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By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

EMPORIA -- There were a lot of positives for Hayden's boys basketball team in Tuesday's opening round game in the Paul Terry Classic, with the Wildcats building a 17-point lead over Basehor-Linwood late in the first half and leading by seven points with just a minute remaining.

Senior Connor Hanika (3) scored 17 points to tie for team-high scoring honors in Tuesday's 63-62 Hayden loss to Basehor-Linwood in the first round of the Paul Terry Classic. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Junior Carter Compton (12) scored 17 points with three 3-pointers in Hayden's 63-62 loss to Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

But the way the game ended left a sour taste in Hayden's mouth, with the Bobcats storming back to take a 63-62 win over the Wildcats on a pair of free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining.

Hayden junior Mason Becker raced downcourt to get up a potential game-winning shot, but his attempt bounced off the rim as time ran out, dropping the Wildcats to 2-2 on the season.

Hayden didn't get its entire team together until just days before its first game due to the Wildcats' run to the Class 3A state football championship game, leaving Dwayne Anthony's team with precious little practice time.

But Anthony refused to use that as an excuse for Hayden's late-game problems Tuesday.

"I don't think we can blame that on practice time,'' Anthony said. "I think we've got to blame that on abandoning the things that got us to those leads.''

But Anthony was quick to say that the Wildcats will use Tuesday loss as a learning experience and will move on.

"I like my guys, and if that's the challenge that we have is not being hard-headed and sticking the course, then we'll be just fine,'' Anthony said. "We're going to learn, because this hurts.''

Hayden took a 32-15 lead with 1:33 left in the first half on a three-point play from junior Carter Compton, but the Bobcats (1-1) scored the final six points of the half to gain some momentum.

Basehor-Linwood, which got a huge 28-point night from junior Elliott Brown, continued to rally in the third quarter, getting as close as a point and trailing 43-40 at the start of the fourth quarter.

Hayden held off the Bobcats through most of the final stanza and led 60-53 with a minute left before Basehor-Linwood ended the game with a 10-2 run, getting the game-winning charities from senior Chase Young.

Senior Connor Hanika and Compton scored 17 points apiece to lead Hayden while Becker added 11 points.

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The new-era Seaman girls recorded their first win Tuesday, blasting visitor Lansing 65-18 in a home United Kansas Conference contest.

Freshman Baylee Ayres led Seaman with 14 points in Tuesday's 65-18 UKC win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Vikings, who are replacing four starters and a ton of production from last year’s state runnerup, rebounded from a tough loss in the season opener against Piper last Tuesday.

“It’s good to get the smiles again,” Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. “I told the girls, ‘Show me that you learned from the first game. Show me that you learned from the practices we had after that.' And I thought the girls did that tonight. I saw a lot of growth just in those few practices we had and that game.”

The Vikings’ rebuilding effort took a step forward with a big second half. Shots started falling and newcomers got in the groove. Junior Brynn Spencer and freshman Kallie Zurmely combined to knock down five of six attempts from beyond the arc after halftime.

But it was another freshman, Baylee Ayres, who led the Vikings in scoring with 14 after not even playing in the first period. After recording four points in the loss to Piper, Ayers connected on five of seven field goal attempts and four of six free throws against Lansing.

“It’s not a surprise,” Tinsley said of Ayers. “We see her effort in practice. She gave us a nice lift. She brings a lot of energy, she’s athletic, and she plays that to her strengths. She’ll continue to get better with confidence.”

The Vikings were hoping to get right against an opponent who had been blown out in its first two outings. But the Lions hung around for more than 13 minutes before it got away. After Seaman ran out to a 13-2 lead, Lansing fought back. By scoring nine points early in the second quarter, Lansing cut the Seaman lead to 17-13. That point total eclipsed the Lions’ average of 10 points from their first two losses.

Seaman responded to the threat by running off 13 unanswered points to extend its halftime lead to 30-13.

Nine different Vikings scored, with four players tallying at least nine points. But it was the defense that produced the rout. Seaman swarmed the Lions, allowing the visitors just one field goal in the second half. In fact, Lansing was permitted just 20 field goal attempts in the contest, of which they hit just six.

Senior Maddie Gragg (32) scored 12 points for Seaman in Tuesday's 65-18 UKC win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

For senior Maddie Gragg, a key contributor to back-to-back tournament runs, getting the win helped ease the pain of the rocky start.

“It was rough from the beginning,” Gragg said of the ongoing transition. “I think the first game, everybody was just really nervous. But I think this game was definitely better for us because it’s a lower level (of competition) and everyone got to step up to the plate and score and contribute to it.”

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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Seaman Vikings' all-senior starting lineup scored all 71 of the team’s points Tuesday in a battle with Lansing that was closer than the 14-point margin would indicate.

Senior Landon Wiltz scored 23 points to lead Seaman in Tuesday's 71-57 UKC home win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

The Vikings followed up an opening-night win over Piper by downing the Lions 71-57 at Seaman. The home team led from start to finish, but saw its margin cut to three points at the end of the third period. Still leading by just five with 2:39 remaining, the Vikings put the pedal down, outscoring the winless Lions 12-3 the rest of the way.

“I told the guys after the game what I was impressed with was our defensive adjustments,” said Seaman coach Craig Cox. “Once they got into a flow and figured out what was working for them, we were able to play some better help-defense and take away some of those post-entries and make it a little bit tougher on them down the stretch.”

The Vikings struggled to contain Lansing junior Deacon Manthe, a 6-foot-7 forward who drove to find open jumpers and sliced on the baseline to get to the rim. Manthe hit six of seven shots in the first half, but was held scoreless in the third period before hitting three shots to fire the Lansing comeback.

“He’s going to rise up and shoot it over the top of you, and he’s got such a soft touch, he’s a tough kid to guard,” Cox said. “He definitely makes them better at every position.”

Seaman didn’t need senior KaeVon Bonner to repeat his 37-point outburst against Piper. The Vikings got 23 points from Landon Wiltz and 15 from Griffin Zuniga. Carter Brian scored all seven of his points in the first period. And Matthew McConnaughey hit five of six free throws for all of his points.

Senior KaeVon Bonner scored 21 points and dished out 10 assists in Seaman's 71-57 UKC win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

That kind of output from the starters takes pressure off Bonner, who dished out 10 assists to go with his 21 points.

“I think that as we progress, that will become more of what we try to develop, not putting it entirely in (KaeVon’s) hands,” Cox said.

Lansing held Seaman scoreless for the final four minutes of the second period, cutting a 14-point deficit to five. But Wiltz received a pass from Bonner and buried a three-pointer at the buzzer to send Seaman to the locker room with an eight-point lead.

“It was a little closer at the end of the second quarter and then I feel like that three at the end really changed that, gave us momentum,” Wiltz said. “When (KaeVon) drives, you’ve always got to be ready because he’s not looking at you half the time (when he passes to you) so you’ve got to be ready and ready to shoot it down.”

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