By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Seaman and Hayden boy’s basketball faced off Friday night in a game featuring two teams towards the opposite end of the Centennial league standings.
That separation showed in the second half when the Vikings rattled off 52 points en route to an 82-52 win over the Wildcats at Hayden.
Eighty-two points is a season-high for Seaman, which shot over 70 percent in the game and converted 24 free throws.
“Those guys that started the game tonight are all very capable of having a big night and I love the fact that they found each other and were able to all contribute on the offensive end,” Seaman coach Craig Cox said.
Ty Henry
Kaeden Bonner
The win moved Seaman to 9-7 on the year while Hayden fell to 3-12, marking a third straight loss.
It was a post-centric game to begin, which benefitted Hayden junior Joe Otting, who had eight in the first eight minutes.
After falling into a hole early the Vikings responded quickly. Senior Ty Henry and junior Kaeden Bonner each had four in the opening quarter as Seaman led, 13-11.
The Vikings began to build a lead in the second quarter, with five players scoring in a balanced offensive attack, led by five points from senior Mateo Hyman as the lead expanded to as many as 11.
“I thought our guys did a great job of finding each other and still attacking and being able to build a big lead,” Cox said. “I thought our defense and our rebounding were outstanding in limiting Hayden’s opportunities.”
On the other end, Otting converted an and-one with just under a minute remaining in the quarter to make it a 30-22 game at halftime.
Seaman came out of the break on a 9-0 run in the first three minutes, capped off by a 3-pointer from Bonner.
The Wildcats responded with three quick 3-pointers, two coming from junior Jake Muller, to stay within 10.
The Vikings would keep pushing with strong inside play from Henry and drives by Bonner as the entire team lived at the free-throw line where they converted 24 of 27 attempts in the game.
Five more points inside of the final eight seconds would blow the game open and result in an 18-point game at the end of three.
Seaman would quickly push the lead to 20 in the fourth quarter as all five starters entered into double figures. The Vikings emptied the bench as the lead touched 30, where it would stay with the final score of 82-52.
“We got two games at home this week, so we want to build on these two that we got this week and try to get as much momentum as we can heading into the playoffs,” Cox said.
Henry led Seaman with 18 on 7-8 shooting, Bonner finished with 17 and Hyman with 14. Senior Gavin Wilhelm and junior Aron Davis each finished with 10 points.
For Hayden, Otting had 18 points, Muller had 12 and senior Trent Duffey had 11.
The win was the second in a row for the Vikings, who moved to 8-5 in league play. On the other side the Wildcats fell to 2-10 in the league.
Both teams stay home for their next game, with Seman taking on Topeka High on Tuesday and Hayden playing host to Tonganoxie Monday.
SEAMAN BOYS 82, HAYDEN BOYS 52
Seaman 13 17 25 27 -- 82
Hayden 11 11 17 13 -- 52
Seaman (9-7, 8-5) – Parsel 0-0 0-0 0, Freeman 1-1 0-0 3, Hyman 3-3 8-9 14, Unruh 0-0 0-0 0, Henry 7-8 4-4 18, Bonner 6-8 2-2 17, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Phillips 0-0 0-0 0, Wilhelm 1-1 7-8 10, Finley 1-1 2-2 4, Barta 1-1 2-2 4, Davis 4-7 2-2 10. Totals 24-30 24-27 82.
Hayden (3-12, 2-10) – Bartlett 1-2 0-0 3, Muller 4-9 0-0 12, Scott 0-1 0-0 0, Foster 1-3 0-0 3, Duffey 3-8 3-4 11, Ham 0-2 0-0 0, Gorman 0-3 0-0 0, Otting 7-10 5-5 19, Rice 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 17-37 8-9 52.
3-point goals – Seaman 4 (Bonner 2, Wilhelm, Freeman). Hayden 8 (Mueller 4, Duffey 2, Bartlett, Foster). Total fouls – Seaman 11 Hayden 23. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – Hayden ench.
