By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West boys basketball coach Christian Ulsaker wasn't happy that his team was outscored 23-6 by Seaman in the fourth quarter of Friday's United Kansas Conference game.
Topeka West senior Keimani Paul scored 15 first-half points in the Chargers' 71-57 UKC road win over No. 2-ranked Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I told them that fourth quarter's going to give me nightmares tonight,'' Ulsaker said. "I wasn't overly pleased with it and I said, 'Guys, when you come off the bench you guys are not just role players you're part of this team and we've got to make sure we finish the game where we started.'
"But I was pretty happy with the game other than that.''
And thanks to a dominant performance by the Chargers over the first three quarters, the finish was little more than a coaching talking point as No. 4-ranked Topeka West stayed unbeaten with a decisive 71-57 road win over No. 2-ranked Seaman.
Topeka West, now 3-0 overall and 2-0 in the UKC, never trailed on the night after exploding out of the gate with a 30-point opening quarter to take command at 30-11.
The Chargers hit about everything they put up over the first eight minutes, including four 3-pointers.
"We were shooting about 70 percent from the field over the first two games and I said, 'That's pretty unrealistic to maintain,' but I think after watching the film we might still be shooting 70 percent from the field,'' Ulsaker said.
The Chargers' pace slowed down somewhat in the second quarter, but West outscored the Vikings 15-10 to take a huge 45-21 advantage to the locker room at the half as seniors Keimani Paul and Malakyah Duncan combined for 25 points.
West continued to pour it on in the third quarter, leading by as many as 33 points and forcing a running clock over the final eight minutes with a 65-34 advantage.
Seaman scored the first 12 points of the fourth quarter and severely cut into its deficit as seniors KaeVon Bonner and Cameron Brian turned in big final quarters, but the Vikings got no closer than the final margin.
Topeka West senior Malakyah Duncan (12), battling Seaman's Landon Wiltz for a rebound, led the Chargers with 23 points in Friday's 71-57 win. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Duncan led Topeka West with 23 points while Paul had 15 (all in the first half), junior Prince Lassiter 11 points and senior Jay'Veon Traylor 10.
Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner scored a game-high 32 points in Friday's 71-57 Viking loss to Topeka West. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Bonner did his best to keep Seaman (2-1, 2-1) in the hunt with a game-high 32 points while senior Griffin Zuniga added 10 points and Brian eight with a pair of 3-pointers.
Ulsaker said his Chargers were fired up to face their first city opponent of the season.
"We had this one circled,'' Ulsaker said. "And especially for guys like Loc (Duncan) and Kei (Paul) they understand how good KV Bonner is and they wanted to make sure people understand that they're right there on top along with KV.
"KV is a phenomenal player, but I think I've got a couple of my own here at T-West.''
Topeka West will be at home Tuesday to host Piper while Seaman will host Kansas City-Turner.
TOPEKA WEST BOYS 71, SEAMAN 57
Topeka West 30 15 20 6 -- 71
Seaman 11 10 13 23 -- 57
Topeka West (3-0, 2-0) – Munganga 1-6 6-6 9, Traylor 3-4 1-2 10, Duncan 8-11 7-11 23, Paul 6-9 0-0 15, Lassiter 4-5 3-3 11, Ware 0-2 0-0 0, Phillips 0-1 0-0 0, Fox 1-1 0-2 3. Totals 23-38 17-24 71.
Seaman (2-1, 2-1) – Wiltz 1-2 0-0 3, McConnaughey 0-2 2-2 2, Zuniga 5-9 0-0 10, Brian 3-4 0-0 8, Bonner 12-25 8-12 32, Scholes 0-1 0-0 0, Becker 0-0 0-0 0, Esser 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 22-46 10-14 57.
3-point goals – Topeka West 8 (Traylor 3, Paul 3, Munganga, Fox), Seaman 3 (Brian 2, Wiltz). Total fouls – Topeka West 14, Seaman 19. Fouled out – McConnaughey, Brian. Technical fouls -- none.
