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Valley Center boys upset No. 4 seed Seaman 68-61 in overtime
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
The semifinal round of Class 5A boys sub-state at Seaman was a rematch from late January, where the Seaman Vikings defeated the Valley Center Hornets, 61-55, in the fifth-place game of the January Jam Tournament in Valley Center.
Senior Bryer Finley (2) scored 25 points in Wednesday's 68-61 overtime sub-state loss to Valley Center. [File photo/TSN]
But on Wednesday night, the Hornets won a tough, back-and-forth battle over the Vikings, 68-61 in overtime.
“I thought Valley Center played well. We knew they would be scrappy and they hurt us early by running out and getting easy shots,” Seaman coach Craig Cox commented after the game.
Although the Hornets were getting those easy shots early, the Vikings were able to buckle down on defense and were leading the game 25-22 at the end of the first half. Senior Bryer Finley led the Vikings with 9 points while junior Cameron Brian scored 6 points over the first sixteen minutes.
“Probably the biggest stretch was in the third quarter where we built a sizable lead, but they went on a 10-0 run and had all the momentum,” Cox commented on the important third quarter that saw Valley Center take a 38-36 lead into the fourth quarter.
The fourth quarter saw the teams trade baskets until Valley Center was able to stretch their lead to 51-46 with just over four minutes remaining. But Seaman fought back with a 6-0 run to take a 52-51 lead which was followed by a 4-0 run, giving the Hornets a 55-52 lead with a little over two minutes remaining.
With Valley Center leading 56-54 with 48 seconds left, Seaman called a timeout and junior KaeVon Bonner responded by getting fouled and knocking down both free throws to tie the game with 31 seconds left. Valley Center held the ball for the last shot, but was unable to score and the game went to overtime, tied at 56.
In the overtime, Seaman scored first on a layup by Finley, but Valley Center responded with a three-pointer by senior Caleb Needham, who led the Hornets with 16 points -- all in the second half and overtime.
In what was the biggest sequence of the overtime, Bonner was fouled with 2:46 left, trailing 59-58, but missed both free throws. Senior Dalton Smith grabbed the offensive rebound for the Vikings, but he also missed both free throws. Valley Center missed two of their own free throws and Finley was able to tie the score at 59 with a little over two minutes remaining in overtime. Moments later, Seaman was able to take a 61-60 lead, but Needham responded for the Hornets with another three-pointer with 1:20 left to regain the lead, 63-61.
Seaman wasn’t able to score for the remainder of the game while Valley Center made five free throws to make the final score, 68-61.
T-Bird boys rout KC-Sumner 74-41, advance to Class 5A sub-state title tilt
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
There was no doubt that Wednesday's Class 5A sub-state semifinal between No. 3 East seed and No. 14 Kansas City-Sumner was a game that Shawnee Heights coach Ken Darting expected to win.
But there were also plenty of things Darting wanted his team to accomplish in the T-Birds' postseason opener.
Senior Deacon Pomeroy led all scorers with 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Wednesday's 74-41 Shawnee Heights Class 5A sub-state win over KC-Sumner. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Shawnee Heights senior Jaret Sanchez scored 22 points with six 3-pointers in Wednesday's 74-41 sub-state win over KC-Sumner. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]AAr
And for the most part Darting felt like his team, now 18-3, accomplished those goals in Heights' 74-41 home romp past the 7-14 Sabres.
"We had a few people that I saw selfishness, happy with the 3 and wanted to get that easy bucket, but what I like about this group is I can never say they don't play hard,'' Darting said. "They come to play. Every game they're going to play hard.''
Shawnee Heights senior Jaret Sanchez connected on three 3-pointers in the first two minutes to stake the T-Birds to a 9-4 lead and Heights was in command by a 24-9 margin by the end of the opening quarter.
By halftime the T-Birds had stretched their margin to 27 points (47-20) and Shawnee Heights led 70-33 at the end of the third quarter, forcing a running clock over the final eight minutes.
Heights senior Deacon Pomeroy and Sanchez combined for 46 points, with Pomeroy scoring a game-high 24 points and also grabbing 11 rebounds and Sanchez adding 22 points with six 3-pointers.
Junior Da'Quan Lee also cracked double figures with 15 points.
Tuesday prep BB roundup: Hayden boys romp past Independence, 93-59
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Just a year ago the Wildcats were in Class 3A and entered the postseason 5-13.
What a difference a year makes and the Wildcats, led by first-year coach Dwayne Anthony entered the postseason in Class 4A with a 13-8 record and ranked No. 7 in the last Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll.
Senior Jacob Deister (4) led Hayden with 15 points in Tuesday's 93-59 Class 4A sub-state win over Independence. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden would end up drawing the Bulldogs of Independence, who would enter the game with a 9-11 record and led by 5-foot-10 sophomore Javen Colbert. Javen's mom is from Topeka so he was able to play in front of a lot of friends and family and would score 14 points on the night.
"It was very special to be able to play in Topeka tonight because all my family is from here, and I am glad I was able to represent for them just wish the game would of gone a different way,'' Colbert said.
The Wildcats would get off to a 6-0 run to start the game and take off from there as they would stretch that into a 22-10 lead midway thru the first quarter and take a commanding 32-19 lead to end the first quarter.
The Wildcats would start the second quarter with a 12-0 run that would put them up 47-19 as the Wildcats would use their length and speed to go into halftime up 54-29.
The Wildcats would be led by senior Jacob Deister, who would have 13 of his game-high 15 points at halftime.
The Wildcats would roll from there and out-score the Dawgs 39-29 the rest of the game to take a 93-59 semifinal win.
Hayden would get double-digit nights from four athletes as Deister would lead the way with 15 points, followed by Mason Becker’s 14, Connor Hanika’s 13 and Cooper Zweisler with 11 points.
The Wildcats were hot from 3-point range all night as they would shoot 9-17 from outside the arc.
"We came out really hot and our press really got the momentum going for us,'' Hanika said. "We still have a few adjustments to make to get ready for Rock Creek, including watching lots of film before Friday.”
"I really applaud the boys' passion and attention to detail and our energy and effort,'' Anthony said. "We are really, really a strong team when they bring those things. Now we just need to get back to it and watch film on Rock Creek and get ready for Friday.
"I am blessed, I have a team full of leaders, not just Mason, Connor and Jacob, but the senior class alone, each and every one of them is solid individuals and it is the reason that these guys have experienced success so far.''
The Wildcats now turn their attention to the No. 2 team on the East side of sub-state in Rock Creek, which advanced with a 59-39 win over Tonganoxie.
The game will be Friday night at Rock Creek with a game time of 7p.m. The winner will punch their ticket to the Class 4A state tournament next week in Salina.
HAYDEN BOYS 93, INDEPENDENCE 59
Independence 19 10 7 23 — 59
Hayden 32 22 22 17 — 93
Independence (9-12) — Smith 5-12 2-4 15, Colbert 4-11 4-6 14, Lanning 2-7 2-2 7, Veile 1-2 3-6 5, Bunyard 2-3 0-0 4, Sprague 3-3 1-2 7, Small 2-2 0-0 6, Sanders 0-0 1-1 1. Totals 19-40 13-21 59.
Hayden (13-8) — Deister 7-12 0-0 15, Becker 5-8 1-2 14, Hanika 6-9 1-2 13, Mitchell 2-4 0-0 4, Kuta 2-3 0-2 4, Zweisler 4-7 1-1 11, Compton 3-6 2-2 10, Tourtillot 4-6 0-2 9, Banks 3-5 0-0 6, Heinen 2-4 1-1 5, Wolff 1-2 0-0 2, Power 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 39-67 6-12 93.
3-point goals — Indy 8 (Smith 3, Colbert 2, Small 2, Lanning) Hayden 9 (Becker 3, Zweisler 2, Compton 2, Tourtillot, Deister). Total Fouls — Indy 10, Hayden 18.
Highland Park girls roll to 59-11 5A sub-state win
No. 3 Class 5A East girls seed Highland Park opened its sub-state bid with a 59-11 home semifinal win over Meadowlark Conference rival Kansas City-Washington Tuesday night.
