Welcome to Top Sports News

By JUSTIN BURKHARDT

TopSports.news

No. 2 East girls seed Shawnee Heights opened postseason play in dominant fashion Wednesday night at home, defeating No. 15 seed Kansas City-Sumner 89-15 in the first round of the Class 5A sub-state playoffs.

Shawnee Heights senior Imani McGlory scored 35 points in Wednesday's 89-15 sub-state win over KC_Sumner. [File photo/TSN]

Shawnee Heights set the tone early with suffocating defense, forcing 18 turnovers in the first half and holding Sumner to just one point in the opening quarter.

The T-Birds came out firing offensively, jumping out to a 19-1 lead in the first quarter. Sumner’s first basket came with 1:28 left in the quarter on a free throw from Mila Sims.

Heights kept the momentum rolling in the second quarter as junior Pearmella Carter and junior KK Emmot continued the offensive push. Emmot was perfect from the field in the first half, shooting 5 for 5.

Senior Reianna Vega and Carter combined for a quick 10-0 run, with Vega scoring four points and Carter adding six. Senior Imani McGlory then knocked down a 3-pointer -- part of her game-high 35 points -- to stretch the lead to 36-1. Sumner managed back-to-back baskets before Vega answered with a 3-pointer to make it 39-5.

McGlory then connected on back-to-back threes to give her 15 points before halftime as Shawnee Heights entered the break leading 45–5.

“That was something we really wanted to emphasize -- playing solid defense, not giving up drives, moving our feet, and playing without our hands,” said Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells. “I thought they did a good job of it for the most part.”

McGlory caught fire in the third quarter. After scoring on a layup to start the half, she followed with three consecutive 3-pointers and scored 18 straight points to extend the T-Birds’ lead to 63-5.

“When she starts shooting the ball and it goes in, it barely even touches the net,” Wells said. “There was a lot of that tonight. She was shooting the ball great and feeling great. Her teammates wanted to get her the ball, and that was a lot of fun to see.”

McGlory, who entered the night needing 42 points to reach 1,000 for her career, said her teammates encouraged her to stay aggressive.

“I try to get locked in in the locker room before the game,” McGlory said. “My teammates kept telling me to shoot, especially coming out of halftime. My goal was to try to get at least 30 points tonight so hopefully it’ll be easier next game.

"I feel like the feeling will be way better if I get my 1,000 and we win sub-state on the same night.”

Shawnee Heights led 77-9 after the third quarter, triggering a running clock in the fourth.

Read more …

By JUSTIN BURKHARDT

TopSports.news

Rossville boys basketball hosted the McLouth Bulldogs in the first round of Class 2A postseason action Friday night with a 90-28 statement win.

Senior Jack Donovan scored 47 points with nine 3-pointers in Rossville's 90-28 Class 2A sub-state win over McLouth. [File photo/TSN]

The Bulldawgs entered the playoffs having won four of their last five games and were looking to regain their momentum following a six-point loss to St. Marys.

“We can't sit in that adversity for too long,” said Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell. “We lost to a good St. Marys team, but we also knew our season wasn't done yet. We could be mad about it for a second, but we had to come back and get ready for this game right here. The boys came out dialed in and ready to go.”

Rossville, the No. 3 seed, wasted no time asserting control, opening the game on a 19-0 run, fueled by senior Jack Donovan, who scored 12 straight points during the surge on his way to a game-high 47 points with nine 3-pointers.

McLouth finally got on the board when Beau Harsh found the basket to stop the run.

Donovan continued his hot start, knocking down another 3-pointer for his 15th point of the quarter to make it 22-2.

Senior Cam Miller added a 3-pointer at the end of the first quarter to stretch the lead to 27-7.

“You know, my team was setting me up and putting me in good spots to get open,” Donovan said. “I was able to let it go, and it was going in.”

McLouth scored first in the second quarter, but Rossville responded with an 8–0 run to push the lead to 35-9.

Miller caught fire, hitting a 3-pointer and following it with a layup for five quick points to extend the margin to 40-11.

“It definitely helps that I’m so tall,'' Miller said. "I can jump up, grab a board, kick it out to Jacoby, and he can push it up to whoever’s running down the court.

"Jakoby and Jack make a lot of stuff easier for me to be able to play my game.”

With the score at 49-17, Rossville closed the half on an 11–0 run, including seven straight points from Donovan, to take a commanding 60-17 lead into halftime.

The Dawgs continued their dominance in the third quarter, opening with a 15–0 run.

Miller scored eight of those points to make it 73-17. McLouth briefly halted the run, but Donovan answered with back-to-back 3-pointers. Rossville carried an 85-21 lead into the fourth quarter.

McLouth was led in scoring by Harsh with 23 points.

“It’s always good to get a win,” Donovan said. “We had to get a win, and it’s good to win like this. It helps our confidence going into the next round.

"We’re playing strong together. We cherish every moment because any day could be our last, and we’re trying to enjoy everything.”

With the victory, Rossville advances to face Maur Hill-Mt. Academy on Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Rossville.

ROSSVILLE 90, MCLOUTH 28

McLouth 7 10 4 7 -- 28

Rossville 27 33 25 5 -- 90

McLouth (5-19) -- B.Harsh 11-21 0-0 23, Sheehan 2-3 1-2 5, Forsberg 0-5 0-0 0, C.Harsh 0-6 0-0 0, Holloway 0-4 0-0 0, Desoto 0-1 0-0 0, Ray 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 13-41 1-2 28.

Rossville (15-7) -- Donovan 17-28 4-4 47, Miller 9-15 1-1 21, Johnson 3-6 0-0 6, McDonnell 1-3 0-2 2, Bush 1-2 0-0 2, Horgan 2-2 1-1 2, Horak 2-5 1-2 5, Martinek 1-2 0-1 2, Dick 0-3 0-0 0, Wuensch 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 36-68 7-11 90.

3-point goals -- McLouth 1 (B.Harsh), Rossville 11 (Donovan 9, Miller 2). Total fouls -- McLouth 8, Rossville 4. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.

By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

The No. 1 seeded Cair Paravel boys are off to the semifinal round in the Class 2A sub-state bracket, taking down Horton at home Friday night, 68-28.

 

Chase Hastert paced Cair Paravel with 16 points in Friday's 68-28 win over Horton. [File photo/TSN]

“I love our home crowd, it’s such a cool little atmosphere man,'' Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer said. "We have a special community here. Love the student section. We're really grateful that we have another opportunity to pack The Den.”

 CPLS got out to a 4-2 lead but the Chargers went on a mini 5-0 run to lead 7-4 before sophomore Chase Hastert rattled off two 3-pointers to put the Lions back in front 10-9 and the hosts would lead 14-11 heading into the second quarter.

“We weren’t particularly strong with the ball against their zone,'' Kueffer said. "They’ve pretty much run it all this season and we knew it was coming. When we did get it to the spots that we wanted to, we caught it and were hesitant and played on our heels, we jumped passes and floated some shots.

“I think we did a much better job of turning defense into offense in the second half than turning them over because in the halfcourt we were not very good at all.''

 

Cair Paravel opened the second quarter on a 7-0 run as senior Caleb Cleverdon started it with a trey, as the Lions got the lead to 21-11.

The Lions had it going from distance, as Cleverdon and Hastert would hit one three apiece, extending the lead to 13 (27-14).

Horton’s Talon Hooper drilled one from way beyond the arc right before the buzzer as CPLS took a 33-22 lead into the half.

To begin the third quarter, the Lions started out on fire, beginning with a 6-0 run and forcing the Chargers into a timeout just over a minute into the quarter. After that, CPLS had the fullcourt press on and created turnover after turnover, turning into easy buckets and the lead just kept growing.

“We definitely like to be able to get to that fast start in the first two minutes of the game as opposed to the first two minutes of the third quarter, but that’s something we like to do,” Drew Fay said.

“We knew from film that they were a scrappy team and they play really hard and have given teams a lot of trouble and we came out and struggled.''

Kueffer credited Fay, who finished with 13 points, on that hot start to begin the second half.

“He’s so consistent for us. He showed up ready to play today and he always does, but I just think it's misunderstood how much value he brings to our team,'' Kueffer said. "He’s super composed and a high IQ kind of guy and when he’s the guy who puts the ball in the hoop it's great because everyone puts eyes on him.

"I’m excited for him to get those transition finishes because he’s one of those guys who you love to see make plays.''

Hastert got it to 20 (42-22) off a floater and senior Fay converted an and-one, pushing the advantage to 25 (47-22). It eventually got to 34 points at the end of the quarter, 58-24.

Read more …