By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman's defense kept the Vikings in Thursday night's season-opener against Lansing until the offense heated up.
And when that happened in a 20-point third quarter, Seaman took control on the way to a 58-49 United Kansas Conference win at Seaman.
Seaman sophomore KaeVon Bonner (13), who scored a game-high 28 points, is congratulated by his teammates after a dunk early in the fourth quarter gave the Vikings an 18-point lead. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Seaman (1-0, 1-0) had trouble getting untracked on the offensive end early on, with Lansing (0-1, 0-1) leading by as many as eight points early in the second quarter.
But Seaman never lost contact and was within two points, 26-24, at the half and ended the third quarter with a 16-6 run to take a 44-36 lead into the fourth.
"We were fortunate that we were pretty darn good defensively, even though they did hit five 3-pointers, to be in a two-point ballgame as sluggish as we were offensively,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "I felt good about that and then we put it all together and really looked how we'd hoped we'd look in that third quarter.''
The Vikings then opened the fourth quarter with 10 straight points, including the final eight by sophomore KaeVon Bonner, to open up a commanding 54-36 advantage with 5:19 left.
Things got a little dicey for the Vikings after the Lions scored 10 straight points to get within eight with 3:35 remaining, but Lansing got no closer as Seaman built its lead back to 11 twice down the stretch.
"It was a letdown defensively,'' Cox said of the Lansing run. "We had some possessions that we could have handled better in terms of protecting the lead. It's a good opportunity to learn. It's always nicer to learn when you get a win than having to learn with a loss.''
Bonner scored 20 of his game-high 28 points in the second half, including a decisive stretch early in the fourth quarter that included back-to-back 3-pointers and a dunk.
"KB got going and really looked like himself and really kind of sparked us, but we've got a number of guys that are capable shooters and I think that will be a strength for us as we move forward,'' Cox said.
Junior Bryer Finley joined Bonner in double figures with 12 points.
Sophomore Cooper Crawford was the lone Lansing player to reach double-digits, scoring 12 points, with a pair of 3-pointers.
Seaman will return to action next Tuesday, traveling to Topeka West for a UKC game.
SEAMAN BOYS 58, LANSING 49
Lansing 13 13 10 13 -- 49
Seaman 8 16 20 14 -- 58
Lansing (0-1, 0-1) -- B. Stephens 3-3 0-0 7, Zimmerman 3-7 0-0 9, Crawford 5-13 0-0 12, Graber 2-3 2-3 6, French 1-8 1-1 3, Mendez 0-0 0-0 0, M. Stephens 1-4 0-0 2, Allen 2-4 0-0 6, Atchison 1-1 0-0 2, Butler 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 19-44 3-4 49.
Seaman (1-0, 1-0) -- B. Finley 4-7 2-2 12, H. Finley 2-7 0-0 4, Phillips 2-5 1-2 6, Bonner 9-16 6-10 28, Unruh 0-1 0-0 0, Chapman 2-3 1-3 5, Zuniga 0-0 0-0 0, Wiltz 1-4 0-0 3. Totals 20-43 10-17 58.
3-point goals -- Lansing 7 (Zimmerman 3, Crawford 2, Allen 2), Seaman 8 (Bonner 4, B. Finley 2, Phillips, Wiltz). Total fouls -- Lansing 22, Seaman 11. Fouled out – none.
