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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Tuesday night's non-league game against Eudora had the makings of a possible trap game for the undefeated Highland Park boys basketball team.
After all, the Scots, top-ranked in Class 5A, were coming off an emotional championship run in last week's Topeka Invitational Tournament and had to go right back to work against the No. 3-ranked (4A) Cardinals.
Junior Tamir Anderson scored a career-high 20 points off the bench with six 3-pointers as Highland Park improved to 10-0 with a 76-45 non-league win over Eudora Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Bo Aldridge tied for game-high scoring honors with 20 points in Highland Park's 76-45 non-league win over Eudora Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But an 11-0 start to the game and a monster first half from junior reserve Tamir Anderson eased any uneasiness Highland Park coach Mike Williams might have been feeling, with the 10-0 Scots going on to take a 76-45 victory at Hi Park.
"Just coming out of the tournament with a quick turnaround with not a lot of rest, of course I was concerned,'' Williams said. "We've been thinking about that for a year since we got this game scheduled. We knew we'd probably have our hands full on this Tuesday night but it's good that we were able to answer the call and figure it out.
"That's a pretty good team on that other sideline with a couple of pretty good players.''
Highland Park jumped out to an early 17-4 advantage en route to an 18-8 first-quarter advantage and the Scots rode Anderson's 17-point first half, which including five 3-pointers, to a commanding 37-21 halftime advantage.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Highland Park's boys held on to the No. 1 spot in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A boys state rankings for the third straight week while Seaman's girls regained the top spot in 5A.
Highland Park, celebrating its Topeka Invitational Tournament title last Saturay, is No. 1 in the KBCA Class 5A boys state rankings for the third straight week. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Matt Tinsley's Seaman girls basketball team regained the No. 1 spot in the KBCA Class 5A state rankings, released Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]
Highland Park and Seaman are two of nine Shawnee County teams in this week's KBCA rankings, released Tuesday.
Washburn Rural's girls remained No. 3 in 6A while Topeka High's girls are seventh-ranked..
Shawnee Heights girls are ranked No. 9 in 5A while Hayden's girls entered the 4A rankings in a tie for 10th.
Silver Lake's girls stayed No. 7 in 3A after winning the Burlington Invitational title.
Topeka West fell to No. 9 in the 5A boys rankings while Hayden stayed No. 10 in 4A.
KANSAS BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION STATE RANKINGS
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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."
