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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
The Topeka West Chargers entered Tuesday night coming off a four-point United Kansas Conference defeat at Kansas City-Piper Friday and would get off to a sluggish start against 8-9 Lansing.
Senior Malakyah Duncan led four Topeka West players in double figures Tuesday with 22 points as the Chargers rallied for a 74-69 UKC win over Lansing. [File photo/TSN]
But the Chargers came to life in the second half to pull out a 74-69 home victory over the Lions.
Junior Prince Lassiter would get Topeka West going with the first basket of the game, followed by a Gad Munganga 3-pointer to make it 5-0 Chargers.
But Lansing would answer to tie it up at 5 and the two teams would end the first quarter tied 15-15.
Lansing would come out of the quarter break on a run, going up 22-19, but West senior Keimani Paul would get a basket to take the lead 23-22. Lansing would take the lead back before Paul hit a 3 to make it 28-26.
The Lions then outscored West 11-4 to take the lead into halftime, 37-32.
As the first half belonged to the Lons the second half would be all Chargers.
"We didn't really execute in the first,'' Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker said. "You can tell in the third quarter we went out and we really got transition going.
"The third and fourth quarter, we really tried to push the tempo and use athleticism to our advantage.”
The Chargers would scratch and claw their way back in the third as they would go on a 6-0 run to make it 41-40, but the Lions would answer with a run to go back up 47-43.
Down 53-50, Paul would throw down a huge one-handed dunk to get West within a point.
“I mentioned to him for the last 10 to 12 games, he's been, and this might not be a very crucial word, but he's been steady,'' Ulsaker said. "I mean, he's just been the staple for our program the last 10 or 12 games.”
“That dunk got our energy up and that's what we needed,'' West senior Malakyah Duncan said. "We needed that energy. We just used that and just took it.”
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights did everything right to shut down high-scoring Seaman guard KaeVon Bonner for three periods.
Seaman senior star KaeVon Bonner (33) scored 22 points Tuesday as the Vikings took control down the stretch for a 56-47 UKC road win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Vikings’ senior averages about 25 points per game. So when the host T-Birds held Bonner to just four points through 24 minutes of action Tuesday, they had reason to feel good about their 37-34 lead. But a set play out of the break sprung Bonner for an open look from three, and he buried it. It was the spark that started a fire.
Bonner torched Shawnee Heights for 16 points – all of the Vikings’ points – over the next 3:10, and all of a sudden Seaman led 50-40. Seaman held on to win 56-47 to improve to 14-3 on the season.
Seaman coach Craig Cox described the play that started the run.
“One of my assistants, Paul Muzzy, suggested that we go to a set play that gets (KaeVon) a look, and it was a great call and we executed it and he popped off the screen and knocked down the shot,” Cox said. “And then it was no looking back. Just an unbelievable fourth quarter.”
For three periods, Shawnee Heights senior Ja’Veon Alston went toe-to-toe with Bonner, harassing him with on-ball defense and scoring 13 points to Bonner’s four.
“They were doubling (Bonner) some when he was starting to attack,” Cox said. “They were bringing help defense, and (Alston) did a really good job of pressuring him, held him to four points until then. Then he was able to finally get it going and show how he can take over a game and dominate like that. I’m just really proud of him keeping his composure and coming through when we needed it.”
Bonner hit four straight attempts to start the run. Then, after missing a shot, the senior dropped a long triple, which he followed moments later with a three-point play.
“Once I hit that first three, I knew I was starting to feel it and the energy, the crowd … that first shot started it off,” Bonner said.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Trailing 37-36 after three periods, the Shawnee Heights girls exploded for a 17-0 run to pull away from guest Seaman 60-42 Tuesday. It was just the T-Birds’ second win over Seaman in the last 13 meetings.
Shawnee Heights junior Pearmella Carter scored 12 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday as the T-Birds pulled away for a 60-42 UKC win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Fueling the decisive run was Shawnee Heights junior Pearmella Carter, who scored 12 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter. Carter hit all six shots she attempted in the crucial final period.
“We made a few slight adjustments on some things we were doing, and it opened some passing lanes and some driving lanes,” said Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells. “And then, all of a sudden, we were feeling a lot better about moving and catching and shooting, getting the ball inside to Pearmella. She did a great job. when she couldn’t muscle it up there, she kicked it out and then we started hitting some threes.
“You know how momentum goes. One person hits them. Then they all started smiling, and they all started hitting.”
The Vikings led by as much as seven points in the second period. The T-Birds clawed back to take the lead briefly in the third period, but Seaman clung to a lead going into the fourth quarter, thanks in large part to seven third-quarter points by Cara Beaton, who led the Vikings with 12.
Junior KK Emmot (1) scored 14 points in Shawnee Heights' 60-42 home UKC win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman has thoroughly dominated the rivalry for the past decade, a fact that made the win all the more enjoyable for the T-Birds.
“It’s huge,” Wells said. “I told the girls we could not take Seaman for granted no matter what their record was. They can really shoot the ball. You let them hit some threes and start feeling good about themselves. It took us a little fortitude to come back and really change things and make the game go a different way.”
Shawnee Heights juniors Pearmella Carter and KK Emmot both reached the 1,000-point milestone for their careers Tuesday at Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Carter’s huge fourth quarter led her past a milestone. Carter and fellow junior KK Emmot both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for their careers Tuesday.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For three quarters Tuesday night at Topeka High, Hayden's boys basketball team played as well as it has in Dwayne Anthony's two seasons at the school.
Senior Connor Hanika scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Hayden's 64-59 Centennial League win at Topeka High Tuesday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And over the final seven minutes or so, the Wildcats gave their coach plenty of things to address when they return to practice.
But after letting a 21-point advantage early in the fourth quarter get down to a one-possession game in the closing seconds, Hayden escaped with a 64-59 Centennial League sweep over Topeka High, with the Wildcats completing a season sweep over the Trojans.
"It got crazy, thank God for timeouts,'' Anthony said. "My guys are just learning how to play basketball, and I mean at a level that we want to play. And it doesn't always look pretty.
"We did good for the first three quarters and then that fourth quarter we get a little shaky, then the intensity comes up, and we've got to go back and talk about it tomorrow and just to continue to level up.''
Hayden, which had taken a 16-point win over High earlier in the season, took it to the Trojans again in the rematch, with the Wildcats never trailing en route to improving to 9-9 overall and 2-4 in the league.
But after using a 20-9 second quarter to open up a 29-17 halftime behind a big 14-point, eight-rebound first half from senior Connor Hanika, Hayden boosted its lead to 21 points late in the third quarter and led 48-29 at the start of the final period.
"The guys came out and executed what we planned,'' Anthony said. "I tell the guys that it's a simple game, and when they embrace that and give their energy, it's a lot of fun for us.
"But sometimes the energy wanes or the thought process wanes and that's where we have to get better.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High girls basketball took control early Tuesday night and never looked back, avenging an earlier 11-point Centennial League loss to Hayden with a 59-47 league romp past the Wildcats at The Dungeon.
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored a game-high 23 points in Tuesday's 59-47 Topeka High win over Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
The Trojans, who topped the .500 mark for the first time this season, only trailed once on the night, at 3-2, and there was just one tie, at 6-6, before Topeka High, now 9-8 overall and 4-2 in the league, scored the final eight points of the opening quarter to go up 14-6.
Topeka High went on to open up a 14-point advantage (27-13) before Hayden (13-5, 4-2) scored the final seven points of the half to cut its deficit to 27-20.
But the Trojans scored the first four points of the third quarter to go back in front by double-digits and led by 14 twice before taking an 11-point (45-34) advantage at the end of the third quarter and led by as many as 17 early in the fourth.
"It's always nice to get a good start,'' Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker said. "Every coach would say that, but if you don't you don't fold your tent, but it's nice to get it and I thought we played with energy and all the things you want to play with in any game.
"And we just kept it going, pretty much through the whole game.''
Sophomore Hailey Caryl (40) scored 15 points Tuesday as Topeka High improved to 9-8 with a 59-47 win over Hayden. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton paced the Trojans with a game-high 23 points while sophomore Hailey Caryl added 15 points and all seven Topeka High players that saw action cracked the scoring column as High won its third straight game.
"They're playing really well right now,'' Slaymaker said.
Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein led Hayden with 14 points in Tuesday's 59-47 loss at Topeka High. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Hayden sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein overcame a slow start to lead the Wildcats with 14 points while senior Ella Foster and sophomore Blakely Walter added 11 each.
Foster helped keep the Wildcats in the hunt with three 3-pointers while Schmidtlein and Walter both connected on two treys.
Topeka High will go on the road Thursday for a non-league game against Seaman, which handed the Trojans a 75-60 loss in the final round of the Capital City Classic on Jan. 31.
Hayden will return to action Friday with a Centennial League game at Emporia.
TOPEKA HIGH GIRLS 59, HAYDEN 47
Hayden 6 14 14 13 -- 47
Topeka High 14 13 18 14 -- 59
Hayden (13-5, 4-2) – Walter 4-9 1-2 11, Schmidtlein 5-12 2-2 14, Foster 3-5 2-2 11, Huscher 0-2 0-0 0, Watts 0-1 0-0 0, Wichman 1-1 0-0 2, Mitchell 0-4 1-2 1, Borjon 1-3 0-0 3, Connell 2-7 1-2 5. Totals 16-44 7-10 47.
Topeka High (9-8, 4-2) – Short 3-4 0-0 6, Marshall 1-3 0-0 2, Rayton 8-21 6-7 23, Caryl 6-7 2-4 15, Gotru 2-3 2-2 6, Triplett 1-2 1-1 3, Whayne 1-2 1-2 4. Totals 22-42 12-16 59.
3-point goals – Hayden 8 (Foster 3, Walter 2, Schmidtlein 2, Borjon), Topeka High 4 (Rayton 2, Marshall, Short). Total fouls – Hayden 6, Topeka High 9. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
