By CHARLES SPURLOCK
TopSports.news
Facing Leavenworth for the second time this season, Seaman's boys posted a decisive 66-46 home United Kansas Conference win over Leavenworth Tuesday night, with the Vikings turning in a strong defensive performance after only defeating the Pioneers by five points in their first matchup.
“I thought our defense was great in the first quarter,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "We knew how good they were in attacking the basket and our communication and help defense was really good. We rebounded well and we had several deflections that turned into easy baskets.”
The great defense from the Vikings gave them a 21-9 lead at the end of the first quarter. Sophomore KaeVon Bonner scored 11 points and senior Justin Phillips 10 in the quarter.
By halftime, Seaman extended its lead to 35-18, with defense leading to 10 first half turnovers by the Pioneers.
The second half saw Seaman outscore Leavenworth 31-28, leading to the 20-point victory.
The Pioneers came out in a zone for most of the second half, which led to the Vikings settling on outside shots. But after missing their first four 3-point attempts, Seaman began attacking from the middle of the zone which led to easy baskets.
Seaman was led by two in double figures, with Bonner scoring a game-high 23 points and Phillips adding 15. Phillips also had six rebounds, all on the offensive end, to lead the Vikings. Sophomore Landon Wiltz filled the stat sheet with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks to go along with his 7 points. Senior Holden Finley and Bonner both had three steals as well.
Leavenworth was led by senior Xavier Strickland with 21 points and senior Tyler Johnson tallied 12.
Seaman (8-9, 6-7 UKC) will travel to Basehor-Linwood for a conference tilt on Friday night while Leavenworth (1-15, 0-13 UKC) will travel to Lansing.
SEAMAN BOYS 66, LEAVENWORTH 46
Leavenworth 9 9 16 12 -- 46
Seaman 2114 17 14 -- 66
Leavenworth (1-15, 0-13) -- Tolbert 0-2 0-0 0, Arauz 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 5-13 0-0 12, Thomas 1-6 0-0 3, Strickland 8-13 4-5 21, Banks 0-0 0-0 0, Wake 0-2 0-0 0, Clements 3-6 0-0 7, Davis 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 18-44 4-5 46.
Seaman (8-9, 6-7) -- Finley 3-6 0-0 7, Toyne 0-0 0-0 0, Wiltz 2-8 1-2 7, Smith 1-1 2-2 4, Phillips 6-9 0-1 15, Bonner 9-14 1-2 23, Zuniga 0-0 0-0 0, Cochran 0-0 0-0 0, Chapman 2-4 0-0 4, Unruh 2-5 1-2 5, Evans 0-0 1-2 1, McConnaughey 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 25-46 6-11 66.
3 point goals -- Leavenworth 6 (Johnson 2, Thomas, Strickland, Clements), Seaman 10 (Bonner 4, Phillips 3, Wiltz 2, Finley). Total Fouls -- Leavenworth 11, Seaman 13. Fouled out -- none.