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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
SEAMAN (7-7, 6-5) at WASHBURN RURAL (7-8, 6-5)
Washburn Rural will be playing for the second straight night after taking a 54-51 home Centennial League win over Junction City Monday night. Senior Quincey Kidd led the Junior Blues with 13 points, all in the second half, while sophomore Griffin Durst added 11 points and junior Jack Bachelor 10 points, all in the second half. Seaman is coming off a 73-65 league loss to Highland Park last Friday. Senior Mateo Hyman scored a game-high 23 points for the Vikings against the Scots, while senior Dreighton Griess added 14 points, junior Kaeden Bonner 13 and senior Ty Henry 12.
TOPEKA HIGH (4-11, 4-7) at HIGHLAND PARK (13-2, 10-1)
Both the Trojans and Scots are coming off Centennial League victories last Friday, with Topeka High taking a 70-59 win over Emporia in the annual Dean Smith Game while Highland Park protected its share of the league lead with a 73-65 win at Seaman. Junior Mason Gomez led Topeka High with 24 points and seven 3-pointers against Emporia while sophomores BJ Canady and Bryson Thrasher added 12 and 11 points. Junior Ketraleus Aldridge scored 22 points and junior Tre Richardson added 17 points and Quentin Adams 10 for the No. 4-ranked Scots (Class 5A) against Seaman.
MANHATTAN (4-10, 3-7) at TOPEKA WEST (13-1, 9-1)
Manhattan is coming off its biggest win of the season, a 43-41 Centennial League decision over Junction City last Friday. Topeka West, No. 2-ranked in Class 5A by the KBCA, was off Friday after taking a 56-42 league win over Washburn Rural last Tuesday. Senior Elijah Brooks led the Chargers with 21 points while junior Xavier Alexander added 16. Topeka West has won 12 straight games and is tied in the loss column for the Centennial League lead with Highland Park.
HAYDEN (3-10, 2-8) at JUNCTION CITY (10-5, 7-4)
Junction City played a Monday night makeup game at Washburn Rural, with the Blue Jays dropping a 54-51 Centennial League decision to the Junior Blues. Senior Howard Johnson led Junction City with 20 points. Hayden is coming off a 54-42 league win at Rural last Friday, with senior Trent Duffey pacing the Wildcats with 18 points while juniors Joe Otting and Jake Muller added 15 and 14 points, respectively.
BASEHOR-LINWOOD (12-2, 4-0) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (10-3, 3-1)
Shawnee Heights is coming off a 53-36 United Kansas Conference loss to De Soto, while Basehor-Linwood, No. 7-ranked in Class 5A by the KBCA, is coming off a 73-42 win over Wamego. Senior Carter Olson scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds for Shawnee Heights against De Soto while sophomore Brennon Dodge added 12 points with a pair of 3-pointers.
OLATHE HERITAGE CHRISTIAN (10-5) at CAIR PARAVEL LATIN (11-3)
Cair Paravel Latin is coming off a 70-40 win over Marais des Cygnes Valley last Friday. Senior Zach Clark scored 21 points to lead the Lions while senior Noah Hastert had 16 points, 10 rebounds, 8 assists and 3 blocked shots. Heritage Christian is coming off a 62-47 win over Bishop Seabury.
ROSSVILLE (2-12) at OSAGE CITY (15-1)
Rossville played a close game against state-ranked Wabaunsee, No. 4 in 2A, last Friday, dropping a 56-48 decision. Bulldawg junior Kade Perine scored 25 points in Rossville's loss to Wabaunsee. Osage City, ranked No. 8 in 3A, rolled to a 75-37 win over West Franklin in its most recent game.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Having dropped five of its previous six games, including a 12-point home loss to Hayden last Friday, Washburn Rural's boys basketball team was in dire need of something positive to build on.
The Junior Blues got that positive boost in Monday's Centennial League makeup game against Junction City, taking a 54-51 victory over the 10th-ranked (Class 6A) Blue Jays at Rural.
"You're two guys down (Brock Howard and Lukas Hanks) that start for you and no true big man, so we're kind of moving people around and it was nice to see a response and see other guys step up into roles,'' Washburn Rural coach Kevin Muff said.
"Friday night was a tough loss and tough to handle, especially on your home court and homecoming -- you want to win that game -- but we got out-played, I got out-coached and to these guys' credit they came back and responded tonight, so I'm really proud of them.''
Washburn Rural, which improved to 7-8 overall and 6-5 in the league, trailed Junction City 13-8 after one quarter and 22-17 at the half as the Junior Blues' leading scorers on the season, Jack Bachelor and Quincey Kidd, were held scoreless.
But defense kept Rural in the game and the Junior Blues got their offense cranked up in the third quarter to give themselves a chance for the win.
Rural outscored the Blue Jays 23-11 in the third to turn its five-point deficit into a 40-33 lead as Bachelor and Kidd combined for 14 points in the quarter.
The Junior Blues went in front by eight points early in the fourth quarter but the Blue Jays (10-5, 7-4) got within a point four times late in the game, the last time with 4.6 seconds remaining on two Deontae Baker free throws.
Kidd canned two huge free throws at the other end with 3.7 seconds left to account for the final margin and the Junior Blues forced a turnover to clinch the victory.
Kidd led Washburn Rural with 13 points, including two big third-quarter 3-pointers, and he went five of five at the free throw line, all in the fourth quarter and four in the final 1:37.
"I love the free throw line,'' Kidd said. "Free throws is where I live at. I love the line. It was a great win.''
The Junior Blues also got 11 point from sophomore Griffin Durst and 10 from Bachelor.
Senior Howard Johnson led Junction City with a game-high 20 points while senior Ismael Fadiga added 10 points.
Washburn Rural will be right back in action Tuesday night, hosting Seaman.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 54, JUNCTION CITY 51
Junction City 13 9 11 18 -- 51
Washburn Rural 8 9 23 14 -- 54
Junction City (10-5, 7-4) -- Tedder 0-4 2-2 2, Clark 1-5 2-2 5, Johnson 4-9 8-8 20, Fadiga 3-3 4-4 10, Butler-Lawson 1-3 4-4 7, Sellers 0-2 0-0 0, Baker 2-5 2-5 6, Rowell 0-1 0-0 0, Adguzi-Addo 0-0 1-2 1, Watts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-32 23-27 51.
Washburn Rural (7-8, 6-5) – Kidd 3-4 5-5 13, Hirshi 0-1 0-0 0, Bachelor 4-7 2-2 10, Durst 3-5 4-7 11, Conklin 1-6 2-2 5, Morris 0-0 0-0 0, Bowen 0-1 0-0 0, Heim 3-6 2-2 8, Ross 3-4 1-3 7. Totals 17-34 16-21 54.
3-point goals – Junction City 6 (Johnson 4, Clark, Butler-Lawson), Washburn Rural 4 (Kidd 2, Durst, Conklin). Total fouls – Junction City 21, Washburn Rural 20. Fouled out – Butler-Lawson.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls basketball team has back-to-back games against a pair of state-ranked teams coming up over the next four nights.
But Junior Blues coach Kevin Bordewick stressed to his team that all of its attention needed to be on visiting Junction City in Monday's Centennial League makeup game.
Rural carried out Bordewick's wishes in impressive fashion, with the third-ranked (Class 6A) Junior Blues opening up a huge 20-point lead by the end of the opening quarter on the way to a 69-26 romp.
"That's one thing we talked about, is we're not worried about tomorrow against Seaman (at Rural Tuesday) or Friday (at Topeka High), but let's have a mentality about us and how we approach the start of these games and how we start after halftime and play all the way through,'' Bordewick said. "And I liked our intensity and I thought we were locked in OK.''
Twelve players saw action for the Junior Blues and 11 cracked the scoring column, including three in double figures, as Washburn Rural improved to 14-1 overall and 10-1 in the league.
Washburn Rural built a 28-8 in the first quarter and took a 39-13 lead at the half and a 60-17 advantage after three quarters, forcing a running clock over the final eight minutes.
Senior Katelynn Brogan came off the bench to lead Washburn Rural with 15 points while sophomores Zoe Canfield and Jada Ingram added 10 apiece.
With Brogan leading the way, Washburn Rural got 30 points from its bench.
"They come to practice and they don't get the playing time that a lot of them do, but they are there trying to make us better in some form or fashion, so when they do get a chance to go in there, their hard work is paying off so it is fun to watch, and the other kids like that, too,'' Bordewick said.
Junction City (2-12, 2-9) was led by junior Sophia Holloway with 11 points, the only Blue Jay with more than six points.
Seaman, No. 9-ranked in 5A, is 10-4 overall and 8-3 in the league entering Tuesday night's game against Rural. On Friday the Junior Blues will travel to High to face the No. 2 (6A) Trojans, who started the week 14-0 and 11-0 in the league.
WASHBURN RURAL GIRLS 69, JUNCTION CITY 26
Junction City 8 5 4 9 -- 26
Washburn Rural 28 11 21 9 -- 69
Junction City (2-12, 2-9) – DeGuzman 2-6 0-0 4, Nabus 0-2 0-0 0, Harris 0-2 0-0 0, Holloway 4-5 3-5 11, Rexrode 3-6 0-0 6, Hatcher 2-4 0-0 5, Exantus 0-0 0-0 0, O'Neal 0-3 0-0 0, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 11-29 3-5 26.
Washburn Rural (14-1, 10-1) – Lutz 2-6 0-0 5, Krueger 3-3 1-2 8, Canfield 4-8 0-0 10, Ingram 5-9 0-0 10, DeLeye 3-7 0-0 6, Bagshaw 1-3 0-1 2, Whitmore 1-3 0-0 2, Carlgren 1-1 0-0 3, Ochs 1-2 0-0 2, Brogan 4-6 7-10 15, Schuler 3-5 0-0 6, Bunck 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 28-55 8-13 69.
3-point goals – Junction City 1 (Hatcher), Washburn Rural 5 (Canfield 2, Lutz, Krueger Carlgren). Total fouls – Junction City 9, Washburn Rural 9. Fouled out – none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
ANNA BECKER, Seaman
Becker, a 5-foot-9 guard, continued her outstanding freshman season in two Seaman girls basketball wins last week. Becker scored a career-high 26 points on Tuesday in the Vikings' 49-46 Centennial League victory over Manhattan and followed that up with a 22-point effort Friday night as Seaman improved to 10-4 on the season with a 67-35 win over Highland Park. Becker went 8 of 12 from the field and 9 of 12 from the free throw line against Manhattan and went 7 of 7 from the free throw line againt Highland Park.
HUNTER BENTLEY, Washburn University
A 5-9 senior guard, Bentley scored 24 points in Saturday's 61-50 MIAA road win at Northeastern State while becoming the Washburn women's basketball all-time leader in minutes played with 3,982. Bentley, a former Bishop Miege star, connected on 10 of 14 shots from the field against the RiverHawks and hit four 3-pointers as the Ichabods improved to 10-10 on the season overall and 8-6 in the MIAA.
ADDISON BROXTERMAN, Washburn Rural
Broxterman, a junior, won her second straight Centennial League girls wrestling individual championship on Saturday at Highland Park while helping lead Washburn Rural to its second straight league team title. Now 35-2 on the season, Broxterman, ranked No. 2 in Class 6A-5A by the Kansas Wrestling Coaches Association, won the 120-pound title with a win by pin at the 3:10 mark of the championship match over Junction City's Charly Goodwin, helping the Junior Blues win the team crown by a 190-149 margin over Emporia.
TRENT DUFFEY, Hayden
A 6-2 senior, Duffey tied for game-high scoring honors with 18 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, as Hayden's boys basketball team broke through with a 54-42 Centennial League road victory Friday night at Washburn Rural. Duffey led the way as Hayden notched its third win of the 2021-2022 season, improving to 3-10 overall and 2-8 in the Centennial League standings.
AUSTIN FAGER, Washburn Rural
A 182-pound senior, Fager earned his fourth straight Centennial League individual wrestling championship Saturday at Highland Park while helping lead Washburn Rural to its third straight league team title by a 202.5-174.5 margin over Manhattan. Top-ranked in 6A by the KWCA, Fager clinched league title No. 4 with a 46-second pin over Emporia's Davian White in the championship match. Fager was a state runner-up last season and is currently 33-2 as a senior.
CADEN WALKER, Shawnee Heights
Walker, a senior, received the award as the Most Outstanding Wrestler in Saturday's United Kansas Conference boys tournament at Leavenworth after winning the 160-pound individual title and leading Shawnee Heights to its fourth straight league team title by a 242-160 margin over Basehor-Linwood. Walker went 5-0 on the day with five pins, recording pins in 13, 20 and 22 seconds, 1:05 and 2:12. Ranked No. 3 in 5A by the KWCA, Walker is a two-time state medalist.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Former Shawnee Heights state tennis champ and Washburn University standout Chance Joost returned to where it all started Sunday, bringing his William Woods men's and women's tennis teams to Topeka to face his alma mater in a dual match at the Genesis Health Club.
William Woods is an NAIA school of about 800 students located in Fulton, Mo.and Joost is his third season as head coach of the Owls, taking both the men's and women's teams to the NAIA National Tournament last season.
Washburn, an NCAA Division II power, took a 7-0 win over the Williams Woods women while the Ichabods took a 5-2 win in the men's match.
But Joost said the main objective Sunday was getting his Owls some top-notch early-season competition.
The fact that he got a chance to do that in his home town was a bonus.
"I was super excited to come home and show what my program can do and show my home town what my stamp is, what my program looks like and go compete against the Ichabods,'' Joost said.