to go and stick around a little longer hopefully, and play better,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said.

The Ichabods have the No. 1-ranked scoring offense in the MIAA with 87.0 points per game and the top scoring defense, allowing 61.7 points per game.

Washburn is first in NCAA Division II in scoring margin at plus 24.7 points per game, second in rebound margin at plus 10.6 and is ranked fifth in field goal percentage at 50.9 percent.

Sophomore Dillon Claussen, named to the All-MIAA first team earlier this week, is 12th in the nation in field goal percentage at 61.5 percent.

 

Junior Jeremiah Jones is first the nation in total steals with 87 and is ranked third in steals per game at 3.00 per contest.

Washburn finished the regular season with only one loss for the first time since the 1925-26 season when the Ichabods went 12-1-1.

 

Matthew Willenborg leads UCO with a 20.8 scoring average and a team-high 9.4 rebounds per game while adding 99 blocks. Willenborg is second in the MIAA in scoring average, first in rebounding and first in blocks. He also leads the team with 55 3-pointers in 160 attempts.

Willenborg had a game-high 21 points in UCO's win over Pittsburg State in the MIAA Tournament first-round game while adding nine rebounds, three steals and two blocks.

 

Marcus Zeigler Jr. had 16 points with six rebounds.

 

Thursday's meeting will be the 44th in the series history with Washburn leading the all-time series, 22-21. Washburn has won 13 of the last 18 meetings.

 

The Ichabods are 1-2 all-time against the Bronchos in the MIAA Tournament.

Bachelor led Washburn with a career-high 26 points and nine assists with no turnovers in Washburn, shooting 5-of-9 from 3-point range in Washburn's regular-season finale against Missouri Southern while senior Brady Christiansen added 18 points and five rebounds.

 

Jones finished with 18 points, five rebounds, and three steals, while Bryson Smith had 13 points, three assists, and three rebounds.

 

With a win over Central Oklahoma, the Ichabods will play on Saturday in the MIAA semifinals at 6 p.m. in Kansas City.