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Cair Paravel girls roll to 39-12 win over Heritage Christian
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel girls matched their win total for all of last season Friday, following up their Waverly Tournament title with a 39-12 romp past Heritage Christian School.
Sophomore London Backman led Cair Paravel with 18 points in Friday's 39-12 win over Heritage Christian. [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]
The Lions defeated Waverly and Northeast Kansas Homeschool in the last weekend’s tournament, falling to Burlingame, but winning the event based on defensive points allowed.
“It was a great way to start the year. It got us all pumped and we’re holding that to keep us going,” said sophomore London Backman, who led the Lions with 18 points against Heritage. “I’m so excited for this season to keep on growing.”
The tournament championship was a big accomplishment for a team that didn’t have enough players to practice five-on-five a year ago. The Lions’ roster now consists of 14 players, seven of whom are freshmen.
“Last year we only had six, maybe eight girls, and we were still a strong team. We just struggled with (not having) many people on the bench,” said Backman. “Now it really helps with all that support.”
Backman dropped four three-pointers and directed the offense from the point. Nine Lions got into the scoring column Friday.
“Having the numbers on the bench is so helpful, just having more voices, cheering each other on, just that camaraderie,” said Cair Paravel coach Jayley Barkley. “We have a lot of freshmen, so it is super cool to see almost all of those freshmen got in tonight. It’s just fun to see the joy on their faces. Even when they don’t get in, the encouragement they give on the bench is huge.”
Cair Paravel's upset bid comes up short against top-ranked Axtell, 42-36
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
For three periods, the Cair Paravel boys went toe-to-toe with the top-ranked team in Class 1A Div. II – defending state champion Axtell – before finally fading 42-36 at home on Friday.
Sophomore Chase Hastert scored 18 points with three 3-pointers in Cair Paravel's 42-36 loss to top-ranked Axtell Friday night. [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]
The Lions learned on Tuesday morning that, when another team canceled its visit to Cair Paravel, the opening would be filled by the 1A powerhouse. Axtell has recently won several football and track and field championships in addition to last year’s basketball crown.
Though Axtell lists an enrollment of just 42 students, its size advantage against the Lions was impressive. Despite being undersized, Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer encouraged his team to take the fight to the Eagles.
“Our identity has to be grit. We’ve got to be a gritty team,” Kueffer said. “For the last several years, we’ve been undersized, so we’ve got to make up for that. We’ve got to compensate for that difference in size. That means rebounding, defending. I think we got a lot of the 50-50 balls. I think we were first to the floor a lot of times.”
Cair Paravel came out unaffected by the Eagles’ glossy resume. After falling behind 5-0, the Lions struck back with an 8-0 run of their own. They led 14-12 after one period.
Cair Paravel extended the lead to 18-12 in the first minute of the second quarter. But the momentum swung again, with Axtell reeling off 12 straight points. The Eagles led 26-25 at halftime.
With the teams and crowds at a fever pitch, each team scored just three points in a wild third period. Axtell led 29-28.
That’s when Axtell’s size, depth and experience finally overwhelmed the Lions. The visitors’ stifling defense held Cair Paravel scoreless for more than six minutes, during which Axtell scored 11 points to build a lead the Lions couldn’t overcome down the stretch.
“We gave up too many second-chance opportunities, too many offensive rebounds,” Kueffer said. “(Axtell is) the real deal. Very well coached. They’ve got a lot of size, a lot of toughness. They’ve got a lot of muscle to them. They all guard. They put a lot of pressure on you and they speed you up.”
Lions’ sophomore Chase Hastert poured in 18 points in the first half, hitting three three-pointers in the opening quarter.
“We did well in the first half, so in the second half, we had their attention,” Kueffer said. “They did a good job keying on our guards and slowing us down.”
No. 2 Washburn men to host Mules in battle of MIAA unbeatens
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The No. 2-ranked Washburn University men will play their final MIAA game of the 2025 calendar year on Saturday when the Ichabods host Central Missouri at 3 p.m. in Lee Arena.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen is averaging 16.9 points and 6.7 rebounds for No. 2-ranked Washburn men's basketball. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn moved to 10-0 overall and 2-0 in the MIAA with a 73-66 win over Fort Hays State last Saturday while Central Missouri enters the game 9-2 overall and 2-0 in league play after a 99-69 win over Nebraska-Kearney. The Mules defeated Fort Hays State 64-50 in their MIAA opener.
Washburn leads the all-time series 61-53 and Saturday's meeting will be the 115th between the two schools. The Ichabods have won the last three in the series and nine of the last 10.
The Ichabods lead the NCAA Division II ranks in scoring margin at plus 33.7 points per game and are fourth in field goal percentage at 52.7 percent. Washburn is third in rebound margin at plus 14.3 and second in scoring defense (59.6 points per game). Washburn has not been out-rebounded in a game.
WU junior Jack Bachelor is sixth in the nation in total assists with 52 and 14th in the nation in 3-pointers made with 27 and sophomore Dillon Claussen is third in the nation in field goal percentage at 72.3 percent and junior Jeremiah Jones is third in the nation in total steals with 30 and is ranked 10th in steals per game at 3.0 per contest.
The Ichabods' 10-game winning streak is tied for the second-longest in the nation with Daemen. The longest streak belongs to Nova Southeastern, which has won its last 29 games.
Washburn has won 21 home games in a row, the second-longest streak in the nation and the sixth-longest streak in Washburn program history. Nova Southeastern has won its last 91 games in a row at home.
Junior Bryson Smith finished with a Washburn-high 22 points against Fort Hays State while going 9-of-10 at the free throw line. He added five rebounds, one assist and four steals, scoring 18 of his 22 points in the second half.
Claussen scored 21 points against Fort Hays State on 7 of 10 shooting and knocking down 7 of 8 free throws while grabbing six rebounds.
