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Hayden boys hold off Topeka High late for 64-59 Centennial League road win
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
For three quarters Tuesday night at Topeka High, Hayden's boys basketball team played as well as it has in Dwayne Anthony's two seasons at the school.
Senior Connor Hanika scored 20 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Hayden's 64-59 Centennial League win at Topeka High Tuesday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
And over the final seven minutes or so, the Wildcats gave their coach plenty of things to address when they return to practice.
But after letting a 21-point advantage early in the fourth quarter get down to a one-possession game in the closing seconds, Hayden escaped with a 64-59 Centennial League sweep over Topeka High, with the Wildcats completing a season sweep over the Trojans.
"It got crazy, thank God for timeouts,'' Anthony said. "My guys are just learning how to play basketball, and I mean at a level that we want to play. And it doesn't always look pretty.
"We did good for the first three quarters and then that fourth quarter we get a little shaky, then the intensity comes up, and we've got to go back and talk about it tomorrow and just to continue to level up.''
Hayden, which had taken a 16-point win over High earlier in the season, took it to the Trojans again in the rematch, with the Wildcats never trailing en route to improving to 9-9 overall and 2-4 in the league.
But after using a 20-9 second quarter to open up a 29-17 halftime behind a big 14-point, eight-rebound first half from senior Connor Hanika, Hayden boosted its lead to 21 points late in the third quarter and led 48-29 at the start of the final period.
"The guys came out and executed what we planned,'' Anthony said. "I tell the guys that it's a simple game, and when they embrace that and give their energy, it's a lot of fun for us.
"But sometimes the energy wanes or the thought process wanes and that's where we have to get better.''
T-Bird girls dominate fourth quarter for 60-42 UKC win over Seaman
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Trailing 37-36 after three periods, the Shawnee Heights girls exploded for a 17-0 run to pull away from guest Seaman 60-42 Tuesday. It was just the T-Birds’ second win over Seaman in the last 13 meetings.
Shawnee Heights junior Pearmella Carter scored 12 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday as the T-Birds pulled away for a 60-42 UKC win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Fueling the decisive run was Shawnee Heights junior Pearmella Carter, who scored 12 of her 23 points in the fourth quarter. Carter hit all six shots she attempted in the crucial final period.
“We made a few slight adjustments on some things we were doing, and it opened some passing lanes and some driving lanes,” said Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells. “And then, all of a sudden, we were feeling a lot better about moving and catching and shooting, getting the ball inside to Pearmella. She did a great job. when she couldn’t muscle it up there, she kicked it out and then we started hitting some threes.
“You know how momentum goes. One person hits them. Then they all started smiling, and they all started hitting.”
The Vikings led by as much as seven points in the second period. The T-Birds clawed back to take the lead briefly in the third period, but Seaman clung to a lead going into the fourth quarter, thanks in large part to seven third-quarter points by Cara Beaton, who led the Vikings with 12.
Junior KK Emmot (1) scored 14 points in Shawnee Heights' 60-42 home UKC win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman has thoroughly dominated the rivalry for the past decade, a fact that made the win all the more enjoyable for the T-Birds.
“It’s huge,” Wells said. “I told the girls we could not take Seaman for granted no matter what their record was. They can really shoot the ball. You let them hit some threes and start feeling good about themselves. It took us a little fortitude to come back and really change things and make the game go a different way.”
Shawnee Heights juniors Pearmella Carter and KK Emmot both reached the 1,000-point milestone for their careers Tuesday at Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
Carter’s huge fourth quarter led her past a milestone. Carter and fellow junior KK Emmot both eclipsed the 1,000-point mark for their careers Tuesday.
Bonner catches fire late to power Seaman boys to 56-47 UKC road win at Shawnee Heights
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights did everything right to shut down high-scoring Seaman guard KaeVon Bonner for three periods.
Seaman senior star KaeVon Bonner (33) scored 22 points Tuesday as the Vikings took control down the stretch for a 56-47 UKC road win over Shawnee Heights. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Vikings’ senior averages about 25 points per game. So when the host T-Birds held Bonner to just four points through 24 minutes of action Tuesday, they had reason to feel good about their 37-34 lead. But a set play out of the break sprung Bonner for an open look from three, and he buried it. It was the spark that started a fire.
Bonner torched Shawnee Heights for 16 points – all of the Vikings’ points – over the next 3:10, and all of a sudden Seaman led 50-40. Seaman held on to win 56-47 to improve to 14-3 on the season.
Seaman coach Craig Cox described the play that started the run.
“One of my assistants, Paul Muzzy, suggested that we go to a set play that gets (KaeVon) a look, and it was a great call and we executed it and he popped off the screen and knocked down the shot,” Cox said. “And then it was no looking back. Just an unbelievable fourth quarter.”
For three periods, Shawnee Heights senior Ja’Veon Alston went toe-to-toe with Bonner, harassing him with on-ball defense and scoring 13 points to Bonner’s four.
“They were doubling (Bonner) some when he was starting to attack,” Cox said. “They were bringing help defense, and (Alston) did a really good job of pressuring him, held him to four points until then. Then he was able to finally get it going and show how he can take over a game and dominate like that. I’m just really proud of him keeping his composure and coming through when we needed it.”
Bonner hit four straight attempts to start the run. Then, after missing a shot, the senior dropped a long triple, which he followed moments later with a three-point play.
“Once I hit that first three, I knew I was starting to feel it and the energy, the crowd … that first shot started it off,” Bonner said.
