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Details: Created: 13 March 2026

By JUSTIN BURKHARDT

TopSports.news

WICHITA -- In what marked the final game of his tenure as Seaman boys basketball coach, Craig Cox saw his team deliver a strong performance Friday, defeating city rival Topeka West 66-50 in the Class 5A third-place game at Koch Arena.

The matchup marked the third meeting of the season between the city and United Kansas Conference foes, but this time Seaman controlled the game early and never fully relinquished its advantage.

Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner (33) had 9 points and 10 assists in the Vikings' 66-50 win over Topeka West in Friday's Class 5A third-place game. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Seaman jumped out to a quick start behind senior KaeVon Bonner, who scored four of the Vikings’ first six points to give his team a 6-0 lead.

Topeka West eventually got on the board when junior Prince Lassiter converted a basket, but Seaman quickly responded with a 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 13-4.

Chargers guard Keimani Paul knocked down a 3-pointer late in the quarter, but the Vikings answered with four more points to take a 17-8 lead into the second period.

Topeka West found momentum early in the second quarter, opening the period on a 10-1 run to pull within two points. However, Viking senior Landon Wiltz halted the Chargers’ surge with a timely 3-pointer.

Seaman regained control from there, closing the half with a flurry of outside shooting.

The Vikings connected on three 3-pointers down the stretch, including one at the buzzer, to push their lead to 11 heading into halftime.

Seaman senior Landon Wiltz (5), defending Topeka West's Keimani Paul, led all scorers with 23 points in Friday's 66-50 win in the Class 5A third-place game. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Wiltz led all scorers with 11 first-half points and was 3 for 4 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Both teams struggled to find offensive rhythm to start the third quarter, but Topeka West closed the period strong with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to seven.

Cox emphasized patience and ball movement during the break between quarters.

“We had moved the ball again and were just kind of settling for some shots and missing them,” Cox said. “It’s like, make the extra pass and it’ll be fine. I thought we moved the ball a lot better, got it to the middle and played a little bit from the inside out.

"With these guys having confidence, it makes it easy to not panic when a good team like Topeka West makes a run.”

“(Cox0 just told us to finish the game out,” Bonner said. "We just kept letting them back in. It’s the last game of the season, just have fun.”

Seaman responded with its strongest stretch of the game to open the fourth quarter.

After the Chargers scored five quick points to pull within four, the Vikings erupted on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 52-39.

Paul briefly halted the surge with a 3-pointer for Topeka West, but Seaman answered with three consecutive 3-pointers of its own to effectively put the game out of reach.

The Vikings were particularly efficient from long range, shooting 13 of 26 from 3-point range, while Topeka West struggled from deep, converting just 3 of 19 attempts.

Wiltz finished with a game-high 23 points, while Bonner impacted the game in other ways. Though held to nine points, the standout guard recorded 10 assists.

“I know scoring is one of my main things, but if my shot’s not falling, I’ll go out and get my teammates involved,” Bonner said. “Landon was hitting his shots, so I just drove and found him. He did his job of shooting for me.”

Details: Created: 13 March 2026

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

No. 3-ranked Washburn University men's basketball, the MIAA regular-season and conference tournament champion, will host the NCAA Central Regional for the second straight season, with the Ichabods facing Minnesota-Duluth in their opening game at 5:30 p.m. Saturday in Lee Arena.

The 31-1 Ichabods are the No. 1 regional seed and coming off a dominating 91-59 win over Rogers State in Sunday's MIAA Tournament final in Kansas City, Mo.

MIAA Tournament MVP Jack Bachelor hoists the championship trophy Sunday after Washburn's 91-59 win over Rogers State. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]

But senior guard Bryson Smith, who led the Ichabods with 21 points in Sunday's championship game said the Ichabods still have things they want to work on and get better at this week and beyond.

"At practice we've worked on a lot of stuff that we need to hone in on and just get a good grasp of,'' Smith said. "We always say that you can get better every day, so I always feel like we can still improve.''

While Smith is in his first season with the Ichabods, he has national tournament experience, helping Dallas College North Lake claim a national junior college championship.

"I felt like it was good experience to prepare me for something like this because even though it's a different format, at the end of the day you've still got to come out and compete,'' Smith said. "Coach feels like that and we still feel like we haven't hit our ceiling.''

Washburn coach Brett Ballard cuts down the nets after the Ichabods' MIAA Tournament championship Sunday in Kansas City, Mo. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn coach Brett Ballard doesn't feel like he'll have to say much to get the Ichabods fired up for the regional.

"I think these guys understand that this is a great opportunity and playing at home is pretty special, so my big thing is not to get them excited but make sure they're focused and appreciate how hard it's going to be to win,'' Ballard said. "Just because we played great last week doesn't mean you just show up and do the same thing this weekend.''

Minnesota-Duluth, winners of the Northern Sun Tournament, is 21-11 this season and enters the NCAA Tournament on an eight-game winning streak.

The Bulldogs were the No. 6 seed in the Northern Sun Tournament, winning the title with a 76-65 win over top-seeded St. Cloud State.

Washburn rolled through the MIAA Tournament, outscoring their opponents 267-180, including an MIAA championship game record for margin of victory record in its 32-point win over Rogers State.

The Ichabods never trailed in any of their MIAA Tournament games.

The Ichabods are making their 18th NCAA appearance and enter the tournament with a 20-17 overall record in the event. Washburn reached the 2025 NCAA Division II Final Four.

Washburn won its first MIAA Tournament championship since 2021 and its first in Kansas City since 2012.

The Ichabods have recorded their third 30-win season program history and their second straight after last season's 30-4 record.

Washburn has won 29 straight games at home, breaking the previous 28-game streak from Nov. 19, 1993 to Feb. 8, 1995.

The Ichabods have recorded 32 20-win seasons in program history and six under Ichabod coach Brett Ballard in his nine seasons with four NCAA postseason berths.

Washburn is first in NCAA Division II in scoring margin at plus 25.1 points per game and are ranked fourth in field goal percentage at 50.9 percent.

Washburn is third in assists per game (18.9), sixth in assist/turnover ratio (1.58) and second in rebound margin (plus 10.7) and scoring defense (61.9 points per game).

Sophomore All-MIAA first-team pick Dillon Claussen, who has missed the Ichabods' last two games with a leg injury, is eighth in the nation in field goal percentage at 62.5 percent. Claussen is questionable for Saturday.

Junior Jeremiah Jones is first the nation in total steals with 102 and is ranked second in steals per game at 3.19 per contest.

Jones set an MIAA single-game tournament record in the semis against Missouri Western with eight steals en route to earning all-tournament team honors.

Junior first-team All-MIAA pick and MIAA Tournament MVP Jack Bachelor is 21st in the nation in total assists with 149 and seventh in assist to turnover ratio at 3.10 to 1. Bachelor is 10th in 3-pointers made with 95 and 19th in 3-pointers per game with 2.97.

Bachelor was named the tournament MVP after games of 24, 27 and 14 points while also dishing out 22 assists with only two turnovers and hitting 16 3s during the three games.

Senior Brady Christiansen joined Bachelor and Jones on the all-tournament team after averaging 14.3 points 10 rebounds in the tournament and hitting 50 percent of his 3-point shots, going 7 of 14 overall from deep.

Details: Created: 12 March 2026

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

WICHITA -- The Topeka West Chargers were knocked off balance early and never recovered Thursday, losing to Bonner Springs 76-61 in the Class 5A state semifinal round at Wichita State's Koch Arena.

Junior Prince Lassiter led Topka West with 21 points in Thursday's 76-61 Class 5A semifinal loss to Bonner Springs. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

The third-seeded Chargers fell quickly into foul trouble and found themselves in a 19-8 hole in the opening period. The Chargers played the Braves essentially even on the scoreboard the rest of the way, but never challenged. The closest Topeka West ever came to catching the Braves was eight points.

“We came out flat,” said Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker. “Bonner Springs was ready to play. We were not ready to play. Too many turnovers for us. We didn’t make the 50-50 plays, and they did.”

Topeka West won a grueling double-overtime quarterfinal over rival Piper on Tuesday to advance to the semifinals. Ulsaker admitted the Chargers might have been dealing with a hangover effect.

“It could be. But I think Bonner Springs just has a lot of guys who are pretty good basketball players, and we just weren’t ready for it,” Ulsaker said. “They do the same things we’ve been seeing all year. They hedge ball screens and we didn’t make the right reads to get the ball inside. I think (our) guys were hunting shots they shouldn’t have been hunting for and didn’t stick to the game plan.”

Chargers guard Malakyah Duncan spent a good portion of the first half on the bench in foul trouble. He scored just one basket prior to halftime, by which time Bonner Springs led 37-25.

Senior Gad Munganga, who scored 15 points, reacts during Thursday's 76-61 Class 5A semifinal loss to Bonner Springs. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

Prince Lassiter led the Chargers with 21 points, followed by Gad Munganga with 15.

Details: Created: 12 March 2026

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

WICHITA -- Jack Becker’s desperate heave at the buzzer had the right distance. It appeared on line. Had it fallen, it would have given the Seaman Vikings a remarkable upset and a comeback for the ages. But the shot ricocheted high off the rim and fell harmlessly to the floor as the crowd gasped.

Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner led the Vikings with 27 points in Thursday's 54-52 loss to two-time defending Class 5A champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

The Vikings gave top-seeded Kapaun Mt. Carmel all it could handle in the Class 5A state semifinals Thursday in Koch Arena, losing 54-52 after trailing by as many as 18 late in the third period. Seaman outscored the defending champion Crusaders 24-12 in a wild fourth-quarter comeback that nearly ended in Cinderella fashion.

Seaman could muster no offense in the first 16 minutes. The Vikings attempted just 15 shot attempts in the first half, but committed 10 turnovers to just one assist, putting Seaman at a 25-15 deficit at the intermission. A 6-2 Viking run to close the third period did little to portend what was to come. The fourth quarter began with Seaman trailing 42-28.

The Vikings’ high-scoring senior KaeVon Bonner provided most of the Vikings’ output for three quarters, but he had to work for every point. He found his groove late in the third period and sparked a 16-4 run that brought the Viking crowd back to life. Gradually the Vikings whittled the lead, helped by poor foul shooting down the stretch by the Crusaders.

When the Crusaders missed two free throws with 21 seconds remaining, Seaman had a chance to tie or win on the final possession. Bonner probed the lane, first left, then right, trying to get off a shot. He forced up a jumper that was stuffed on the right block. He shuffled the ball to Becker for the desperation heave. Seaman coach Craig Cox was not happy with the no-call on Bonner’s drive.

Seaman coach Craig Cox reacts to a call during Thursday's 54-52 loss to two-time defending Class 5A champion Kapaun Mt. Carmel. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]

“I get it, officials don’t want to decide games. But when it’s clearly a foul, it’s a very easy call,” Cox said. “You’ve got to blow that whistle. You cannot reward (the defense) in that situation.”

Cox recognized that Kapaun Mt. Carmel wasn’t going to gift Seaman an opportunity to get back in the game. The Vikings would have to force the opening.

“We kept talking about, ‘We need to take it to them,’ ” Cox said. “They make it very difficult with their outstanding defense. That’s why we struggled so much in the first half. And I thought we just got more aggressive and did a better job of rebounding, since the first half was not good at all.”

The Vikings outscored Kapaun Mt. Carmel 30-14 over the final 10 minutes. Bonner scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth -eriod rally. He was followed in the box score by Griffin Zuniga with 13.

“We just showed our character and showed what our kids were made of with that comeback,” Cox said. “There was probably a little bit of embarrassment in the first half with the way that we played and how much we struggled. I was proud of them for showing that they weren’t going to give up and lay down and get steamrolled, which could have happened.

“For our guys, everybody in the arena is saying the same thing about our team, how impressed they were in the second half with the comeback.”

Details: Created: 12 March 2026

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

HUTCHINSON -- In their third try in consecutive years, the Hayden girls finally lifted the lid on the semifinal round, beating defending Class 4A state champion Wellington 50-45 Thursday to advance to the championship round.

Hayden girls basketball celebrates Thursday's 50-45 win over Wellington in a Class 4A semifinal in Hutchinson. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]

Hayden led by as many as 10 in the contest, but found itself in need of some late-game heroics Thursday at Hutchinson Sports Arena.

Hayden went cold in the middle of the fourth quarter, going more than four minutes without a point.

An 8-0 run by the Crusaders during that crucial interval turned a 42-37 Hayden lead into a 45-42 advantage for Wellington.

Hayden didn’t allow another point, reeling the Crusaders in with their defense and giving themselves a chance to win.

“We were down 45-42 and ended on an 8-0 run. Our girls stayed together the whole time,” Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. “Some of those girls were involved in some huge games last year where they came out on top. If we had fizzled out there, it just seemed like, ‘Ok, they’re the better team.' They’re used to it. So, I’m glad we didn’t let that happen. We played really tough down the stretch and hit big shots and got big rebounds.”

Sophomore Sophia Wichman, scoreless for 30 minutes, hit a free throw at 1:23 left to cut the lead by one. Having seen the ball go through the net once, she was warmed up for the biggest shot of her career.

Wellington missed two free throws with under a minute remaining, giving the Wildcats a chance to tie or take the lead. But the Wildcats struggled to produce a shot from their four-out offense. In the scramble, the ball came to Wichman as the shot clock ticked down. She drained the open look to put Hayden ahead 46-45 with 37 seconds left.

“I went in and I airballed that first three (earlier in the game) and I was like, ‘Wow!’ ” Wichman said. “But I didn’t let it get me down completely. I was like, ‘I’m gonna keep shooting, keep my head up,' because that’s what all my teammates told me to do.''

Wichman said the play was designed to create a shot for Lauren Borjon, who had two 3-pointers in the game.

“I would much rather have (Borjon) take that shot because I know that she’s such a good 3-point shooter,” Wichman said. “Everyone has so much faith in her. But I came around and was just like, ‘I’m open. We’re down. I need to make this shot.’ And I just let it fly.”

“She’s just got nerves of steel, I guess,” Reynoldson said. “She’s never nervous about anything and we had confidence when she shot it.”

The Hayden defense, which had been so successful all game, locked down the defending champs on four possessions, holding them scoreless as the seconds ticked away. The Wildcats’ defense was huge all day. A stiff full-court press forced 21 turnovers and held the defending champs to 35.4 percent shooting from the field. The Crusaders were hurt by 9-17 shooting from the free throw line.

“On the backside we run back so much, so we don’t give up too many easy ones, because when you press, that’s the fear, that you’re going to give up easy baskets and whatnot,” Reynoldson said. “We have girls with active hands and get deflections.”

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