By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Underdog Hutchinson got Topeka West's attention with a strong first quarter in Tuesday's Class 5A West sub-state semifinal.
But that proved to be the Salthawks' undoing, with the No. 2-seeded Chargers outscoring No. 15 seed Hutch 34-10 over the middle two quarters en route to a 55-32 win at West.
Senior Keimani Paul scored a game-high 16 points in Topeka West's 55-32 Class 5A sub-state win over Hutchinson Tuesday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"We came out a little bit slow the first quarter and we just knew that our defense was going to keep us in the game,'' said Topeka West senior Keimani Paul, who scored a game-high 16 points. "If we're not making shots, the defense was going to keep us in the game for sure.''
With the win the 21-3 Chargers advanced to a 6 p.m. sub-state final on Friday at West to face No. 7 seed Bishop Carroll (16-7). The Eagles advanced with a 62-53 win over Andover.
Hutchinson, which finished its season 7-16, led through most of the opening quarter and the game was tied at 12-all at the start of the second period.
"Their coach (Bryan Miller) did a great job,'' West coach Christian Ulsaker said. "I felt like they knew our offense better than we did at times. He was calling out everything, so our guys did a great job of adjusting to that and defensively we threw some different things at them to try to confuse them a little bit and get out and run.''
But at that point Topeka West took control, outscoring the Salthawks 18-6 in the second quarter to take a 30-18 lead at the half.
The Chargers then put the game away with a dominant 16-4 third quarter, taking a 46-22 lead into the fourth stanza and forcing a running clock at 55-24 with 4:44 remaining on a 3-pointer from senior Malakyah Duncan.
"We just wanted to get this game out of the way, quick, easy, and get ready for Bishop Carroll,'' Paul said.
"The guys came out a little jittery in the first quarter, but I feel like they settled in and did what they needed to do to get the win and move on to a team (Carroll) that we've kind of had circled now for about a week and a half,'' Ulsaker said.
"We knew this was a possiblity that we'd meet up with Bishop Carroll. They're very well-coached and will be ready to play.''
Hutchinson scored the final eight points of the night to cut its deficit down to 23.
Senior Malakyah Duncan scored 14 points in Topeka West's 55-32 sub-state win over Hutchinson Tuesday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Junior Prince Lassiter scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds for Topeka West in Tuesday's 55-32 sub-state victory over Hutchinson. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Duncan backed Paul with 14 points while junior Prince Lassister scored eight points and grabbed nine rebounds and eight Chargers cracked the scoring column.
Junior Lamar Govain led Hutchinson with 14 points while senior Julius Martinez added 10 points.
TOPEKA WEST BOYS 55, HUTCHINSON 32
Hutchinson 12 6 4 10 -- 32
Topeka West 12 18 16 9 -- 55
Hutchinson (7-16) – Govain 7-20 0-1 14, Martinez 4-7 2-3 10, Crable 2-6 0-2 4, Jeremiah Jr. 0-3 1-4 1, Atha 1-6 0-0 3, Kerns 0-1 0-0 0, Ediger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 14-43 3-10 32.
Topeka West (21-3) – Munganga 2-11 2-2 7, Traylor 2-5 0-0 4, Duncan 5-9 3-3 14, Paul 6-11 3-5 16, Lassiter 3-7 2-2 8, Phillips 0-0 1-2 1, Fox 2-6 0-1 4, Ware 0-1 0-0 0, Lloyd 0-2 0-0 0, Paterson 0-0 0-0 0, Doby 0-4 1-2 1, Salts 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-56 12-17 55.
3-point goals – Hutchinson 1 (Atha), Topeka West 3 (Munganga, Duncan, Paul). Total fouls – Hutchinson 12, Topeka West 12. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
