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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' boys basketball team put on a defensive clinic against United Kansas Conference rival Lansing on Friday night, rolling to a home 56-35 win over the Lions.
The T-Birds' defensive effort held Lansing to single digits in the scoring column for three straight quarters.
“I have spent fifty years teaching defense and it was no question that we put good pressure on them (Lansing),'' Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting said. "We really forced them to turn the ball over and that was the difference in the game for us.
“We know we aren’t great shooters. We aren’t bad shooters, but we are okay right now. We know we have to play our best defense. We have to keep the game in reach.”
Ken Darting's Shawnee Heights T-Birds improved to 5-1 with a 56-35 win over UKC foe Lansing Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
The T-Birds' shooting was cold in the first quarter. Shots were not falling for Shawnee Heights but that didn’t discourage the team after only putting up seven points in the first period of play.
Shawnee Heights' defensive and offensive output in the second quarter was the key to the game.
The T-Birds doubled their scoring from the first quarter as senior guard Jarin Sanders had some eye-opening passes to the interior that set up Jacob Malcom and Nathan Pewe to be successful.
Shawnee Heights' defensive effort in the second quarter set the tone for the night. Allowing just six points to a red-hot Lansing team was no easy feat. Brennon Dodge, Carter Olson and others displayed the physical brand of basketball that the T-Birds want to play with.
After being down in the first quarter, Shawnee Heights would regain a 21-19 lead heading into the locker room at halftime.
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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
After winning its first game since the 2019-20 season earlier in the week, Highland Park girls basketball looked to build a winning streak as they played host to Manhattan Friday evening.
Early on there were positive signs but the Indians were able to pull away in the second half, posting a 64-34 Centennial League win on Ken Darting Court.
“In the first half we were pretty good, playing under control, doing everything we had been working on and then we've just got to learn to put a full game together,” said Highland Park coach Rob Brown.
The 64-34 loss marked the third most points put up by the Scots this year, but the game still moved them to 1-6 on the season. With the win, Manhattan improved to 4-4 on the year.
“We got some inside scoring from Grace (Dixon), Avery (Larson) was really good again, but everybody chipped in a little bit, so I was really pleased with how we played,” Indians coach Scott Mall said.
The baskets came fast and furious to begin the game, with Manhattan jumping out to a 14-6 lead after seven early points by junior Larson. Highland Park responded with a quick 4-0 run, finished off with the second basket of the quarter from freshman Amelia Ramsey. That left the score at 16-10 after eight minutes.
The Scots got the first five points of the second quarter to pull within one point before Manhattan connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to go along with four points in the quarter from senior Grace Dixon to push the lead to double-digits.
Senior Atiya Gonzales connected on a 3-pointer to keep Highland Park involved but they still trailed 29-19 heading into the break.
The Scots got four early points in the third quarter from senior Aisya Taylor to pull within eight points. The Indians responded with a 9-0 run, with five coming from Larson,to pull ahead, 40-23. The lead would grow to 20 points by the end of the third quarter.
“I think that they kind of got us sped up a little bit and we were getting tired, so us getting tired kind of hurt us on the defensive end. We weren’t staying in a stance, stopped talking, stopped rotating,” Brown said.
Manhattan continued the pace in the fourth quarter, led by eight points from sophomore Maxine Doering in the frame. Gonzales knocked in another 3-pointer, scoring four of the seven points for Highland Park in the quarter as they fell, 64-34.
“We will get to that point, it’s still early in the season, we are still learning, we know what this season is, it’s a rebuilding season so we are going to get better every night,” Brown said.
Gonzales led the Scots in scoring with 12 points while Taylor added eight in the loss that moved them to 1-6 on the season.
For the Indians, Larson paced all scorers with 18 points while Dixon and Doering were in double figures with 15 and 12 points, respectively, as Manhattan moved to 4-4 on the year.
Next up for Highland Park will be a road trip to face Junction City Jan. 11.
MANHATTAN GIRLS 64, HIGHLAND PARK 34,
Manhattan 16 13 18 17 -- 64
Highland Park 10 9 8 7-- 34
Highland Park (1-6 0-6) – Gonzales 3-18 3-4 12, Parker-Brown 0-1 1-2 1, Sanders 1-1 0-0 2, Reed 1-4 0-2 2, White 0-0 0-0 0, Nunes 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 3-14 2-6 8, Ramsey 3-5 1-3 7, Mitchell 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 12-45 7-17 34.
Manhattan (4-4, 3-3) – Sharda 0-0 0-0 0, Carson 1-1 2-2 4, Sa. Salmans 0-1 1-4 1, Ingram 1-3 0-0 3, Peabody 0-0 0-0 0, Larson 7-19 2-4 18, So. Salmans 1-4 0-0 2, Doering 4-12 4-4 12, Ruliffson 3-6 0-2 7, Jimenez 0-0 2-2 0, Dixon 7-11 1-2 15. Totals 23-57 12-20 64.
3-point goals – Highland Park 3 (Gonzales 3), Manhattan 3 (Larson 2, Ruliffson 1). Total fouls – Highland Park 14 Manhattan 13. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – Highland Park 1 (Rob Brown 1).
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
“Lansing is a darn good team,” Shawnee Heights girls basketball coach Bob Wells said after the undefeated Lions stepped up to hold Shawnee Heights late in the contest and emerge victorious, 67-61, Friday night at Heights..
The United Kansas Conference foes collided in a rollercoaster game, with several different lead changes throughout the four quarters.
Ultimately, Lansing hit clutch free throws and forced turnovers in crunch time.
“We had a lot of girls step up and contribute tonight,'' Wells said. "Unfortunately tonight we just had some untimely possessions that were just empty.''
Emari Doby led Shawnee Heights with a career-high 25 points in Friday's home UKC loss to Lansing. [File photo/TSN]
Lansing controlled the game early. In the first quarter, shooting the ball extremely well at a fast pace. Skylar Weaver, who had seven points in the quarter, hit a contested corner 3-pointer that built momentum for the Lions.
Emari Doby led the T-Birds in the first quarter with eight points. Doby had two 3-point shots, but that couldn’t put the T-Birds in the lead before the first quarter ended.
Opening the second quarter, Lansing led the way with solid shooting from the 3-point line. Caitlin Bishop hit three 3-pointers and McKenzie Moburg had one of her own.
Shawnee Heights came roaring back after being down by a nine-point deficit during the middle of the second quarter. The T-Birds got the spark they needed from Riley Showalter off the bench. Showalter had eight straight points that helped Heights cut its deficit to one point (34-33) going into halftime.
“We know they (Shawnee Heights' bench) are capable of stepping up. We have a couple of girls that came off of the bench tonight that were starters earlier in the season. Just because of matchup situations, we didn’t start them tonight. They came off the bench tonight with confidence and handled their business like they needed to,” said Wells.
A confident Heights team and a dominant Lansing team went toe to toe with slick shots and great defense in the third quarter. The teams were only separated by two points in the third quarter.
Shawnee Heights held the lead for six minutes in the fourth quarter, but Lansing would pull away late with terrific shooting from Kamryn Farris and automatic free-throw shooting from Skylar Weaver.
Shawnee Heights standout Doby led the Lady T-Birds with 25 points on the night.
“She (Doby) has been big for the team. She’s worked through a lot of things. Not only with her ACL (injury suffered October of 2020), but learning to play with the flow of the team. She’s doing a good job of scoring herself and making her teammates better,” said Wells.
Wells is satisfied with his team’s effort but believes the T-Birds have some work to do heading into Tuesday’s home matchup against Leavenworth.
“We still need to value the possessions more. Credit to Lansing, they got some hands on some of our passes, but we had some passes I’d rather us not throw. We also need to carry our offensive aggressiveness with us and I think that will be important for us heading into our next game,” said Wells.
LANSING GIRLS 67, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 61
Lansing 20 14 13 20 – 67
Shawnee Heights 13 20 15 13 – 61
Lansing (6-0, 1-0) – Farris 7 5-7 19, Weaver 4 8-10 15, Bishop 4 0-0 11, Moburg 3 2-2 10, Manthe 3 3-4 9, Jaccard 0 1-2 1.
Shawnee Heights (3-2, 0-1) – Doby 9 3-5 25, Showalter 5 2-2 14, Schulte 3 0-0 6, Oczko 2 1-2 5, Swift 2 1-1 5, Canady 2 0-3 4, Rantz 1 0-0 2.
3-point goals – Lansing 6, Shawnee Heights 6. Fouls – Lansing 16, Shawnee Heights 21. Fouled Out – Oczko.
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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Highland Park boys basketball put its perfect record on the line Friday night as the Scots played host to Manhattan.
The Scots were propelled by a dominant defense and scoring from its stars to run away with a 64-31 Centennal League win.
“It was good that it wasn’t one guy, it was a team effort that would do that, so it was good to see us doing that over the course of the game,” said Highland Park coach Michael Williams.
The lopsided win moved the Indians to 2-5 on the year while Highland Park stayed unbeaten at 7-0.
By staying unbeaten the Scots set up a battle of unbeaten teams next week against 6-0 Junction City in a game that will be critical for Centennial League positioning.
“We really really stressed staying in the moment on Tuesday, staying in the moment on Friday, and by doing that we made those games even bigger going into (next) Tuesday and Friday,” Williams said. “On the way out I just told the boys we got to be ready to buckle up.
“It’s really fun for me because I love playing good games, I love playing good teams, so I am ready to go play them and hopefully pick up a win,” said senior Juan’Tario Roberts.
Juan'Tario Roberts
Ketraleus Aldridge
Highland Park wasted no time getting started, as it jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes, fueled by turnovers and four points from junior Ketraleus Aldridge.
The pace slowed down when teams got into half-court offense. The Scots' defensive pressure extended 94 feet as Manhattan managed only one point in the quarter. A steal at that end led to a 3-pointer by Aldridge at the buzzer to make it a 16-1 game.
“That’s something I want our guys and our team to emphasize and take seriously, and I feel like we really did that tonight, obviously one point in the first quarter kind of shows that,” Williams said.
Manhattan was able to get into its offense better in the second quarter, led by senior Tate Brown, who had five points in the frame.
Highland Park continued to score whenever and however the Scots wanted, with back-to-back 3-pointers by junior Tre Richardson pushing the lead over 20 points.
Roberts was steady on the offensive end, with five in the quarter and 11 in the half. Those contributions, along with Aldridge’s 12 points, made it a 36-11 game at the half.
“I try to get open shots when I can, but I love getting my teammates the ball cause they are really good,” Roberts said.
Those same three players continued to score for the Scots in the third quarter, as they combined to score 17 of 19 points in the quarter as they continued to force turnovers and push the pace.
“Transition stuff is really good for us because you are playing a disadvantaged defense,” Williams said. “And for a team like us, who is really really good in transition, we are able to manufacture those buckets in those ways, that’s what we want.”
Manhattan had its most productive quarter offensively, with four different players scoring, but could not hold up defensively as the game was left at 55-25 heading into the fourth.
With a running clock in the fourth Highland Park emptied out its bench and was still able to build the lead, as they would leave with a 64-31 victory.
Roberts and Aldridge both had 22 for the Scots who moved to 7-0 with the win. Richardson joined them in double figures with 10.
Junior Cole Coonrod paced the Indians with nine points and Brown added eight on the night.
Highland Park will travel to face unbeaten Junction City next Tueday.
HIGHLAND PARK BOYS 64, MANHATTAN 31
Highland Park (7-0, 6-0) – Adams 1-2 2-2 4, Aldridge 10-17 0-0 22, Richardson 4-6 0-0 10, McMillon 0-0 0-0 0, Drew-Gregory 0-2 0-0 0, Kingcannon 2-8 0-0 5, Clemons 0-0 1-2 1, Williams Jr. 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Roberts 7-13 5-5 22, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, Ama. Taylor 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0, Ant. Taylor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-48 8-9 64.
Manhattan (2-5, 2-4) – Dowling 0-4 0-0 0, Delort 1-3 2-4 4, Gagnon 0-0 0-0 0, Holloway 1-1 3-4 5, Schartz 0-2 1-2 1, Brown 3-7 0-0 8, Coonrod 3-7 1-2 9, Elumogo 2-9 0-0 4, Conley 0-0 0-0 0, Knopp 0-0 0-0 0, McNabb 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 10-33 7-12 31.
3-point goals – Highland Park 6 (Aldridge 2, Richardson 2, Kingcannon 1, Roberts 1) Manhattan 4 (Brown 2, Coonrod 2). Total fouls – Highland Park 10 Manhattan 10. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
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TopSports.news
After having its Thursday night MIAA game against Northwest Missouri postponed, Washburn University's men's basketball team will tip off the 2022 portion of its schedule at 3 p.m. Saturday against Missouri Western in Lee Arena.
The Ichabods are 7-6 overall and 4-3 in the MIAA after rallying for a 67-65 road win at Central Missouri last Friday.
Washburn got the win on a tip-in by Connor Deffebaugh with 1.9 seconds remaining.
Missouri Western is 8-7, 4-3 after dropping a 74-64 MIAA decision at Emporia State on Thursday night.
The Griffons enter the Washburn game having lost their last three games, falling 101-63 at Northwest Missouri on Dec. 18 and to Pittsburg State, 72-64, on Jan. 1 in St. Joseph, Mo. Western did mix in a 78-50 exhibition win over Friends on Dec. 29.
The Ichabods lead the all-time series with the Griffons 57-42 and have won the last two games, posting a 101-72 win over the Griffons last season in the MIAA Tournament semifinals and a 72-46 win in the NCAA Regional quarterfinals.
Junior guard Jalen Lewis leads Washburn with a 14.2 scoring average entering Saturday's MIAA game against Missouri Western at Lee Arena. [File photograph]
Brett Ballard's Washburn Ichabods will be looking to climb two games above .500 for the first time this season when they host Missouri Western on Saturday in Lee Arena. [File photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Jalen Lewis leads Washburn with a 14.2 point scoring average while hitting 28 of 72 3-pointers.
Senior Tyler Geiman is averaging 11 points, 5.3 rebounds and 6.0 rebounds in six games this season.
Tyler Nelson made his season debut against Central Missouri and scored 11 points with four rebounds and three assists in 30 minutes of action.
Michael Keegan is averaging 10.6 points along with team-highs averages of 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.5 steals. Keegan leads the MIAA in blocked shots.
Geiman is the ninth-leading scorer in WU history with 1,458 points in 121 career games and needs 26 points to catch No. 8 Dan Buie, who scored 1,484 in two seasons from 1995-97.
Geiman's 212 career 3-pointers is tied for third all-time at Washburn with Javion Blake and Todd Alexander.
Lewis has drained 225 3-pointers, which ranks second behind all-time leader Shannon Kruger, who hit 242 in 122 games.
Missouri Western's JaQuaylon Mays is third in the MIAA in scoring and assists while Will Earnes is second in rebounding.
Washburn will hit the road for games at Missouri Southern next Thursday and Pittsburg State next Saturday.
The Washburn-Missouri Western women's game scheduled for Saturday has been postponed.
