Welcome to Top Sports News

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

For nearly three and a half quarters of Tuesday's Centennial League game at Hayden, Emporia boys basketball didn't always look like an undefeated team.

Hayden senior Connor Hanika scored a game-high 22 points in the Wildcats' 59-56 loss to Emporia Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

But the Spartans were in top form when it counted the most, storming back from a 15-point deficit to shock the Wildcats 59-56 and improve to a perfect 9-0 overall and 1-0 in the league.

"I just told them, 'Just stay steady. You're going to get through this storm and you can't get down when it's not going your way,'' Emporia first-year coach Evan Burns said. "We were just trying to get a spark going.'' 

After a 10-10 tie at the end of the opening quarter, Hayden (3-6, 0-1) opened up 29-22 lead at halftime and stretched its advantage to 43-30 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Hayden looked like the rout was on when junior Carter Compton scored to put the Wildcats in front 53-38 with 4:47 remaining, but the rest of the game was all Spartans, who outscored the hosts 21-3 the rest of the way, including the final 13 points.

"We couldn't get anything going, we were missing easy layups and couldn't make anything and Hayden was making everything they threw up and their crowd was into it,'' Burns said. "But that's why we play this game, to just have opportunities like this to have memories forever.'' 

Emporia, who did not lead in the second or third quarters, tied the game at 56 with 1:30 remaining on a 3-pointer from junior Harrison Trelc and took the lead with 48.4 seconds remaining on a free throw from senior Rylan Crowell, who hit another charity with 28.7 seconds left to give the Spartans a 58-56 advantage before senior Maddox Shivley canned a free throw with 10.1 seconds remaining to account for the final margin.

"Honestly, I'm so happy for this type of game because it gives us that much more momentum to carry over and carry on,'' Burns said.

The Spartans outscored the Wildcats 29-13 in the fourth quarter.

Junior Terrick Franklin paced Emporia with 21 points while Crowell finished with 17 points and Trelc added 12.

Senior Connor Hanika scored a game-high 22 points for Hayden while Compton added 12 points.

Hayden will be on the road Friday at Washburn Rural for a Centennial League contest. 

EMPORIA BOYS 59, HAYDEN 56 

Emporia 10 12 8 29 -- 59

Hayden 10 19 14 13  -- 56

Emporia (9-0, 1-0) – Trelc 5-12 0-1 12, Seidl 0-5 0-0 0, C. Bloomquist 3-4 0-0 6, Crowell 4-13 8-11 17, Franklin 9-16 3-6 21, Shivley 0-2 1-2 1, Harrington 1-1 0-0 2, K. Bloomquist 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-53 12-20 59. 

Hayden (3-6, 0-1) – Mitchell 2-3 0-4 4, Hanika 9-14 4-5 22, Becker 2-7 1-2 6, Kidd 2-3 2-2 6, Compton 4-8 3-4 12, Tourtillott 2-6 0-0 4, Wolff 1-5 0-0 2. Totals 22-46 10-17 56.

3-point goals – Emporia 3 (Trelc 2, Crowell), Hayden 2 (Becker, Compton). Total fouls – Emporia 17, Hayden 20. Fouled out – Mitchell. Technical foul -- Emporia bench.

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Shawnee Heights girls relied on some new contributors to lead them past De Soto 64-46 at home Tuesday to improve to 4-1 in the United Kansas Conference.

Junior Pearmella Carter scored a game-high 19 points in Tuesday's 64-46 Shawnee Heights UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

With one minute remaining in the first period, the sluggish T-Birds found themselves in a 9-4 hole. But Reianna Vega dropped a 3-pointer just before the buzzer, which sparked a 22-point run over the next seven minutes. By halftime, the T-Birds had built a commanding 32-14 lead.

Shawnee Heights made that run with its usual scoring leader on the bench. KK Emmot, who averages 18 points per game, tallied just one bucket in the first half before being sidelined with two personal fouls. She returned in the second half, but did not score again.

Senior Imani McGlory and juniors Pearmela Carter and Sami Baum, none of whom played at Shawnee Heights last year, picked up the slack. Carter led the T-Birds with 19 points while Baum and McGlory added 15 and 14 apiece.

“We needed them to step up, and they did it within the execution of the team,” Shawnee Heights coach Bob Wells said. “That’s what I was most impressed with. They were getting the shots we want them to get. It was really fun seeing them all step up and hit shots and rebound and play solid on defense.”

One of the team’s three senior returners, Vega chipped in 13 points. She said the team responded when Emmot left early in the second period.

“I think all of us, with KK being out, we made sure we were spreading the floor and then each of us was able to drive the lane and do what we’re good at,” Vega said. “In practice, we’ve really worked on spreading out of offense because we tend to get really tight.”

The T-Bird offense had a very efficient night, hitting 23-51 field goal attempts and 12-15 free throws. Baum contributed three of the team’s six three-pointers.

“It helped that our girls were mentally prepared that (De Soto) was going to come out and try to be physical and try to hang on to us when we were cutting and doing things like that,” Wells said. “It didn’t get to us. We played through it and kept playing hard.”

After dropping three tough games in the first two weeks of the season, the T-Birds have won four straight.

“I feel like the season is getting better,” Vega said. “I feel like we’re on the rise and we’re going to keep going from there.”

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS GIRLS 64, De Soto 46

De Soto                 9 5  13 19 -- 46

Shawnee Heights 7 25 18 14 -- 64

De Soto (2-4, 1-2) – Emmot 1-9 0-0 2, McGlory 5-8 2-2 14, Carter 6-12 7-9 19, Baum 5-9 2-2 15, Vega 6-12 0-0 13, Hamilton 0-1 0-0 0, Schmidt 0-0 1-2 1, Brees 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 23-51 12-15 64.

Shawnee Heights (5-3, 4-1) – C. Leis 1-5 0-4 2, O’Brien 4-7 1-3 10, Cinotto 0-0 2-2 2, M. Leis 3-10 7-7 14, Chappel 3-6 1-1 8, Bush 1-3 0-0 3, Gulley 1-2 0-0 2, Stapp 1-1 0-0 2, Green 1-1 0-0 3, Major 0-2 0-0 0, Reiswig 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 15-37 11-17 46.

3-point goals – De Soto 5 (O’Brien 1, M. Leis 1, Chappel 1, Bush 1, Green 1), Shawnee Heights 6 (McGlory 2, Baun 3, Vega 1). Total fouls – De Soto 16, Shawnee Heights 15. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None. 

By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

Foul trouble and two long scoreless stretches foiled the Shawnee Heights boys’ attempt at a comeback win over De Soto Tuesday at Shawnee Heights. The T-Birds fell to the Wildcats, 51-50.

Ken Darting's Shawnee Heights boys came up just short in Tuesday's comeback bid, falling 51-50 to De Soto. [File photo/TSN]

Shuffling due to foul trouble and going to young, inexperienced players, coach Ken Darting nearly led the T-Birds to a come-from-behind win. But a last-second desperation shot produced by wild full-court pressure came up just short.

“It was a great game between two pretty good teams. But we were always playing uphill,” Darting said. “We did a poor job of getting the right people shooting. We got back in the game with defense, but then we became a 3-point shooting team instead of getting the ball in.”

Shawnee Heights trailed by just one point, 34-33, at halftime. But the T-Birds did not score for the first four minutes of the third period. After a five-point T-Bird run tied the game at 38-38, Shawnee Heights went back into a funk. They went another six minutes – three minutes into the fourth period – without scoring.

The T-Birds trailed 47-38 with five minutes remaining in the game. They cranked up the full-court pressure and came roaring back, outscoring the visitors 9-2 over the next three minutes. Freshman Quincy Dixon dropped a 3-pointer to cut the Wildcat lead to 49-47 with 2:10 left. Then Aiden Scott tied the game at 50-50 with a 3-pointer with 1:30 remaining.

But the T-Birds were unable to capitalize on the momentum. They fouled Wildcat senior Brayan Salas with 15 seconds left. He hit one of his two foul attempts, leaving the T-Birds to scramble for a final shot. A designed play failed. Shawnee Heights recovered a loose ball but a desperate heave at the buzzer just missed.

“We had two or three opportunities to take the lead, make them have to make the decision. We just about pulled it off,” Darting said.

Leading the T-Birds was Cam Ross with 12 points, followed by Dixon’s 11. Starters Scott, Ja’Veon Alston and Dae’Veon Cook each scored eight points apiece.

Pacing the Wildcats was Salas, who hit 5-9 field goal attempts, including four 3-pointers.

De Soto’s starting five was a mixed bag, but the Wildcats got key buckets from their reserves. Players off the De Soto bench hit 4-7 shots and 6-8 free throws to contribute 17 points. Darting got good effort from his reserves, but just three points.

“Our margin of error is small, and until we get everybody going in the right direction, we’re gonna keep coming up short,” Darting said. “We’re going to be in every game, but against the top echelon, it’s gonna be like this.”

DE SOTO BOYS 51, SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 50

De Soto                 24 10 9 8 -- 51

Shawnee Heights 17 16 5 12 -- 50

De Soto (3-3, 1-2) – Patterson 2-10 0-0 4, Dickerson 2-10 3-4 7, Morayah 1-1 0-0 2, Waite 2-6 1-3 5, Salas 5-9 2-4 16, Krier 0-1 2-2 2, Rapp 1-2 0-0 3, Brady 1-2 4-6 7, Morton 2-2 0-0 5. Totals: 16-43 12-19 51.

Shawnee Heights (3-4, 2-3) – Alston 3-6 2-2 8, Cook 3-8 1-2 8, Ross 4-16 4-6 12, Scott 3-5 0-0 8, Dixon 5-8 0-1 11, Becker 1-2 1-2 3, Terrell 0-1 0-0 0, Vega 0-0 0-0 0, Lee 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-46 8-13 50.

3-point goals – De Soto 7 (Salas 4, Rapp 1, Brady 1, Morton 1), Shawnee Heights 4 (Scott 2, Cook 1, Dixon 1). Total fouls – De Soto 15, Shawnee Heights 23. Fouled out – Scott. Technical fouls – Alston.