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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Thursday's MIAA contest was one of the lowest scoring wins in Washburn University men's basketall history, but the game also ranked as one of the Ichabods' all-time best defensive effforts as WU picked up a much-needed 55-47 come-from-behind victory over Central Missouri at Lee Arena.
After dropping four of their previous five games, including a 15-point loss at Central Oklahoma last Saturday, and playing without injured junior standout Connor Deffebaugh (ankle), getting a win was all that mattered for Brett Ballard's Ichabods, no matter what the formula was.
Sophomore Andrew Orr scored 20 points, 14 in the second half, in Washburn's come-from-behind 55-47 MIAA win over Central Missouri Thursday night at Lee Arena. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Former Hayden standout Levi Braun scored 10 points, including three 3-pointers and a four-point play, in Washburn's 55-47 MIAA win over Central Missouri Thursday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Thursday night that formula was holding the Mules to under 50 points and 29.4-percent shooting while Washburn played its best basketball down the stretch in the eight-point triumph.
The 102 combined points in the game tied the program record in the shot clock era for the fifth-fewest combined points, matching a total ironically enough with Central Missouri in the same score on Dec. 31, 2010. The 55 points scored by the Ichabods was the second-lowest in program history in the shot clock era for points scored in a win and the 47 points scored by the Mules was the 10th-lowest points allowed in an Ichabod win.
"For sure it feels good,'' Ballard said. "It was an ugly game but we really grinded it out and I'm really proud of our team. You've got to find a way to win them and especially at home, so I'm really proud of our defensive effort. Things didn't always go right, but we found a way.''
WU 6-foot-8 sophomore Andrew Orr, who scored a game-high 20 points, agreed.
"It really was a team win,'' Orr said. "Everybody contributed and it was one of those things where we all came into it knowing we needed a win and we had the energy to get it done.''
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Defending Class 5A state-champion Seaman is off on the right foot in 2023 after taking a 60-45 United Kansas Conference win over Leavenworth Thursday night at Seaman.
The Vikings, who started the season 1-3, rode big nights from veterans Kaeden Bonner and Aron Davis to the win over the Pioneers.
Seaman senior Kaeden Bonner scored 25 points to lead the Vikings in Thursday's 60-45 UKC win over Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman senior Aron Davis scored 15 points in Thursday's 60-45 UKC win over Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN]
Bonner finished with a game-high 25 points, while Davis contributed 15 points.
“When I started the game my shots weren’t flowing, but I was able to work around that,” Bonner said. “I started driving the ball inside more, which helped me get me back to my game. Aron and I like to feed off of each other. I thought the way we were able to control the game helped us get the win.”
With Davis, sidelined at the beginning of the season with a knee injury, recently returning to action the Vikings are feeling more optimistic about the trajectory of this season.
With the recent winter break, Davis was able to get conditioned physically. Getting David back into shape with no injuries is a terrific sign for Seaman.
“The Christmas break practices helped Aron’s conditioning to where he’s going to be able to play a lot of minutes,” Seaman coach Craig Cox said. “A kid with his talent, we need him on the floor so we can ride those two (Bonner and Davis) and have other guys get better because of them.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn University women's basketball team trailed No. 7-ranked Central Missouri by just a point at the end of the third quarter Thursday night at Lee Arena, but the Ichabods' upset bid came up short as the undefeated Jennies took control in the fourth quarter for a 67-53 MIAA victory.
Washburn junior point guard Aubree Dewey scored a team-high 15 points in Thursday's 67-53 MIAA loss to No. 7-ranked Central Missouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn freshman Yibari Nwidadah scored 10 points and grabbed six rebounds in Thursday night's 67-53 MIAA loss to No. 7-ranked Central Missouri. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn, 6-6 overall, 2-4 in the MIAA, trailed 44-43 at the start of the fourth quarter but Central Missouri ripped off a 12-2 scoring run over the first 4:05 of the period to take its largest lead of the contest at 56-45.
Washburn would get no closer than nine points the rest of the way as the Jennies (12-0, 8-0) outscored the Ichabods 23-10 in the final quarter.
"There were positives,'' Washburn coach Lora Westling said. "We had three quarters of positives and I think that's what makes the fourth quarter so disappointing.
"We told them that when we're in those situations where we're ready to compete we've got to have better enthusiasm from our upperclassmen. We've got to have better punch. A lot of positives, but we want to win that game.''
The Ichabods fell behind 9-0 to start the game and did not score their first basket until the 6:16 mark of the first quarter, but Washburn finished the quarter on a 6-2 run to cut Central Missouri's lead to 18-14.
Both teams struggled to score to start the second quarter until the Jennies hit a 3-pointer with 6:51 on the clock for the first points of the quarter.
Washburn trailed 23-16 with 3:49 left in the first half when junior Aubree Dewey drained a 3-pointer to spark an 11-2 burst for the Ichabods to even the score at 27 apiece.
The Jennies made a jump shot to break the tie, but were held scoreless for the final two minutes while Washburn ended the half with four unanswered points to take a 31-29 lead at halftime.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
The Seaman Lady Vikings continued their strong, undefeated campaign in North Topeka on Thursday night with a convincing 60-26 United Kansas Conference victory over Leavenworth.
Class 5A No. 2-ranked Seaman, 6-0 overall, 5-0 in the UKC, picked up right where they left off from the holiday break, turning in a dominant performance.
Seaman junior Taylin Stallbaumer led the Vikings with 15 points in Thursday's 60-26 UKC win over Leavenworth Thursday night. [FIle photo/TSN]
"We talked a lot about better shot selection over the Christmas break practices," Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "Who we want shooting the ball, where we want them shooting from, when we want to shoot it, and I thought we did all of that excellently tonight."
Seaman's front and backcourt couldn't be stopped in transition. Leavenworth dealt with the headache of guarding an athletic Brooklyn Gormley and Maddie Gragg in the paint and tried to keep their eyes on the outside where Taylin Stallbaumer, Anna Becker and Carstyn Anderson were waiting to knock down shots.
T. Stallbaumer had a game-high 15 points and Anna Becker 10 points, while Gormley and Gragg each had nine.
Defensively, Seaman had 11 steals and eight blocks. Gormley led Seaman in blocks with five and T. Stallbaumer led in steals with four.
"Defense is where we hang our hat," Tinsley said. "Being the coach, I'm still a little disappointed that we let up in the fourth quarter. But Brooklyn has really stepped up her game. (Gormley) is twice the player she was last year. (Gormley) is starting to finish inside, she's our defensive rock in there, and she makes it happen.
"Our guards want to get out and penetrate. That's what they want to do. They want to get out and pressure the ball, forcing the other team to take some tough and quick shots. We're better when we can get out, guard, and run."
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
WASHBURN RURAL (4-2, 1-0) at HAYDEN (3-2, 0-1)
Senior Jack Bachelor led Washburn Rural with 21 points in Tuesday's 64-58 Centennial League win over Junction City. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural opened Centennial League play on Tuesday night with a 64-58 win over Junction City while Hayden dropped a 59-52 league decision at Emporia. Senior Jack Bachelor led the Junior Blues with 21 points while junior Griffin Durst and sophomore Max Bettis scored eight points apiece. Sophomore Jacob Deister led Hayden with 18 points on six 3-pointers against Emporia while senior Joe Otting added 14 points and nine rebounds and Jacob Padilla had 12 points on four 3-pointers.
EMPORIA (6-1, 1-0) at TOPEKA HIGH (1-5, 0-1)
Emporia opened its Centennial League schedule with a hard-earned home 59-52 win over Hayden Tuesday night while Topeka High is coming off an 88-40 non-league loss to perennial Class 6A power Blue Valley Northwest Wednesday night at Topeka High. Senior Jalyn King scored a game-high 20 points for Emporia in the Spartans' win over Hayden while Cooper Rech added 10 points. Junior Isaiah Lyons led Topeka High with 14 points, including three 3-pointers, in the Trojans' loss to Blue Valley Northwest.
Senior Xavier Alexander is averaging 20.3 points with a city-high 19 3-pointers for 5-1 Topeka West. [File photo/TSN]
TOPEKA WEST (5-1, 4-1) at DE SOTO (6-1, 4-0)
Topeka West, which has posted five straight victories, ended the 2022 portion of its schedule with a home 89-43 United Kansas Conference win over Kansas City-Turner while De Soto returned to action on Tuesday with a 66-43 UKC victory over Lansing. Senior Xavier Alexander leads Topeka West with a 20.3 scoring average and a city-high 19 3-pointers while senior Malachi Berg averages 16 points and 7.3 rebounds and senior Sincere Austin 11.3 points and 5.3 assists. DeSoto is ranked No. 6 and West No. 7 in Class 5A by the KBCA.
