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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

It’s been tough sledding for Seaman girls basketball as of late, with the Vikings losing five straight and seven of their last eight after dropping a 57-48 United Kansas Conference home decision to Basehor-Linwood Friday night.

 

“Sometimes it's hard when you keep score to see progress,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "We played them a month ago and they ran us out of the gym and here we are, we played so much better. We see that growth but the scoreboard doesn’t show that when you look at wins and losses.

"We battled, we didn’t lose that game because we didn’t have gas left in the tank, we gave them everything we had. If we get a couple of 50/50 balls or a couple of things bounce our way, it’s a different ball game. They just made a few more plays than we did.''

 

Senior Maddie Gragg got Seaman on the board first with a triple but Basehor-Linwood was hot from three in the first quarter, taking a 10-7 lead. Junior Cara Beaton helped the Lady Vikes reclaim the lead at 11-10, but that was the last time Seaman would lead in the first half.

 

Seaman had it tied at 14 until Sarah McKnight drilled a trey in the right corner at the buzzer to take a 17-14 lead into the second quarter.

The Bobcats grew their lead to 21-14, which was trimmed to four off a Brynn Spencer three and got it down to three from another Gragg triple (23-20), but then Basehor-Linwood’s full court press gave Seaman fits.

 

A last-second layup from Gragg had the Lady Vikes down seven (30-23) heading into halftime. 

“We went from a team that handed teams Christmas presents to taking care of the ball and that gives us a chance,” Tinsley said. “I told the girls after the game, 'I’ve seen this movie before.' We had a team in 2021, kind of the same thing -- struggled a little bit, had to fight a little bit, scratch and claw -- but we got better as the season went on and they call it March Madness for a reason.

"I still believe we haven’t reached our peak yet and we’re going to get there.”

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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Seaman's boys basketball team bounced back from a Tuesday night loss Friday on their home floor, with seniors KaeVon Bonner and Landon Wiltz combining for 41 points in the Vikings' 60-43 United Kansas Conference win over Basehor-Linwood.

 

“It was really nice to see Landon knock down some shots,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "As soon as he hit the first his confidence just built and it was game on for him. KaeVon did what he does, goes and gets you baskets. I was really pleased with that part and our defense was outstanding in the first half. To give up just 14 points was very solid.''

 

Fifteen of the Vikings' first 21 points came from 3-pointers as Wiltz had three threes in the first quarter, helping Seaman build a 15-6 advantage and lead 15-8 after the quarter. Wiltz finished with 15 points.

 

“Finally started to hit them. I’ve struggled a little bit from three the last couple of games, so seeing one go down actually felt pretty good,” Wiltz said.

Then Bonner caught fire, hitting two 3-pointers back-to-back as the Vikings led 21-10, forcing the Bobcats into a timeout.

 

Bonner then had a beautiful turnaround jumper fall and followed that up with a one-handed slam off a steal later in the quarter.

Seaman had a 15-point lead heading into halftime, 31-14. 

In the third quarter, Bonner helped stretch Seaman’s lead to 20 (37-17) after a slow-moving quarter, but then the Bobcats cut it to 12 (37-25) forcing Cox to call a timeout. Seaman led 41-28 after three.

“When you have a big lead at the half, it’s trying not to give into getting comfortable and relaxed instead of staying focused, making the extra pass, making the better shot,'' Cox said. "We got a little loose with our passing and a little loose with our shot selection, but then they pulled it back together.''

In the fourth, Seaman would not relinquish the lead or let it fall within 10 points.

 

Senior Griffin Zuniga provided eight points and Bonner scored five straight, increasing the lead back to 18.

The Seaman advantage got to 20 (57-37), tied for its biggest lead of the night, as the Vikings nabbed win number 17.

Wiltz said as the playoffs approach, the Vikings have two things to focus on.

“Value possessions and not turn the ball over. We got to keep our defense up because we’ve been doing pretty well on that,” Wiltz said.

Bonner led all scorers with 26 points. 

SEAMAN 69, BASEHOR-LINWOOD 43

Basehor-Linwood 8 6 14  15 – 43

Seaman              15 16 10 19 – 60

Basehor-Linwood (12-10) – Brown 3 3-4 9, Morrison 4 0-0 8, Elliot 1 0-1 2, Hutchinson 1 0-0 3, Young 5 2-2 14, Nixon 2 0-0 5, Peck 1 0-0 2

Seaman (17-4) – Wiltz 6 0-0 15, McConnaughey 1 1-2 3, Zuniga 3 2-2 8, Brain 1 1-2 3, Scholes 1 0-0 3, Esser 1 0-0 2, Bonner 11 0-0 26

3-point goals – Basehor-Linwood 4 (Young 2, Hutchinson 1, Nixon 1), Seaman 8 (Bonner 4, Wiltz 3, Scholes 1). Total fouls – Basehor-Linwood 6, Seaman 10. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Hayden's boys faced long odds of posting a Senior Night win Friday night after spotting Washburn Rural a 17-point advantage midway through the second quarter and falling behind by 16 points early in the second half.

Hayden senior Connor Hanika (3) had a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds in Friday's 53-49 overtime win over Washburn Rural. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

But eventually the Wildcats began to flash the form that has now produced eight wins over their last nine games, forcing overtime before doubling up the Junior Blues in the extra session to take a 53-49 Centennial League win at the Bueltel Activities Center.

"We regrouped and got back to the things that we wrote up -- start executing, start looking for each other and don't be so panicked when you don't get that first option,'' Hayden coach Dwayne Anthony said. "They did a good job of just staying the course.''

Now 12-8 overall and 5-4 in the league, the Wildcats were able to avenge a 17-point loss (79-62) at Rural earlier in the season.

After trailing 3-2 and 5-4 early, Washburn Rural (11-9, 4-4) took a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter and hit the Wildcats with an 18-7 second quarter, leading 26-9 midway through the period, to take a 28-14 advantage into halftime.

The Junior Blues, who played without injured senior guard Simon Rowley, scored the first basket of the second half to go up 30-14 and still led by double-digits midway through the third quarter before the Wildcats began to peck away at the Rural advantage.

Hayden cut its deficit to 37-34 by the end of the third quarter and took its first lead since the opening three minutes on a Mason Becker 3-pointer with 6:28 left in regulation.

Three ties and a couple of lead changes followed and both teams had opportunities to end things in regulation over the final minute before the game went to OT.

Hayden drew first blood in overtime on a 3-pointer from junior Carter Compton and never trailed in the extra session while leading by five points twice as the Wildcat seniors were able to celebrate their first career wins over Washburn Rural.

Senior Connor Hanika scored 13 of his team-high 15 points in the second half to lead four double-figure scorers for the Wildcats while grabbing 10 rebounds for a double-double.

"We struggled in the first half, everybody,'' Hanika said. "We couldn't get anything to fall but the main thing at halftime was our shots are going to fall and we've just got to wait for the opportunity and then attack it.''

Becker added 13 points with three 3-pointers while senior Kade Mitchell scored 11 points and Compton 10 for the Wildcats.

"That's what we've been stressing,'' Anthony said of the Wildcats' balance. "This is a team game and so easily it can feel like it's not at times, but it is and they've embraced the 'We over me' philosophy and that's been blessing us in these last games.''

Senior John Hoytal (10) scored a game-high 17 points in Friday's 53-49 Washburn Rural overtime loss at Hayden. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN] 

Senior John Hoytal led Washburn Rural with a game-high 17 points and also grabbed nine rebounds while senior Kieffer O'Connor came off the bench to add 10 points with a pair of treys.

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