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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Cair Paravel Latin boys basketball held on to top Wabaunsee in Flint Hills action Tuesday night on the Lions' home floor.

 

Lucas Marichal led Cair Paravel with 29 points in the Lions' win over Wabaunsee Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]

The Lions started out with their foot on the gas pedal for White Out in The Den against the Chargers, and it took every last second to determine the winner, as Cair Paravel Latin grabbed the win, 54-53.

“We knew we were going to get a really tough assignment,'' Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer said. "They’re a tough team, they box out and they get a lot of second-chance points. I don’t think we beat that team in a bar fight, it’s not realistic, they’re tough and have more muscle than we do.

 

"I think we guarded according to the scouting report pretty well … whether we win by half a point or 40 points, they’re all the same. With the game on the line, you don’t want to be down one with 10 seconds left, you want to be up one and defensively you want to win the game getting a stop. I’m proud of them for finishing.”

Senior Lucas Marichal put CPLS on the board with a 3-pointer and he wasn’t even close to being done scoring the basketball.

He put the Lions up 7-2 off a baseline layup and then sophomore Blaine Durbin also had it going, putting them up 11-6 off a short jumper in the paint, 11-6.

Marichal hit another triple to push the lead to six, scoring 10 points in the quarter and Durbin had eight of the 20 CPLS points, with the Lions leading 20-10 heading into the second quarter.

 

Cair Paravel Latin built its biggest lead of 14, 26-12 in the second quarter thanks to Marichal driving straight down broadway for a deuce, but then Wabaunsee went on a big run to cut the Red Lions lead down to four before the break.

A 9-0 run thanks to a fast break steal from Carter Falk of Wabaunsee, forced CPLS into a timeout with 2:52 left in the quarter, with the score 26-21 at that point.

Falk would nab another four points to cut the CPLS to two but Marichal was fouled with five seconds before the break and nailed two free throws to put Cair Paravel up 28-24.

Cole Frank of the Chargers had a sweet up and under finishing with the left hand to bring it to 32-30, but then Marichal scored five straight to push the lead back to seven, with another 3-pointer. He then would get the steal, get fed on the fast break for another bucket as CPLS maintained a 41-34 lead.

Then to end the quarter, Drew Fay put up a wild shot to beat the buzzer and banked it to end to put the Lions up by 13, 49-36.

Then it got interesting in the fourth quarter as the Lions' lead evaporated again.

It was 51-44 with under three minutes left and Charger senior Wyatt Gerht scored at the cup bringing Wabaunsee to within five but Marichal got fouled again and nailed two free throws to make it 53-46. He finished with a game-high of 29 points.

“We knew that in a lot of games, they’ve been down double-digits in most of their games and they’ve battled back in the second half, so we knew it was coming,” Marichal said. “The fourth quarter was super big for us to slow the game down and try to play it our way… at the end of the day it came down to who played harder and we wanted it more. We want to win the league, that’s our goal and that was one of the biggest teams to reach that goal.

“It was a blast, I love it. It gets so loud in here and when the crowd gets going, it’s a blast.''

Frank, who eventually fouled out in the waning seconds of the game, brought it to within three on a fast break, 53-50.

With 33 seconds, sophomore Landon Kaberline hit one of two free throws to put CPLS up, 54-50. Cutter Murray would not let the Chargers go down quietly, as he converted an and-one opportunity with 26 seconds remaining.

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By VINCE LOVERGINE

TopSports.news

Cair Paravel Latin girls basketball had trouble all night trying to break Wabaunsee’s defensive pressure, resulting in a home 54-13 Flint Hills defeat Tuesday night.

 

“Being able to talk about the things that we didn’t execute is important,” CPLS coach Jaley Barkley said. “One of the goals I have for this second part of the season is I want to execute our offense specifically because we have great defense.

 

"We hustle and work hard, but not being able to succumb to the pressure. Wabaunsee was all over us, so being able to slow down because when we do that, we can take good shots, take care of the ball… and be able to adapt.”

 

Wabaunsee was all over CPLS in the open court with presses and traps, forcing turnovers and bad shots for the Lions.

 

The Chargers jumped out to an 8-0 lead after Reese Michaelis hit her second 3-pointer of the night, forcing a timeout for CPLS with 5:17 left in the first.

 

The lead would only expand more for the Chargers, as they got out to a 16-0 lead after a Talen Orton bucket, causing CPLS to call another timeout while trying to find any answers. Orton finished with 10 points.

 

Michaelis would nail her third three of the game after the timeout making it 19-0 and the Chargers ended the first quarter up 23-0, holding the Red Lions scoreless after eight minutes.

 

It wouldn’t be until the 5:59 mark of the second quarter when senior KellyAnn Chada took a trip to the charity stripe and made one of two shots, making it a 23-1 score.

After a Charger basket Chada drew a foul and made one of two shots from the free throw line again.

 

Wabaunsee made the only two field goals in the quarter until senior Karsyn Hastert kissed one off the glass for two but missed the and-one opportunity and it was 27-4 at that point.

 

Chada would convert another bucket off a fastbreak steal from the Lions but the Chargers had a commanding lead at the break, 31-6.

 

The Lions had no answer for the Chargers, as Wabaunsee consistently trapped CPLS in the open court, the post and on the perimeter, forcing several turnovers.

 

CPLS did create many turnovers for itself, showing hustle despite the score.

 

“The game was tough, we got down early and for them (players) to keep their heads up and continue to be aggressive and do what I ask of them on the defensive end, I’m super proud of them for that,'' Barkley said. "Coming off of Christmas break, both sides I could tell were tired and the ability to play all four quarters with there all, I’m proud of that,” Barkley said.

 

In the third quarter Kameron Welshans for CPLS got the scoring started but that would be the only bucket. Michaelis for Wabanunsee drilled her fourth three-pointer of the game, finishing with five total in the game making it 34-8 and ending with 14 points.

 

The Chargers would convert two, and-one opportunities later in the quarter and led 45-8, resulting in a running clock in the fourth quarter, where both teams pulled their starters and emptied the benches.

 

Grace Zeller for Wabaunsee led all scorers with 18 points.

 

“Halftime we talked about not keeping our heads down, we got two more quarters, it’s 0-0, taking what we learned from the first half, changing our approach and adapting. I just want the girls to make those basketball plays and take charge out there,” Barkley said.

 

WABAUNSEE 54 , CAIR PARAVEL LATIN 13

Wabaunsee      23 8 14 9  -- 54

Cair Paravel Latin 0 6 2 5  -- 13

 

Wabaunsee (6-1) – Grace Zeller 6 5-7 18, Kirwin Russell 2 0-2 5, Reese Michaels 5 0-0 14, Talen Orton 4 2-3 10, Edan Schrader 3 1-2 7

Cair Paravel Latin (3-4) – Karsyn Hastert 1 0-3 2, Avery Rosenow 2 0-0 2, Becca Gateley 1 0-0- 3, Kameron Welshans 2 0-0 2, Kelly Ann Chada 2 2-6 4

 

3-point goals – Wabaunsee 6 (Zeller 1, Russell 1, Michaelis 4), Cair Paravel Latin 1 (Gateley 1). Total fouls – Wabaunsee 11, Cair Paravel Latin 10. Fouled out – none. Technical foul -- none

Details

Created: 06 January 2026

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

TUESDAY'S GAMES

EMPORIA (4-4, 0-0) at HAYDEN (6-2, 0-0)

The Spartans and Wildcats will open Centennial League play on Tuesday, with Hayden opening defense of the league title it captured last season. The Wildcats dropped a 38-36 non-league decision at Shawnee Heights last Friday, Hayden's second straight loss after six straight wins to start the season. Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein led Hayden with 16 points against the T-Birds while senior Lauren Borjon added 11 points. Emporia is coming off a 32-25 win over Circle.

KK Emmot, Shawnee Heights 

DE SOTO (2-3, 1-1) at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS (4-3, 3-1)

Shawnee Heights climbed above .500 with a 38-36 non-league win over Hayden last Friday at home. T-Bird junior KK Emmot scored 9 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter, including the game-winning free throws with 2.9 seconds remaining. Shawnee Heights has now won three straight games after starting the season 1-3. De Soto dropped a 45-34 United Kansas Conference decision to Seaman to close out its pre-holiday slate. 

WABAUNSEE (5-1, 2-1) at CAIR PARAVEL (3-3, 0-2)

Cair Paravel Latin ended its 2025 slate with a tight 40-37 Flint Hills League decision to Chase County while Wabaunsee is also coming off a loss, dropping a 68-37 league game to Osage City. London Backman leads CPLS with a 9.8 scoring average while Karsyn Hastert pulls down 5.7 rebounds per game.

Addaline Hall, Topeka West

TOPEKA WEST (1-5, 0-4) at LEAVENWORTH (3-2, 1-2)

Topeka West will be looking for its first United Kansas Conference victory Tuesday night at Leavenworth. Senior Addaline Hall leads the Chargers with a 10.8 scoring average while junior Sydney VanDyke averages 8.8 points and leads the city of Topeka in rebounding with 14.0 per game and in blocked shots with a 3.8 average. 

Brynn Anderson, Washburn Rural

WASHBURN RURAL (4-2, 0-0) at JUNCTION CITY (1-4, 0-0)

Washburn Rural will be playing its second game of 2026 in as many nights, opening Centennial League play against the Blue Jays after dropping a 50-35 non-league decision to Olathe North Monday night. Junior Blue freshman Brynn Anderson scored 14 first-half points with three 3-pointers against Olathe North, but sat out the second half after an injury late in the first half. Senior Hallie Walker had 9 points and 5 rebounds for Rural.

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