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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

After Junction City cut a 16-point Washburn Rural lead to just three points midway through the fourth quarter Friday night, the host Junior Blues were in need of a big play to stem the tide.

Sophomore Brooks Ballard scored a game-high 17 points with five 3-pointers in Friday's 56-40 Washburn Rural win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN] 

Sophomore Brooks Ballard came through with three of them, draining back-to-back 3-pointers and three treys over the final 3:54 as Washburn Rural pulled away to snap a three-game losing streak with a 56-40 Centennial League victory over the Blue Jays.

"Just from practice, and all the reps we've gone through, I just trust our offense and trust that guys are going to get open and make plays,'' said Ballard, who scored a game-high 17 points on five 3s. "My guys got me open.''

And in a situation like Friday, when Ballard has the opportunity to come through for his team, he relies on his shooter's mentality.

"I always think it's going in, I'm not ever doubting myself,'' he said.

Ballard was just happy to be able to help close out what was a much-needed win for the Junior Blues, who had dropped three straight single-digit games, including a pair of one-point heartbreakers.

"This was a huge one for us, coming off some tough losses,'' Ballard said. "This was a big one to get us back on track.''

Washburn Rural coach Alex Hutchins wasn't surprised that his 6-foot-2 guard came through in the clutch.

"He is a really good shooter,'' Hutchins said. "I think the thing that stands out with him though is just the decision-making as a sophomore. He has some sophomore moments here or there and we have to have some conversations, but not very many considering he's a sophomore and we basically put the responsibility and the load on his shoulders of a senior.''

After digging itself out of an 11-0 hole to start the game and a 13-3 deficit at the start of the second quarter, Washburn Rural (10-8 overall, 3-3 in the league) battled back to take a 17-16 halftime advantage before using a 20-5 run to go up 37-21 with 2:37 left in the third stanza.

The Junior Blues took a 12-point lead (39-27) into the fourth quarter before the Blue Jays fought back to make it a one-possession game at 43-40.

Washburn Rural senior John Hoytal returned from an injury to score 12 points in Friday's 56-40 win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

But like it had early in the game, Washburn Rural showed its resiliency in being able to close out the victory while getting a big lift from senior John Hoytal, who returned to score 12 points off the bench after missing three straight games with an injury.

"We've been close in a lot of games lately and we just haven't finished the job off, so I'd by lying if I said there weren't some moments where it was like, 'Man, here we go again,' '' Hutchins said. "John was on limited minutes tonight but having him back in the fold changes things incredibly.

"He's just a steadying force for us. Whether the numbers show it or not, he doesn't always have to put up numbers to kind of steady us on both ends of the floor. And I felt like we had lots of guys who had really, really solid nights tonight.''

Washburn Rural senior Simon Rowley scored 10 points in Friday's 56-40 win over Junction City. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]

Senior Simon Rowley, who is also rounding back into form after missing multiple games with an injury, added 10 points, including a key stretch of three straight baskets in the third quarter to give Rural its 16-point cushion.

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The second-best boys team in the United Kansas Conference standings was pushed all night Friday by the second-worst team in the standings. But Topeka West, ranked fourth in the state in Class 5A, held off a feisty Leavenworth team to win 66-57 at West. The win kept the Chargers in the conference title hunt.

Senior Malakyah Duncan tied for team-high scoring honors with 16 points in Friday's 66-57 Topeka West win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Leavenworth rallied to take a lead midway through the second period. That ignited a fire in the Chargers. Topeka West ripped off a 10-0 run to lead 32-23. But that fire burned out quickly. The Pioneers repeatedly clawed back from double-digit deficits throughout the second half.

Having trailed by as much as 13 points, Leavenworth scored seven-straight points late in the fourth period to put a scare in the home team. Pioneer senior Kentravion Tolbert drove to the bucket with 1:46 remaining and was knocked to the deck in the process of scoring in traffic. His free throw made the score 58-55 – way too close for comfort in a game that was supposed to be one-sided.

The Chargers responded by outscoring Leavenworth 8-2 down the stretch. But there wasn’t much to celebrate after the victory.

“Leavenworth is a team that has nothing to lose,” said Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker. “They’re going to come out and play hard, because a lot of those guys are playing for playing time next year.

“For us, we were a little sluggish. We’ve got to start a little better. That’s kind of been our motto the last couple of games, we’ve got to start with a better tempo. That’s on me as the coach. I’ve got to get them going early on.”

It seemed every time the Chargers started to pull away, they lost the momentum.

“I think (in those moments) we had a little bit of a loss of concentration. Maybe just getting complacent,” Ulsaker said. “We’ve got to learn how to continue those runs, make them a little bit longer. And be more sound on defense.”

Seniors Keimani Paul and Malakyah Duncan scored 16 points apiece to lead the Chargers. Paul, who connected on 7-10 shots from the field, found some positives from the game, particularly the Chargers’ full-court pressure.

“We didn’t let them just run over us. We came out trying to play defense, trying to score,” Paul said. “We like to speed things up. (The Pioneers) couldn’t handle the pressure, so we just stayed up, got the ball back every time we turned it over.”

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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Topeka High girls basketball coach Ron Slaymaker told his players said before the season started that defense had to be a big identity of this team, leading to points in transition and the fastbreak.

 

Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored a game-high 26 points in Thursday's 61-36 Topeka High win at Seaman. [File photo/TSN]

That was the case Thursday night as the Trojans stayed hot, avenging an earlier double-digit loss to Seaman with a 61-36 romp on the Vikings' home floor.

“I’ll tell you what we were hot on and that’s defense,” Slaymaker said. “Our defense created so much of our offense. That’s what we needed to win this game because they (Seaman) are a good team.”

 

Slaymaker said one big adjustment Topeka High made Thursday was how to break the zone, something they did not do against Seaman the last time these two teams met. And Slaymaker said he faults himself for not having them prepared, but did for Thursday night’s slate.

Topeka High started the game up 8-2 and started the game in a 2-3 zone, giving the Lady Vikings problems finding easy baskets. Seaman junior Jaydin Frickey hit a three to make it an 8-6 game, but that’s the closest Seaman would get the rest of the evening.

 

After a 7-0 run, Topeka High senior Keimara Marshall finished off a layup in transition, forcing a Seaman timeout at 15-6. Topeka High led 19-6 after one quarter.

In the second quarter, it was no different as junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton used her speed in transition and the fastbreak to get easy baskets off Seaman turnovers, scoring 18 first-half points. She helped the Trojans to a 13-0 run, dating back to the first quarter at 21-6.

“A driving force in this game was Coach Slay said at practice to look up the court and that’s what we did in this game and make that extra pass, looking inside and out and that’s what Slay harps on a lot,” Topeka High sophomore Hailey Caryl said.

Seaman senior Maddie Gragg converted an and-one and knocked down a three to cut the Viking deficit to 24-12 with 6:05 left in the half, but the Trojans just kept scoring after a three from senior Trish Short.

Seaman called another timeout a minute later, down 18, 30-12, and the Lady Trojans took a 20-point lead into halftime, 38-18.

In the second half, the third quarter saw both teams combine for 11 points, but the fourth quarter was nothing but the clinic the Trojans put on in the first two quarters. Topeka High had its biggest lead of 28 in the game thanks to Caryl’s big quarter and continuing to force those turnovers.

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