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Seaman boys avenge 2025 sub-state loss to Valley Center with 73-51 win
By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
The semifinal round of the Class 5A sub-state playoffs began Tuesday night as the Seaman Vikings hosted the Valley Center Hornets.
Senior Griffin Zuniga tied for game-high scoring honors with 19 points in Seaman's 73-51 sub-state win over Valley Center. [File photo/TSN]
Senior KaeVon Bonner tied for game-high scoring honors with 19 points in Seaman's 73-51 sub-state win over Valley Center. [File photo/TSN]
Tuesday's game was a rematch from the semifinals of sub-state last season when the Hornets upset the Vikings 68-61 in overtime. Tuesday's first half may have been a reminder of last year’s contest, but Seaman dominated the second half and won the game, 73-51.
The game began with a personal 5-0 run by Seaman senior Matthew McConnaughey over the first two minutes before Valley Center finally scored with a 3-pointer by junior Evan Chavez. Seaman had a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 12-3.
The teams played even for the remainder of the quarter and senior KaeVon Bonner hit a buzzer beating layup to give the Vikings a 23-15 at the end of one quarter.
As the second quarter began, the Hornets responded with a 9-2 run of their own with three 3-pointers, cutting the Vikings' lead to 25-24. Seaman seniors Bonner and Griffin Zuniga scored baskets to extend the Viking lead to 29-24, but Valley Center battled back to trail by only two at the half, 35-33.
The Hornets stayed close in the first half by hitting 7-14 from the 3-point line.
“When a guy hits a three, you have to adjust. When he hits two threes, you have to make a big adjustment and we weren’t doing that,'' Cox said. "We were sitting back, daring them to shoot and they kept making them.”
Another aspect of the close game at the half was the outcome of last year’s game creeping into the minds of the Vikings.
“We came in with a chip on our shoulder and had to come out with a good mindset and energy,” Zuniga said.
Bonner also referenced last year’s outcome.
“We lost to them in the same exact spot and I had been zero for three in sub-state, but it was nice to get this first win,” Bonner said.
“We came into that game last year with a false sense of security after beating them in the mid-season tournament,'' Cox said. "They played a really good game and beat us, so I reminded our guys about their team this year, how pesky they were and how close they’ve played against tough 6A schools like Wichita Heights and Maize.”
No. 2 seed West rolls to Class 5A sub-state final with 55-32 win over Hutch
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Underdog Hutchinson got Topeka West's attention with a strong first quarter in Tuesday's Class 5A West sub-state semifinal.
But that proved to be the Salthawks' undoing, with the No. 2-seeded Chargers outscoring No. 15 seed Hutch 34-10 over the middle two quarters en route to a 55-32 win at West.
Senior Keimani Paul scored a game-high 16 points in Topeka West's 55-32 Class 5A sub-state win over Hutchinson Tuesday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
"We came out a little bit slow the first quarter and we just knew that our defense was going to keep us in the game,'' said Topeka West senior Keimani Paul, who scored a game-high 16 points. "If we're not making shots, the defense was going to keep us in the game for sure.''
With the win the 21-3 Chargers advanced to a 6 p.m. sub-state final on Friday at West to face No. 7 seed Bishop Carroll (16-7). The Eagles advanced with a 62-53 win over Andover.
Hutchinson, which finished its season 7-16, led through most of the opening quarter and the game was tied at 12-all at the start of the second period.
"Their coach (Bryan Miller) did a great job,'' West coach Christian Ulsaker said. "I felt like they knew our offense better than we did at times. He was calling out everything, so our guys did a great job of adjusting to that and defensively we threw some different things at them to try to confuse them a little bit and get out and run.''
But at that point Topeka West took control, outscoring the Salthawks 18-6 in the second quarter to take a 30-18 lead at the half.
The Chargers then put the game away with a dominant 16-4 third quarter, taking a 46-22 lead into the fourth stanza and forcing a running clock at 55-24 with 4:44 remaining on a 3-pointer from senior Malakyah Duncan.
"We just wanted to get this game out of the way, quick, easy, and get ready for Bishop Carroll,'' Paul said.
"The guys came out a little jittery in the first quarter, but I feel like they settled in and did what they needed to do to get the win and move on to a team (Carroll) that we've kind of had circled now for about a week and a half,'' Ulsaker said.
"We knew this was a possiblity that we'd meet up with Bishop Carroll. They're very well-coached and will be ready to play.''
Freshman Dixon powers Shawnee Heights boys past De Soto, 49-37
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
For three quarters Tuesday night, Shawnee Heights' boys flirted with a semifinal collapse until a freshman put the T-Birds on his back and ensured they would survive their home sub-state match with De Soto, 49-37.
When his team needed someone to step up, freshman Quincy Dixon ripped off 13-straight points to make sure that Shawnee Heights, and retiring coach Ken Darting, would play again Friday.
Shawnee Heights freshman Quincy Dixon scored a game-high 19 points in Tuesday's 49-37 sub-state win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With Shawnee Heights clinging to a 33-31 lead, Dixon converted an old-fashioned three-point play with 5.4 seconds left in the third period. The freshman continued that theme, scoring two more three-point plays in the fourth quarter. Then Dixon hit four consecutive free throws to seal the win. Dixon hit 7-7 free throws on the night while the rest of the team hit just 6-14.
“From Day 1, Quincy’s been a senior-plus,” Darting said. “He’s the guy that takes over when nobody’s scoring. If he doesn’t have to score, he’ll distribute. He’s a mature basketball player.”
“Whatever my team needs me to be, I’ll be,” Dixon said. “If I need to be the leader, if I need to pick guys up, or if I need to follow the seniors, or if I need to lead the seniors, I’ll do whatever for my team to win.”
The fourth-seeded T-Birds got all they wanted from the 13 seed. Shawnee Heights came out sluggish, shot poorly and turned the ball over often in the first half. The home team trailed 14-10 after one period and 25-21 at the half. In the first half, Shawnee Heights hit just 8-23 attempts while allowing the Wildcats to shoot 10-17 from the field.
“In practice and in every other game, we always talk about adversity and how we’re going to bounce back, don’t let it get in our heads,” Dixon said. “Tonight, we had adversity, we bounced back. We just played together, we all stepped up and I think we all did our part.”
The T-Birds locked in at the defensive end, holding De Soto to just six points in the third period, and just six more in the fourth. That allowed Dixon’s 13-point spree to turn the tables.
