By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For the most part, defense has been the strength of Washburn Rural's boys basketball team this season, while the Junior Blues' offense has struggled at times.
Friday night at Topeka High the Junior Blues flourished on both ends of the court, scoring early and often to take control in the first half while holding the Trojans' offense in check throughout the game en route to a 60-35 Centennial League victory.
"We hit some shots and had some guys step up,'' Washburn Rural coach Kevin Muff said. "I thought we did a really good job on the glass. That was big and defensively we haven't shown man since Christmas, so to come out and guard man to man and make the adjustment we needed to make I thought that was probably the biggest key for us.
"We didn't allow them to get in the paint and that's something we haven't been very good at.''
Washburn Rural senior Quincey Kidd (2) reacts after hitting a 3-pointer in Friday's 60-35 win at Topeka High. Kidd scored a game-high 14 points for Rural, which hit nine 3s in the game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural, which improved to 8-9 overall and 7-6 in the league, set the tone for the night when it opened up a commanding 22-8 advantage in the opening quarter.
The Junior Blues increased their lead to 37-17 at halftime and took a 49-25 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Washburn Rural outscored Topeka High (4-13, 4-9) in all four quarters Friday night while not allowing more than 10 points in a quarter.
Washburn Rural junior Jack Bachelor, who had 12 points, drives to the basket in Friday's 60-35 win over Topeka High. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Offensively, senior Quincey Kidd led three players in double figures for the Junior Blues with 14 points while junior Jack Bachelor added 12 points, Wyatt Conklin 11 and Griffin Durst eight.
The Junior Blues connected on nine 3-pointers, with Conklin hitting three treys and Kidd and Durst two apiece.
Rural has been up and down as of late, but the Junior Blues won two of three games on the week, sandwiching wins over Junction City and Topeka High around a loss to Seaman.
"I was not happy with our performance against Seaman and Hayden (the previous Friday), but I thought we played good against Junction,'' Muff said. "We've got to find that consistency and for us it's got to come from our bench because we've got to be able to rest Quincey, we've got to be able to rest Jack and some of those guys that put a lot of miles on.''
Sophomore BJ Canady led Topeka High with eight points while senior Matt Flenoy added seven.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 60, TOPEKA HIGH 35
Washburn Rural 22 15 12 11 -- 60
Topeka High 8 9 8 10 -- 35
Washburn Rural (8-9, 7-6) – Kidd 4 4-4 14, Hirschi 2 0-0 4, Bachelor 5 1-1 12, Durst 3 0-0 8, Conklin 4 0-0 11, Bunck 0 0-1 0, Morris 2 0-0 5, Bowen 0 0-0 0, J. Heim 0 0-0 0, JC Heim 1 0-0 2, Ross 2 0-0 4. Totals 23 5-6 60.
Topeka High (4-13, 4-9) – Lyons 1 1-2 3, Mays 0 0-0 0, Cameron 0 0-0 0, Thrasher 1 0-0 3, Canady 4 0-0 8, Brown 0 0-0 0, Baumgardner 2 0-0 6, Norman 1 0-0 2, Flenoy 3 1-2 7, Hales 0 0-0 0, Johnson 0 0-0 0, Gome 2 0-0 6, Kincade 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 2-4 35.
3-point goals – Washburn Rural 9 (Conklin 3, Kidd 2, Durst 2, Bachelor, Morris), Topeka High 5 (Gomez 2, Baumgardner 2, Thrasher). Total fouls – Washburn Rural 6, Topeka High 14. Fouled out – none.
