By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
A spot in the Class 5A state tournament was on the line as the Topeka West Chargers hosted the Valley Center Hornets on Saturday night. It was a tight contest over the first 16, but in the second half Topeka West picked up the defensive pressure and won the game in dominating fashion, 81-54.
Senior Jalen Foy scored a game-high 21 points in Saturday's 81-54 Class 5A sub-state win over Valley Center. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Kamoni Ford scored 15 points in Saturday's 81-54 Topeka West Class 5A sub-state win. [File photo/TSN]
The Chargers will travel to Emporia for Thursday’s first round of the 5A state tournament.
“The team was focused tonight, listening and following the game plan,'' first-year Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker said.
As the game began, it seemed that Topeka West was going to run away with the contest, jumping out to an 8-0 lead in the first 2:30 of the game, forcing Valley Center to call a timeout. However, Valley Center responded with a 5-0 run of its own, cutting the Chargers lead to 8-5. The quarter ended with the Hornets having the lead, 18-16, thanks to four 3-pointers in the quarter.
The second quarter matched the intensity of the first quarter. Valley Center extended its lead to four points early in the quarter, but Topeka West responded by scoring six straight points to take the lead, 22-20. For the rest of the first half, both teams traded baskets and the Chargers took a one point lead to the locker room, 33-32.
"In the first quarter, Valley Center came out aggressive and hit four 3-pointers and we were able to adjust and take that away in the second quarter, but we still only led 33-32 at the half,'' Ulsaker said.
The complexion of the game changed in the third quarter. On offense, the Chargers made a change as noted by Ulsaker. “We moved Keimani Paul inside and moved Kamoni Ford outside and told Keimani to attack when he caught the ball in the short corner,'' Ulsaker said.
Defensively, the Chargers got into the passing lanes, forcing eight turnovers, which led to multiple layups in transition. West out-scored the Hornets 24-9 and took a commanding 57-41 lead into the final quarter.
The Charger lead continued to grow in the first few minutes of the fourth quarter and reached 20 points on a steal and dunk by junior Jay’veon Traylor with 3:46 remaining. Both teams emptied their benches over the final two minutes of the game and the Chargers punched their ticket to state with a the 27-point victory.
Ulsaker responded to taking his first team at Topeka West to the state tournament: “Coach (Rick) Bloomquist did a phenomenal job getting these guys to where they’re at and I have a great support staff in my three assistants. My job is to put them in the position to be good basketball players. I always tell them that players win games and they’re executing well and ready for three more games.”
The Hornets were led by two players in double figures. Junior Nash Hatfield Jamolod scored 13 points and senior Colby Newton dropped in 11.
The Chargers were led by four players in double figures. Seniors Jalen Foy and Ford scored 21 and 15 points, respectively, while juniors Malakyah Duncan and Paul had 14 and 11. Ford led the team with eight rebounds and Paul had four steals.
TOPEKA WEST 81, VALLEY CENTER 54
Valley Center 18 14 9 13 -- 54
Topeka West 16 17 24 24 -- 81
Valley Center (11-11) -- B. Saner 0-2 0-0 0, Needham 3-7 2-4 8, Newton 4-12 1-2 11, Bailey 0-0 0-0 0, Nyimbo 0-0 0-0 0, A. Saner 3-7 2-2 8, Hatfield Jamolod 5-6 1-2 13, Heck 0-0 0-0 0, Logan 2-7 0-0 6, Chavez 2-3 2-2 6, Burgess 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 20-46 8-12 54.
Topeka West (14-8) -- Ford 6-14 1-2 15, Dillahunt 0-0 0-0 0, Munganga 0-0 0-0 0, Traylor 3-5 1-1 7, Duncan 7-11 0-0 14, Paul 5-9 1-2 11, Webb 0-0 0-0 0, Chambers 4-5 0-0 8, Foy 6-9 8-10 21, Ross 0-0 2-2 2, Lassiter 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 32-54 13-17 81.
3-point goals -- Valley Center 6 (Newton 2, Hatfield Jamolod 2, Logan 2), Topeka West 4 (Ford 2, Foy, Davis). Total Fouls -- Valley Center 18, Topeka West 13. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- Traylor.
