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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Bo Aldridge
BO ALDRIDGE, Highland Park
A 6-foot-5 senior, Aldridge scored 67 points in three games as the undefeated and top-ranked (Class 5A) Highland Park boys basketball team won its first Topeka Invitational Tournament championship in 10 years Saturday at Topeka West. Aldridge scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 67-36 first-round win over Shawnee Mission North, scored 27 points with eight dunks in an 86-48 semifinal win over Wichita Southeast and had 18 points in the Scots' 58-47 win over Lawrence in the tournament championship game as Highland Park improved to 9-0.
Jack Bachelor
JACK BACHELOR, Washburn Rural
Bachelor, a 6-foot-2 senior, Bachelor helped lead the 10th-ranked (Class 6A) Washburn Rural's boys basketball team to a third-place finish in the Bill Hanson Memorial Tournament at Pittsburg, scoring 51 points on the week. Bachelor scored 10 points in the Junior Blues' 68-30 first-round win over Joplin, Mo., had 23 points with three 3-pointers and a four of four performance at the free throw line in a 61-43 semifinal loss to Blue Valley Northwest and had 18 points with a six of seven showing at the free throw line and three steals in 8-4 Rural's 69-63 win over Pittsburg. on Saturday.
McKinley Kruger
McKINLEY KRUGER, Silver Lake
Kruger, a 5-foot-6 junior basketball player, was named the Burlington Invitational Most Valuable Player after helping lead No. 7-ranked (Class 3A) Silver Lake to the tournament championship. Silver Lake defeated Independence 52-39 in the championship game, with Kruger scoring 20 points and hitting five 3-pointers as the Eagles improved to 10-1 on the season.
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Lawrence did a good job of limiting Highland Park's high-scoring offense to the Scots' lowest point total of the season in Saturday's Topeka Invitational Tournament championship game.
But the Scots did an even better job of adjusting to a different kind of game, with Highland Park never trailing after the first three minutes on the way to a 58-47 victory and the school's first Topeka Invitational championship in 10 years.
Highland Park accepts the Topeka Invitational trophy after Saturday's 58-47 win over Lawrence at Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park poses for a team picture after winning its first Topeka Invitational Tournament title in 10 years. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"It feels good scoring 60, 70, 80, 90 points, but on the bench about the two-minute or three-minute mark of the fourth quarter it was like, 'We've got to figure this situation out, too,' '' Highland Park coach Mike Williams said. "It's easy to win by 20, 30, 40 points, but can we grind out games?
"The beautiful thing is we've established our program on grinding out games. We're in new territory right now, winning at the rate we're winning at, but besides winning like that we're capable of grinding stuff out, playing in the halfcourt, 40-point games. People might not think we're ready for those but the internal DNA of this group is ready to take those situations on.''
HIghland Park senior standout Bo Aldridge agreed.
"It's just like a test in school or out of school for real,'' Aldridge said. "You've just got to study and respond and do your thing with it.''
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
With the game hanging by a thread, Hayden guard Norma Greco hit two final free throws with minimal time remaining in the fourth quarter to help the Wilcats upset Class 5A No. 7-ranked Shawnee Heights, 35-31, Friday night at Heights.
Although Greco missed the previous free throws in the the extremely tight game, the sophomore settled down and won the game for the Lady Wildcats.
Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson talks to his team during Friday night's 35-31 non-league road win at Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
Greco's composure and calm demeanor didn't shock Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson.
"Norma is a really good free throw shooter," Reynoldson said. "When she missed those two, I think she was just jacked up a bit. When she went back to the line, I had total confidence because we do lots of free throws at practice. She's always 21 out of 25 or 23 out of 25 with her free throws.
"With her missing those two earlier, I was glad she was able to get a second chance."
You could classify Hayden's win over Shawnee Heights as an upset, but Hayden is putting the pieces to its puzzle together.
A team lacking veterans desperately needed a victory such as the one on the road against the Lady Thunderbirds on Friday night.
"That was a big win because we played a great team," Reynoldson said. "(Shawnee Heights) is ranked seventh in 5A, and I think they may be better than that. They got so much talent, quickness and athleticism. I thought our young guards handled the pressure really well. I'm really proud of them for that."
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Even though top-ranked Highland Park had rolled to seven straight victories to open the 2022-2023 season, the Scots entered Friday night's Topeka Invitational Tournament semifinal against Wichita Southeast feeling like there were still more than a few doubters.
After seven straight routs, between 19 and 62 points, Friday night was expected to be Highland Park's first real test, but it was anything but, with the Scots rolling to Saturday's tournament championship game with an 86-48 romp past the Golden Buffaloes.
Highland Park senior Bo Aldridge slams home one of his eight dunks in Friday's 86-48 Topeka Invitational Tournament win over Wichita Southeast. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park celebrates on the bench towards the end of Friday's 86-48 win over Wichita Southeast. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Highland Park, which will meet Lawrence in Saturday's championship game at Topeka West, jumped out to a 21-13 lead at the end of the first quarter and led 43-26 at the half and 68-41 after three quarters before forcing a running clock early in the final stanza.
Hi Park coach Mike Williams said he's heard the naysers and said Friday was a chance to make a statement against a Class 6A opponent with a proud tradition, including the Topeka Invitational title in 2021.
"I've heard all of that,'' Willliams said. "I'm a Topeka guy. I'm like 10 toes down in the town so we hear all of that and we've heard it all year, heard we didn't play nobody. We hear that all the time and we heard that this was going to be a close game.
"We take pride in hearing those things and then making sure that we bring it every single day to prepare ourselves for these moments. Did I doubt what I saw the guys do out there? No. Now there may be some people in the community that did but I hope after tonight they understand that we are for real.''
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Of course, Rick Bloomquist never likes to lose, but two things that happened at the end of Friday night's 45-43 loss to Lawrence in the semifinals of the Topeka Invitational Tournament left the veteran Topeka West coach livid.
Senior Malachi Berg scored 15 points to tie for team-high honors in Topeka West's 45-43 Topeka Invitational Tournament semifinal loss to Lawrence at West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Topeka West senior Xavier Alexander scored 15 points Friday night in the Chargers' 45-43 Topeka Invitational Tournament semifinal loss to Lawrence. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With the game tied at 43 in the final seconds and West on defense, the Chargers had the Lions trapped for several seconds but the pleas for a five-second call from the West bench went unheeded and Lawrence star Zaxton King eventually broke away to score the game-winning basket on a driving layup with about two seconds remaining.
West managed to get a desperation 3-point attempt from Sincere Austin but the shot bounced off as time ran out, giving the eighth-ranked (Class 6A) Lions a spot in Saturday's 1:45 p.m. championship game against Highland Park while sixth-ranked (5A) West will play Wichita Southeast for third place at 12 p.m.
"Those are college officials,'' Bloomquist said of the five-second no call. "I mean they offficiate college basketball and I know we made some mistakes and got behind and so on and so forth, but that doesn't matter. You call the game the way it's supposed to be called and we had not just a five-second call, but an eight to 10-second call that wasn't called and that made a difference in the last-second shot. Let the (game) go to overtime and do the right thing.
"Sure, there's things we've got to fix and things I'm disappointed in. I told the kids, 'We'll use this to jumpstart you for the playoffs.' We've still got a lot to play for and we can't let this identify our season, but boy you talk about frustration when you have a game of this caliber and you can't get officials to make the simple, fundamental call.
"If we lose in overtime, I'm fine, I'm OK. I mean I'm not fine, but I'll handle that. That's my fault, that's my kids' fault. If we miss a free thow that costs us a game, that's our fault. But to have a game lost because of a fundamental officials' call is really hurtful.''
