By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
SILVER LAKE (2-2, 2-0) at ROSSVILLE (1-4, 0-0)
Both teams ended their pre-holiday schedules with victories. Silver Lake improved to 2-0 in the Mid-East League with a 55-48 win over St. Mary while Rossville picked up its first win under first-year head coach Brandon McDonnell, a 44-37 non-league decision over Kansas City Christian. Senior Troy Heiman led Silver Lake with 21 points against St. Marys, including 13 points in the fourth quarter. Sophomore Jared Johnson added 13 points for the Eagles, hitting four 3-pointers, while senior Ian Stithem grabbed 11 rebounds. Sophomore Tayson Horak and freshman Jack Donovan scored 11 points apiece for Rossville in the Bulldawgs' win over Kansas City Christian, with both players hitting three 3-pointers.
JUNCTION CITY (4-2, 0-0) at WASHBURN RURAL (3-2, 0-0)
Washburn Rural ended the 2022 portion of its schedule with a 39-38 win over Wichita Heights, the No. 1-ranked team in Class 6A and the defending 6A state champion. Senior Jack Bachelor led Rural with 11 points against Wichita Heights while junior JC Heim added 10 points and senior Jacob Hirschi nine points on three 3-pointers. Bachelor leads the Junior Blues with a 16.4 scoring average while Bachelor is also averaging 3.8 assists and 1.4 steals. Junction City is coming off a 55-53 loss to Wichita Northwest in its final game of '22.
HAYDEN (3-1, 0-0) at EMPORIA (5-1, 0-0)
Hayden and Emporia will be playing for the second time this seasson, with the Spartans taking a 57-53 decision over the Wildcats in the second round of the Paul Terry Classic. Hayden, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by the KBCA, is coming off a 73-62 non-league win over Kansas City-Bishop Ward, with senior Joe Otting pacing the Wildcats with 24 points.Emporia suffered its first loss of the seasson in its final game before holiday break, with the Spartans dropping a 66-65 decision to Great Bend.