Welcome to Top Sports News
No. 3 Washburn men looking to bounce back from first loss in home tilt with No. 25 Lions
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
With its 22-game winning streak now in the rearview mirror after last Saturday's 74-72 loss at Central Missouri, all of Washburn University's attention is on the future, beginning with the No. 3-ranked Ichabods 7:30 p.m. Thursday matchup with No. 25-ranked Arkansas-Fort Smith in Lee Arena.
Washburn junior Jeremiah Jones (22) leads the nation in steals entering Thursday night's home MIAA contest with Arkansas-Fort Smith. [File photo/TSN]
"Coach (Brett Ballard) didn't say we needed that (loss), but he said it was good for us as a team and takes the pressure off of us to where we can go out and play free now and not worry about losing and just play hard,'' Ichabod junior Jeremiah Jones said.
"I think that was needed. Obviously the MIAA is very hard and very physical and any team can beat you on any night, so now we just don't want to let one loss become two or let two become three. Coach has really been harping on that and we know that Fort Smith is going to be really tough.''
Ballard said that trying to go undefeated was never something that the Ichabods talked about and said his team just wants to keep improving with postseason rapidly approaching.
"I never really took two thoughts about a team going undefeated,'' Ballard said. "We play the seventh hardest schedule in the country and playing in this league I don't give any thought to that. You just try to win the next one's that in front of you for sure.
"Our focus is just getting better and just trying to go win the next one. The most positive thing for me is we've just had more edge in our practices the last couple of days. I think the guys are hungry to get back on track.''
Washburn is 22-1 and 12-1 in the MIAA while Arkansas-Fort Smith is 18-4 and 9-4 in the MIAA after topping Fort Hays State at home last Saturday, 87-77.
Thursday's game is the only regular-season meeting between the Ichabods and the Lions this season.
The Ichabods have the No. 1-ranked scoring offense in the MIAA at 88.0 points per game while defensively the Ichabods have the No. 2-ranked scoring defense in the conference, allowing 63.0 points a game.
The Lions are averaging 83.6 points and allowing 69.8 points, ranking fourth on both MIAA stat charts.
Washburn has already recorded its 32nd 20-win season in program history and sixth under Ballard in his ninth season on the Ichabod bench.
The Ichabods are second in NCAA Division II in scoring margin at plus 25.0 and are ranked second in field goal percentage at 51.7 percent and second in rebound margin plus 10.9.
Jones leads the nation in total steals with 73 and is ranked third in steals per game at 3.32 per contest. Jones now has 75 steals this season, seven off the Ichabod single-season record of 82 set by Will McNeill in 2012-13. Jones needs two steals to break the junior class record of 76 set in 2012.
Washburn sophomore Dillon Claussen is ninth in the nation in field goal percentage at 63.2 percent while junior Jack Bachelor ranks 22nd nationally in assist to turnover ratio at 2.61 to 1.
Chargers rally for 74-69 home UKC win over Lions
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
The Topeka West Chargers entered Tuesday night coming off a four-point United Kansas Conference defeat at Kansas City-Piper Friday and would get off to a sluggish start against 8-9 Lansing.
Senior Malakyah Duncan led four Topeka West players in double figures Tuesday with 22 points as the Chargers rallied for a 74-69 UKC win over Lansing. [File photo/TSN]
But the Chargers came to life in the second half to pull out a 74-69 home victory over the Lions.
Junior Prince Lassiter would get Topeka West going with the first basket of the game, followed by a Gad Munganga 3-pointer to make it 5-0 Chargers.
But Lansing would answer to tie it up at 5 and the two teams would end the first quarter tied 15-15.
Lansing would come out of the quarter break on a run, going up 22-19, but West senior Keimani Paul would get a basket to take the lead 23-22. Lansing would take the lead back before Paul hit a 3 to make it 28-26.
The Lions then outscored West 11-4 to take the lead into halftime, 37-32.
As the first half belonged to the Lons the second half would be all Chargers.
"We didn't really execute in the first,'' Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker said. "You can tell in the third quarter we went out and we really got transition going.
"The third and fourth quarter, we really tried to push the tempo and use athleticism to our advantage.”
The Chargers would scratch and claw their way back in the third as they would go on a 6-0 run to make it 41-40, but the Lions would answer with a run to go back up 47-43.
Down 53-50, Paul would throw down a huge one-handed dunk to get West within a point.
“I mentioned to him for the last 10 to 12 games, he's been, and this might not be a very crucial word, but he's been steady,'' Ulsaker said. "I mean, he's just been the staple for our program the last 10 or 12 games.”
“That dunk got our energy up and that's what we needed,'' West senior Malakyah Duncan said. "We needed that energy. We just used that and just took it.”
Charger girls continue hot streak with 52-16 UKC romp past Lions
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Topeka West, winners of three of its last four games, hosted the Lansing Lions in a United Kansas Conference matchup Tuesday night, looking to keep its momentum going.
Senior Teairra Gonzales led a balanced attack with 14 points in Topeka West's 52-16 home UKC win over Lansing Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
And the Chargers achieved that goal in dominant fashion, rolling to a 52-16 victory.
“We have been playing some good basketball here lately,” said West coach Angie Ketterman.
The Chargers got off to a strong start as senior Patience Allen opened the scoring with two free throws for the early lead.
Lansing answered with a 3-pointer to briefly go ahead, but Allen quickly responded with a personal 6-0 run to give West a 9-5 advantage.
Teairra Gonzales then added five quick points to push the lead to 15-5 at the end of the first quarter.
Allen scored eight of her 13 points in the opening frame.
“I was getting open looks, and coach had been telling me that I need to be more aggressive and if I am open to take the shot,” Allen said.
Lansing struck first in the second quarter, but the Chargers responded with a 15-5 run.
Gonzales led the charge, scoring seven of her game-high 14 points in the quarter.
“Coach kept telling us to get off to a big start and go from there, get open looks and be aggressive,” Gonzales said.
Topeka West took a commanding 30-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Allen and Gonzales continued their strong play in the third quarter, helping spark a 6-0 run before Lansing finally broke through to make it 36-12.
The Chargers outscored the Lions 8-3 the rest of the period to extend the lead to 44-15 heading into the fourth quarter, triggering a running clock and all but sealing the victory.
