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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
TopSports.news
The Seaman Vikings hosted the Topeka West Chargers in a United Kansas Conference boys contest on Friday night. After a high scoring first quarter, it became a defensive battle, with Topeka West taking a 55-49 win.
Sophomore Keimani Paul led Topeka West with 18 points in Friday's 55-49 UKC road win at Seaman. [File photo/TSN]
Both teams started the game by shooting 8-12 from the field in the opening quarter and Topeka West led 23-17.
In the second quarter, the defense began to stiffen on both ends of the court. Seaman shot 6-12 in the quarter and cut into the West lead by halftime, trailing 32-30.
The teams played even in the third quarter with Topeka West holding on to the two-point advantage, 40-38, going into the fourth quarter.
The Chargers increased the lead to 46-38 in the first three minutes of the final quarter, but the Vikings responded with 3-pointers from senior Justin Phillips and sophomore KaeVon Bonner, to cut the deficit to 46-44. The Vikings could get no closer due to some empty possessions and giving up four offensive rebounds on missed free throws in the final 90 seconds.
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
TopSports.news
In their second meeting of the season, the No. 2 ranked team in Class 5A, the Seaman Lady Vikes, played host to Topeka West Friday night, rolling to a 78-33 United Kansas Conference win over the Chargers.
Seaman sophomore Maddie Gragg scored 25 points with four 3-pointers in Friday's 78-33 UKC win over Topeka West. [File photo/TSN]
From the outset, the Lady Vikes controlled the game. Seaman led 20-8 at the end of the first quarter and doubled the total of the Lady Chargers by halftime, 38-19.
“We have been stressing in practice about getting the ball moving on offense,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. The ball will find the right person when we do that.”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Despite trailing by double digits in the first quarter, the Rossville boys won a barnburner over rival Silver Lake Friday night in overtime, 87-79.
Junior Mason Jones led Rossville with 27 points, helping the Bulldawgs post an 87-79 overtime win over Silver Lake. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Rossville trailed 19-9 after a period but scrapped back, cutting the deficit to 35-32 at halftime. Jakoby McDonnell came off the bench to score nine points in the period to spark the comeback.
A see-saw affair ensued, with numerous ties and lead changes.
Rossville’s Kameron Badura drilled a 3-pointer with just a few seconds remaining to send it to overtime tied at 72.
“In the end, it comes down to grit. We’re growing as a team in the adversity part of it,” said Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell. “Last year, when we went through some adversity, we didn’t know how to face it. And then it took everything down.
“I reiterate to the boys, ‘You’re supposed to be here. You can play with anybody. Now they’re believing it because of the belief they have in themselves.' ”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
A clash of top ranked girls teams from the 3A classification wasn’t as close as expected Friday night as visiting Silver Lake ran away from host Rossville early, winning 68-39.
Senior MaKenzie McDaniel led Silver Lake with 17 points in Friday's 68-39 win over Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN[
Sophomore Kailyn Hanni, who scored 14 points, drives to the basket in Friday's 68-39 Silver Lake win over Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The decisive win over No. 3-ranked Rossville validated Silver Lake’s top ranking according to Kailyn Hanni, sophomore point guard of the Lady Eagles.
“I think this says that our ranking matters. It says who we are,” Hanni said. “We’re the No. 1 team in the state for a reason.”
Despite missing much of the first half with foul trouble, post MaKenzie McDaniel hit eight of nine shots from the field and scored 17 points for the Lady Eagles, tying McKinley Kruger for leading scorer.
Hanni added 14 points and was the tip of the spear for Silver Lake.
“She has a great basketball IQ,” Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter said of Hanni. “She’s really bouncy – for being 5-foot-6 she plays a lot bigger than she is with her athleticism. She really helps us set the tone defensively. And on the offensive end, (she is) able to get players involved and find her own shot as well.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Highland Park's boys basketball team faced an uphill battle against Kansas City, Mo.-Central in Friday's battle of state-ranked teams, with the Scots trailing the Eagles for much of the night, including an eight-point halftime deficit.
HIghland Park junior Ja'Corey Robinson (23) scored 27 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Friday's 65-60 win over KC-Central. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
But Highland Park, No. 3-ranked (Class 5A) by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, is no stranger to facing, and overcoming, adversity and showed that meddle Friday at Topeka West, rallying for a 65-60 win over Central, ranked No. 4 (Class 4) by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association.
"We've been having a lot of ups and downs,'' said Scot junior standout Ja'Corey Robinson, who turned in a monster 27-point, 11-rebound performance. "We don't even have a gym (due to water damage), we can't even play on our home court, but we're just fighting through adversity.''
Central, which fell to 15-6, took a 17-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and opened up a 32-24 advantage at the halftime break.
But Highland Park junior Mikey Williams ignited a Scot rally with 12 third-quarter points, incuding three 3-pointers, as Hi Park taking a 49-45 lead into the final quarter.
