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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Ketraleus Aldridge
KETRALEUS ALDRIDGE, Highland Park
Aldridge, a 6-foot-4 junior, scored 56 points in two Highland Park boys basketball victories on the week as the Scots improved to 7-0 overall and 6-0 in the Centennial League. Aldridge scored 34 points (21 in the first half) in the Scots' 70-41 non-league win at Atchison on Tuesday and scored 22 points on Friday in Highland Park's 64-31 home league romp past Manhattan.
Jack Bachelor
JACK BACHELOR, Washburn Rural
Bachelor, a 6-2 junior, scored a game and career-high 28 points in Tuesday night's 56-51 home Centennial League win over Topeka High as Washburn Rural's boys basketball team evened its record at 3-3 overall and in the league. Bachelor went nine of nine from the field with seven 3-pointers.
Elijah Brooks
ELIJAH BROOKS, Topeka West
A 6-4 senior, Brooks scored a game-high 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds as Topeka West's boys basketball team opened the 2022 portion of its schedule with a 70-54 Centennial League road victory over Hayden Friday night, improving to 5-1 overall and 4-1 in the league.
Ty Henry
TY HENRY, Seaman
Henry, a 6-5 senior, scored 47 points in two Seaman victories on the week as the Vikings improved to 5-2 overall and in the Centennial League. Henry scored 18 points in the Vikings' 66-44 home win over Hayden on Tuesday and followed that up with a 29-point night Friday at Topeka High as Seaman rolled to a 68-47 win at Topeka High.
Jalen Lewis
JALEN LEWIS, Washburn University
Lewis, a 5-11 junior, scored 25 points, including 20 in the first half, as Washburn's men's basketball team improved to 8-6 on the season with a 76-64 home MIAA victory over Missouri Western Saturday at Lee Arena. Lewis canned six 3-pointers in the game as the Ichabods moved to two games over .500 for the first time this season.
Aisya Taylor
AISYA TAYLOR, Highland Park
A 5-8 senior, Taylor scored a game-high 23 points as Highland Park's girls basketball team garnered its first victory since the 2019-2020 season with a 61-38 non-league win over Sumner Academy. last Tuesday. Taylor hit a pair of 3-pointers against the Sabres and also went three of three from the free throw line.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
HAYDEN (1-5, 1-5) at TOPEKA HIGH (1-7, 1-6)
Tuesday night's game between the Wildcats and Trojans has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The Centennial League conntest has been re-scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 25.
Shawnee Heights senior Nate Pewe (1) and the T-Birds will host Leavenworth Tuesday night in an UKC contest. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
LEAVENWORTH (3-3, 1-0) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (5-1, 1-0)
Shawnee Heights is coming off a big week, posting a 73-70 non-league win at Bonner Springs on Tuesday before taking a 56-35 win over Lansing Friday in the T-Birds' United Kansas Conference opener. Sophomore Jacob Malcom led Shawnee Heights with 11 points while senior Nate Pewe added nine points, senior Carter Olson and sophomore Brennon Dodge scored eight points each and senior Jarin Sanders seven. Leavenworth is coming off a 74-42 UKC win over Turner.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
HAYDEN (4-2, 4-2) at TOPEKA HIGH (7-0, 7-0)
Tuesday night's game between the state-ranked Wildcats and state-ranked Trojans has been postponed due to COVID-19 protocols. The Centennial League contest has been re-scheduled for Thursday, Jan. 20.
Junior Emari Doby scored a career-high 25 points for Shawnee Heights in last Friday's 67-61 loss to Lansing. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
LEAVENWORTH (2-3, 1-0) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (3-2, 0-1)
Shawnee Heights is coming off a tough 67-61 United Kansas Conference loss to Lansing last Friday night at Heights. Junior Emari Doby had a big night for the T-Birds, scoring a career-high 25 points. Junior Riley Showalter added 14 points for the T-Birds against the Lions. Leavenworth is coming off a 69-23 UKC win over Turner.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's boys wrestling team didn't dominate Saturday's Seaman Duals tournament, with Hays assuming that role, but Patrick Kelly's team turned in a solid 4-1 performance on the day and gave the Vikings momentum heading into the final two months of the 2021-2022 season.
Topeka High also competed in Saturday's tournament, posting a 1-4 record.
Seaman opened with a 63-18 decision over city rival Topeka High and also took a 52-27 win over Basehor-Linwood, a 45-36 victory over Lansing and a 54-25 win over Lawrence before dropping a 60-18 decision to Hays in the Vikings' final dual of the tournament.
"We're kind of chasing (Hays) now in this tournament and we're glad to have that kind of quality team come in just to see where we're at,'' Kelly said.
Seaman did not have a wrestler go undefeated Saturday, but 132-pounder Colin Little, 145-pounder Colin Best, 152-pounder Zach Jowers, 160-pounder Anthony Hurla, 182-pounder Hunter Reno and 195-pounder Jaxson Thomas all posted 4-1 records.
Seaman 182-pounder Hunter Reno (left) posted a 4-1 record in Saturday's Seaman Duals wrestling tournament. [Photo by Shelly Prengel/Special to TSN]
Jaxson Thomas, Seaman's standout 195-pounder, posted a 4-1 record for the second-place Vikings in Saturday's Seaman Duals. [Photo by Shelly Prengel/Special to TSN]
The Vikings also got 3-2 days from Jayden Foster (113), Justin Kruse (120), Draven Bennett (126), Deyton Mentzer (170) and Tyler Brown (285).
"We're kind of showing that we're a pretty balanced team and I think a few different twists and turns we're there, but we have a little ways to go,'' Kelly said. "We have several of those guys who are kind of right on the bubble and ready to make that jump.
"It's just a building process.''
Topeka High picked up its lone win in a 35-34 victory over Lawrence and the Trojans were led by 145-pounder Nick Davis, who posted a 3-2 tournament record.
High's Victor Mesta (106), Maurico Garcia (126), Alex Smith (138), Tre'Shawn James (170), Luis Muniz-Rodriguez (182) and Andrew Perez (220) also picked a pair of wins on the day.
DUAL RESULTS
Seaman def. Topeka High, 63-18; Hays def. Lawrence, 48-27; Lansing def. Basehor-Linwood, 42-34; Seaman def. Basehor-Linwood, 52-27; Hays def. Lansing, 65-18; Topeka High def. Lawrence, 35-34; Seaman def. Lansing, 45-36; Hays def. Topeka High, 72-12; Basehor-Linwood def. Lawrence, 42-37; Seaman def. Lawrence, 54-25; Hays def. Basehor-Linwood, 54-27; Lansing def. Topeka High, 52-30; Hays def. Seaman, 60-18; Lansing def. Lawrence, 47-36; Basehor-Linwood def. Topeka High, 66-18.
Seaman girls second in Lady Vikes Duals
Seaman didn't win the team championship in Friday's Lady Vikes Duals, but Jordan Best's Vikings couldn't have come much closer.
The Vikings were 3-1-1 on the day, opening with a 42-6 decision over McLouth and also posting a 39-6 win over Hays and a 48-5 win over Lansing.
Seaman tied Spring Hill 36-36, losing on a tiebreaker, and dropped a narrow 36-30 decision to Olathe North. Sprng Hill def. Olathe North, 45-21.
"It was just an amazing experience (Friday) night,'' Best said. "The girls have stepped up, even more than what they did last year, so to go out there and lose (the team title) in criteria is not what I wanted to see out of the team, but I'll take.
Seaman 120-pounder Reagan Carter went 5-0 in Friday's Lady Vikes Duals wrestling tournament (top). [Photo by Shelly Prengel/Special to TSN]
Seaman 132-pound wrestler posted a perfect 5-0 record in Friday's Lady Vikes Duals. [Photo by Shelly Prengel/Special to TSN]
Seaman 120-pounder Reagan Carter, 132-pounder Koti Best and 138-pounder Kaidence Heston all went undefeated in the tournament with 5-0 records while Madison Murray (115), Journey Jones (143) and Alex Cannon (191) posted 4-1 records.
"It's a great start,'' Best said.
DUAL RESULTS
Seaman def. McLouth, 42-6; Spring Hill def. Hays, 42-21; Olathe North def. Lansing, 51-12; Seaman def. Hays, 39-6; Lansing def. McLouth, 24-11; Spring Hill def. Olathe North, 45-21; Seaman def. Lansing, 48-5; Spring Hill def. McLouth, 48-12; Olathe North def. Hays, 48-24; Seaman tied Spring Hill, 36-36; Hays def. Lansing, 27-18; Olathe North def. McLouth, 54-12; Olathe North def. Seaman, 36-30; Hays def. McLouth, 27-6; Spring Hill def. Lansing, 54-3.
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By KYLE MANTHE
TopSports.news
Playing for the first time in 2022 and just the second time with a healthy roster, Washburn men’s basketball looked to use its Saturday game against Missouri Western as a jumping off point for the rest of the season.
The Ichabods were able to accomplish just that as they pulled off a near wire-to-wire victory, 76-64.
“We played well, the first 32 minutes of the game I thought we were terrific. The defense was good and the offense was cruising so that was fun to watch,” said Washburn coach Brett Ballard.
The win moved Washburn to 8-6 on the year and marks the first time they have been two games up in the win column all season.
“We have won four out of five, we are still hanging around the top of the league in the standings, we are two possessions away from being on a six-game win streak,” Ballard said. "We are not that far away from where we need to be. At the same time, we still got work to do, and still got some things to clean up.”
It was the Ichabods' season-long consistent presence, junior Jalen Lewis, who got them started early, scoring the team's first eight points.
Three others joined Lewis by knocking down outside shots early, including two by freshman Michael Keegan. Six made 3s in the first 13 minutes created an early double-digit lead.
Washburn junior Jalen Lewis scored 25 points to lead the way Saturday as the Ichabods took a 76-64 MIAA win over Missouri Western. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn's Jalen Lewis, Tyler Geiman and Levi Braun celebrate a big play in Saturday's 76-64 MIAA win over Missouri Western. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Lewis continued to stay hot down the stretch as he knocked down three straight 3-pointers to give him 20 points in the first half as WU built a 40-25 lead after 20 minutes of play.
“When you see a couple shots go in, that kind of gets the game going for you and when you see coach has confidence to go to you more, and has confidence in you to make shots, then that definitely gives me a lot of confidence,” Lewis said.
“Guys got me in my spots and gave me confidence to shoot the ball, so I just kept on shooting. When you have five guys out there that the defense kind of has to key in on it makes the game a whole lot easier for me.”
To begin the second half Washburn’s two returning players, junior Jonny Clausing and sophomore Tyler Nelson, combined to score 11 of the first 14 points in the half.
“It’s great to have those guys back, those two guys are really good players at both ends of the court. Offensively, they give us some more weapons,” Ballard said. “We are happy to have those guys back around.”
A cutting layup by Keegan extended the Ichabods' lead to 20 points at the 14-minute mark, after which the Ichabods would not score for nearly the next four minutes as the Griffons went on a 7-0 run.
Despite scoring only seven points over a nine-minute stretch Washburn remained ahead by double-digits by forcing turnovers on Missouri Western, which had 19 in the game.
“I thought the defense showed signs today,” Ballard said. “I was pleased with our defense the first 32 minutes of the game, we just got to have some more killer instinct to finish people off.”
