Topeka West entered the 2026 Topeka Invitational Tournament at Highland Park as the pre-tourney favorite, and over the opening two days, the Chargers have certainly lived up to that top billing.
West, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, opened its tournament bid on Thursday with a 20-point win over St. Thomas Aquinas and followed that up with an 86-64 win over Wichita Northwest on Friday afternoon, punching its ticket to a second straight Topeka Invitational championship game.
Topeka West senior Malakyah Duncan led Topeka West with a game-high 19 points in Friday's 86-64 Topeka Invitational semifinal win over Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"We turned up the heat in the third quarter and I think really stretched the game to where it was a little bit unattainable for Northwest to get there,'' Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker said.
Due to expected inclement weather over the weekend, the 11-2 Chargers, who lost to Highland Park in the 2025 championship game, will have two days off before facing off with USD 501 rival Topeka High at 7 p.m. Monday in the championship game at Highland Park. The 8-5 Trojans advanced to the title game with a 69-62 semifinal win over Lansing.
Because of the weather-related schedule changes Topeka West played its semifinal at 3:30 p.m., a time slot normally reserved for consolation games, but the Chargers trailed for less than a minute (21-20) against Wichita Northwest and outscored the Grizzlies 49-29 over the middle two quarters to turn the game into a rout.
"We started a little slow, but it was a 3:30 game with no crowd,'' Ulsaker said. "The guys did what they needed to do for the most part, high intensity. I think Northwest was trying to match what we were doing as well, but we just did it just a notch above and that's about it.''
All five Charger starters cracked double figures against 6-7 Wichita Northwest, led by senior Malakyah Duncan with 19 points.
Junior Prince Lassiter scored 18 points in Friday's 86-64 Topeka West win over Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Jay'Veon Traylor had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Topeka West's 86-64 win over Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Prince Lassiter added 18 points, senior Jay'Veon Traylor recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, senior Keimani Paul had 13 points and senior Gad Munganga 12 points on four 3-pointers.
The No. 1-ranked Washburn Ichabods men's basketball team will look for its 20th win of the season as the Ichabods play host to Missouri Western at 6 p.m. on Friday in Lee Arena in a game that has been moved up a day because of the weather forecast.
No. 1-ranked Washburn will be aiming for its 20th straight win in Friday's 6 p.m. MIAA home game against Missouri Western. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn enters the game with a 19-0 and is 9-0 in the MIAA, one of two remaining undefeated teams in Division II after topping Northwest Missouri by 50 in a 94-44 home win on Wednesday.
The Griffons are 13-7 overall and 5-4 in the conference after falling at Central Missouri 97-83 last time out.
The Ichabods defeated the Griffons on Jan. 7 in St. Joseph, 87-75.
Washburn is looking for its 32nd 20-win season in program history and their sixth under coach Brett Ballard in his ninth season on the Ichabod bench.
The Ichabods lead NCAA Division II in scoring margin at plus 28.2 points per game and are ranked third in field goal percentage at 52.3 percent.
WU is second in rebound margin (plus 12.7) and has not been out-rebounded in a game this season and has only been tied twice (Lubbock Christian and Emporia State).
The Ichabods' 19-game winning streak is the longest in D-II after Daemen lost on Jan. 21 to Gannon, ending its 20-game winning streak.
The 19-game winning streak by the Ichabods is tied for the fourth-longest in program history.
Washburn's 50-point Wednesday win over the Bearcats was the largest in the series history.
Junior Jeremiah Jones' nine steals tied the school record with Larry Farmer set vs. Friends on Nov. 26, 1996.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen paced Washburn with 18 points on 4-of-5 shooting night and a perfect 10-for-10 at the free-throw line while junior Jack Bachelor added 14 points, including three 3-pointers.
Noah King averages a team-high 17.6 points for Missouri Western while Seaman product Ty Henry is scoring 11.5 points per game, Marko Pavlovic 11.4 and William Kiburis 10.4.
Friday's game will be the 110th between the two schools, with Washburn leading the series, 65-44.
Washburn has won the last five in the series and 10 of the last 13. However, each time the Griffons threatened, Washburn answered, keeping Western at arm's length.
Claussen led Washburn with 18 points in the earlier Ichabod win over the Griffons and eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Senior Sam Ungashick provided a big lift off the bench against Western with a season-high 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting and Bachelor added 16 points.
After Friday Washburn is back on the road for a three-game road trip starting at Fort Hays State on Jan. 29.
Washburn will then face Nebraska-Kearney on Jan. 31 and Central Missouri on Feb. 7 before returning home on Feb. 12 to host Arkansas-Fort Smith.
Due to forecasted weather this weekend Washburn University's women's basketball's game with Missouri Western has been moved up to 4 p.m. Friday in Lee Arena.
Washburn women's basketball will host Missouri Western at 4 p.m. Friday in a game that was moved up a day to due to forecasted inclement weather. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn improved to 13-5 overall and 6-3 in the MIAA with a 45-38 Wednesday night win over Northwest Missouri State while Missouri Western fell to 6-12, 2-7 with an 80-71 road loss at Central Missouri on Wednesday.
The Ichabods will be looking to avenge a 75-67 loss to the Griffons on Jan. 7 in St. Joseph, Mo.
Senior Yibari Nwidadah is averaging team-highs of 13.2 points and 8.1 rebounds for the Ichabods and coming off a double-double with 13 points and 16 rebounds in the win over Northwest Missouri.
With 278 career offensive rebounds Nwidadah is third in program history and she ranks fifth in overall rebounding with with 761 career boards.
Her career field goal percentage of .579 is the second best in program history and she ranks 13th among all Ichabods with 1,216 career points.
Nwidadah had 23 points and 13 rebounds in the earlier loss to Missouri Western.
Senior Payton Sterk led all scorers with 16 points on 7-13 shooting against the Bearcats and is averaging 11.7 points with a team-high 29 3-pointers.
Sterk's career free throw percentage of 85.4 percent is the best for any Ichabod.
Senior Gabi Giovannetti averages 10.8 points for the Ichabods with a 27 3-pointers and a team-high 1.8 steals per game.
Missouri Western leads the MIAA and is 14th in the nation in 3-pointers per game at 8.3. The Griffons are second in the conference in 3-point percentage and fourth in field goal percentage.
Mia Morel leads Missouri Western with a 14.3 scoring average along with 3.6 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game for the Ichabods.
Ana Olivera Dias is averaging 13.5 points and Nakiya Harris 11.5 points.
Washburn has a 58-49 lead in the all-time series with Missouri Western and the Ichabods are 29-18 against Missouri Western in Lee Arena.
After Friday's game Washburn heads back on the road for three games, beginning with Fort Hays State on Thursday.
In a battle of former Centennial League foes, the Hayden Wildcats rolled to a 69-24 home win over Highland Park Scots Thursday night at the Bueltel Activity Center.
Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein scored a game-high 20 points in Thursday's 69-24 Wildcat win over city rival Highland Park. [File photo/TSN]
The Wildcats, ranked No. 9 in Class 4A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, would get things started with sophomore standout Hailey Schmidtlein finding the basket to score the first of her game-high 20 points.
But the lead would not last long as Highland Park’s Zayah Kincaid would hit the first of her three 3-pointers to take a 3-2 lead.
The Lady Scots would hold the lead for a few minutes before Schmidtlein would find the basket again with a 3-pointer to put Hayden up 5-3 and the Wildcats wouldn’t look back as they would go on a 13-0 run before Kincaid would find the basket again to make it 18-5.
The Wildcats would answer with a 14-0 run to make it 32-5 before the Scots' Koralee Jones would get to the free throw line. The Wildcats would take a 39-9 lead into halftime.
Hayden sophomore Blakely Walter would get her team going early in the third quarter with a 3-pointer and Kincaid would match with her own 3-ball.
Hayden junior Emberly Connell would get going in the third as she would score 7 of her 11 points in the quarter. Connell, who mainly played junior varsity last season, has seen her minutes increase this year as Wildcat coach Carvel Reynoldson is trying to replace the four seniors he graduated a year ago.
“Well, if you watch her, she's always really talking and communicating on defense and she's a really good rebounder,'' Reynoldson said. "Sometimes the ball finds people like that, the hustle players, and she shows in practice that she can put the ball in the hole. So we're really not that surprised.”
“It’s always encouraging when your teammates have faith that you’re able to put the ball in the basket. I like how they have the same faith in me that I do as them,” Connell said.
The Wildcats would end the third quarter with a 57-19 lead and force a running clock in the fourth quarter.
Due to a clock malfunction, Topeka High got a late start to Thursday's opening game in the Topeka Invitational Tournament at Highland Park.
And the Trojans also had to endure a late finish, being forced to overtime by Shawnee Mission East before the Trojans took command in the four-minute extra session to advance to the semifinals with a 49-43 win over the Lancers.
Topeka High basketball coach Robbie Sanders talks to his Trojans during Thursday's 49-43 overtime win over Shawnee Mission East. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"I feel like I keep repeating it, but these guys have been through so much,'' Topeka High coach Robbie Sanders said. "They've experienced a lot of losing and a lot of bad times and one of the things that we tend to do is when things go bad we start to pout and hang our heads and I'm just trying to speak that life into them and let them know that they are good enough to beat anybody if we show up to play.''
The Trojans, now 7-5, will take on Lansing, a 59-57 winner over Shawnee Mission North, in Friday's 5 p.m. semifinal. The tournament schedule has been revamped due to the forecast of inclement weather, with the place games scheduled for Saturday now being pushed back to Monday.
Topeka High will be joined in the semifinals by top tournament seed Topeka West, a 70-50 winner over St. Thomas Aquinas. The Chargers will play Friday's first semifinal at 3:30 p.m. against Wichita Northwest, a 62-49 first-round winner over Highland Park.
After taking a 14-11 first-quarter lead over SM East (6-6), Topeka High trailed 25-19 at the half, 30-27 at the start of the fourth quarter and 41-39 in the final minute of regulation before 5-foot-7 senior Elisha Guest tied the game with a hoop with 14 seconds remaining and the Lancers missed a late shot to send the game to OT.
Guest then nailed a 3-pointer to open the four-minute overtime period and the Trojans led the rest of the way as High outscored East 8-2 to take the six-point victory.
"Elisha, small in stature, heart of a lion,'' Sanders said. "I just love that kid and I grow more appreciation and more fondness for his game every time I see him play.''
Senior Bryson McComas, who also scored in the overtime, led Topeka High with 12 points while Guest added 11 and sophomore Mar'saun Redmond 10 for the Trojans.
Senior Stephen Hloblik scored a game-high 19 points for SM East while senior Quentin Ochs added 10.
In the semifinals Topeka High will face a Lansing team which won its third straight game to improve to 4-6 with a hard-earned 59-57 win over Shawnee Mission North (6-4).
Deacon Manthe, a 6-foot-7 junior, led Lansing with 16 points, all in the second half, while junior Mehki Stephens added 11 points.
TOPEKA HIGH 49, SM EAST 43 (OT)
SM East 11 14 5 11 2 -- 43
Topeka High 14 5 8 14 8 -- 49
SM East (6-6) – Lucas 0-4 0-0 0, P. Ochs 3-9 0-0 8, Dillon 1-7 0-0 3, Hlobik 6-9 7-8 19, Konold 1-13 0-0 3, Zubeck 0-1 0-0 0, Q. Ochs 5-7 0-0 10. Totals 16-40 7-8 43.
3-point goals – SM East 4 (P. Ochs 2, Dillon, Konold), Topeka High 5 (Guest 2, Redmond 2, Humphrey). Total fouls – SM East 12, Topeka High 11. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
Junior Prince Lassiter scored 15points in Thursday's 70-50 Topeka West win over Aquinas in the Topeka Invitational Tournament. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Chargers pull away in second half for 20-point win
On paper, Thursday's first-round game in the Topeka Invitational between third-ranked (Class 5A) Topeka West and three-win St. Thomas Aquinas looked like a mis-match.
But West coach Christian Ulsaker was well aware of Aquinas' tradition and the fact that the Saints had played one of the state's toughest schedules, and he knew the Chargers would get tested.
"We talked about it, that that record goes out the window when you play St. Thomas Aquinas,'' Ulsaker said. "They're a very well-coached team and very fundamentally sound and it was a battle for three and a half, four quarters.
"So hats off to them, making it a tough game.''
After jumping out to a 22-13 first-quarter lead, Topeka West, now 10-2, got that test in the second quarter, with Aquinas rallying to take a 35-31 advantage in the second stanza and leading 36-34 inside the final minute of the half before senior Keimani Paul hit a 3-pointer and junior Prince Lassiter converted a traditional three-point play to put the Chargers up 40-36 at the half.
Topeka West then showed its dominance after the break, outscoring the Saints 30-14, including a 17-5 advantage over the final eight minutes to pull away for the 20-point victory.
Lassiter, a 6-6 junior, led a balanced West attack with a game-high 15 points as all five Charger starters cracked double figures.
"Prince, he's a workhorse, and it's not easy to guard him for 32 minutes, I'll tell you that,'' Ulsaker said.
Jay'Veon Traylor added 14 points while Paul had 13 and Gad Munganga and Malakyah Duncan 11 apiece.
The Chargers did a lot of their damage from outside the 3-point line, hitting 10 3s on the night, while Lassiter dominated things on the inside.
Senior Nic Sabers led Aquinas with 12 points, including three treys.
West will now play a Wichita Northwest team which advanced with a 62-49 win over host Highland Park in Thursday's final first-round game.
Washburn women's basketball will host Missouri Western at 4 p.m. Friday in a game that was moved up a day to due to forecasted inclement weather. [File photo/TSN]
