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Kingcannon’s 26 not enough as Scots fall to KC-Washington, 62-51
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Junior JoJo Kingcannon scored a game-high 26 points for Highland Park Tuesday night, but Kansas City-Washington pulled away in the second half for a 62-51 Meadowlark Conference win at Hi Park.
Junior JoJo Kingcannon (11) led Highland Park with 26 points in the Scots' 62-51 loss to Kansas City-Washington Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
The Scots, who lost nine seniors from a year ago and with Kingcannon being the lone returner with major varsity experience and coach Nate Wallace in his first season as a head coach, Highland Park knew it was going to go through growing pains this season and entered Tuesday's game on a five-game losing streak.
“Poise. I think we're losing the close ones that we have lost over the season just because of the experience factor, understanding how to value the possession, understanding kind of what I want and who I want to have the ball at certain times of certain possessions to give us the best opportunity to win,'' Wallace said.
Both teams would come out giving everything they had early as they would trade basket for basket and tie it up at six early in the game.
After a Washington 3-pointer, which the Scots would answer with a Kingcannon 3 for his seventh point of the first quarter to make it 9-9, Washington would then hit two consecutive treys to end the quarter with the 15-9 lead.
The second quarter would see both teams light up the scoreboard as Kingcannon would go to work again for his team.
Kingcannon would score the first basket of the quarter and later score five straight points to get within one at 21-20.
The Wildcats and Scots would continue to battle it out until Kingcannon would drive and get the and-one to tie it up 26 and hit the ensuing free throw to giver Highland Park the lead by a point.
Washington would then get fouled and make both free throws to re-take the lead at 28-26 before Kingcannon would drive again and get the shot to go back up 29-28.
Washington would then out-score the Scots 7-1 in the final two minutes of the second quarter to go into halftime with the lead, 35-30.
The Scots would come out of the locker room with sophomore Davion Anderson hitting his first basket of the night with a 3-pointer to get within two before Kingcannon would get fouled shooting a 3-pointer and hit all three charities to enable Highland Park to re-take the lead, 36-35.
Elliot Berry for Washington would get a shot to fall and give Washington a 37-36 advantage and that would be all it wrote for the Scots, who would run out of gas at the end of the quarter when Washington would go on a 11-0 run to make it 52-40 to end the third.
The Scots would play catch-up in the fourth and came up short in the 11-point defeat.
Shawnee Heights girls rout UKC foe KC-Turner, 68-3
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
No. 6-ranked (Class 5A) Shawnee Heights girls basketball picked up win No. 13 on the season Tuesday night, rolling to a 68-3 United Kansas Conference home win over Kansas City-Turner.
Junior Pearmella Carter scored a game-high 15 points in Tuesday's 68-3 Shawnee Heights UKC win over KC-Turner. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“We talked about keeping the bar high and executing and doing the things that we need to work on and not just do whatever we want and just run around, but get some good out of this,” T-Bird coach Bob Wells said.
“There were some things out there that even tonight showed up that we need to work on and the girls were made aware of that after the game and when we took them out of the game that we have to finish this But we’ll take a win any time we can get it.”
Shawnee Heights created a lot of turnovers leading to easy buckets in transition and just never looked back. The three points for Turner are the second lowest total they’ve had this season after scoring two against Basehor-Linwood earlier this year.
SHHS dominated from the jump and did not let off the gas pedal.
Junior Pearmella Carter scored the team's first four points, leading the team to a 10-0 run and a timeout by Turner with 6:16 left in the first quarter.
That was the start of a 35-0 run to begin the game, led by Carter with 11 of the team's first 17 points. Senior Imani McGlory and junior KK Emmot hit one each from distance and the rout was on.
Turner scored its first basket with seven minutes left in the second quarter by Alyasia Ollie. Wells emptied his bench with 6:30 left in the quarter, leaving McGlory out there as the only starter, but then the starters came back in the game for the last 2:30 left of the half.
Heights took a 48-point lead into the break, 51-3. In the third quarter it was more of the same, as Emmott scored five straight pushing the score to 59-3 and Wells emptied the bench again.
Wells would then bring the starters back out to start the fourth quarter but then the bench came back at the 4:45 mark and finished the game, as a running clock was used throughout the final stanza.
Wells said he kept bringing back the starters because it was to help them keep their head in the game.
“We were working on some different rotations if a player is hurt or sick, foul trouble, things like that and see different kids out there playing with each other,” Wells said.
Sophomore Aniya Karlyle caught the attention of Wells in this game, taking advantage of her playing time off the bench.
“She came in and did a very good job of rebounding and she’s a kid that’s really starting to come on,'' Wells said. "And a few other kids did some nice things, too. They just need to get that varsity experience with a few more people on the court.''
Junior KK Emmot scored 11 points in Shawnee Heights' 68-3 UKC rout over KC-Turner Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Carter led all scorers with 15 points, Emmot had 11 points, senior Reianna Vega had 10 and McGlory finished with nine points.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 68, KC-TURNER 3
KC-Turner 0 3 0 0 – 3
Shawnee Heights 35 16 12 5 – 68
KC Turner (3-12) -- Chavez 0 0-4 0, Berry 0 0-2 0, Olsen 0 0-2 0, Ollie 1 1-2 3, High 0 0-2 0.
Shawnee Heights (13-4) -- Emmot 3 3-3 11, Brees 2 0-0 4, Aubrey Hamilton 2 0-0 4, McGlory 4 0-0 9, Schmidt, 1 2-2 4, Pierce 2 0-0 5, Allie Hamilton 0 0-2 0 Carter 7 1-2 15, Baum 1 2-2 4, Karlyle 1 0-0 2, Vega 5 0-0 10.
3-point goals -- Shawnee Heights 4 (Emmot 2, McGlory, Pierce). Total fouls -- KC Turner 11, Shawnee Heights 12. Fouled out -- none.
Shawnee Heights boys basketball handles Turner down the stretch in 76-54 UKC win
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Kansas City-Turner kept things close most of the way Tuesday night at Shawnee Heights until the fourth quarter when the T-Birds opened the flood gates en route to a 76-54 United Kansas Conference win.
Shawnee Heights freshman Quincy Dixon scored a game-high 20 points in Tuesday's 76-54 UKC win over KC-Turner. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“The finish of the final quarter was dominating and we did it with defense,” Heights coach Ken Darting said. “What we’re not grasping is that when you’re basically playing five guys for 32 minutes, you have to play 100 percent all the time and nothing less. We have to get more help off the bench or we’re going to be in trouble.”
Junior Cam Ross scored 18 points in Shawnee Heights' 76-54 UKC win over KC-Turner Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Cam Ross had himself a nice first quarter drilling a triple early on to push the T-Birds to a 5-0 lead, and senior JaiMarion Cook made it 10-5 before Ross had a steal and went coast to coast, threw down a dunk with one hand with a defender all over him. He then would hit a three late in the quarter to make it 17-7 and SHHS led 19-10 after one.
The Bears would go on a 9-0 run to begin the second quarter after Xaire Davis hit a three to make it 20-19. Shawnee Heights would quickly regain the lead after freshman Quincy Dixon converted an and-one opportunity.
The lead would get back to five after another Cook three from the left wing but Darion McBride tied the game at 28 for Turner after he, too, converted an and-one and that's where the game stood at halftime, 28-28.
The game would go back and forth for a little bit in the third quarter but then the T-Birds built a lead once again thanks to senior Ja’Veon Alston and Dixon, creating a 10-2 run and forcing the Bears into a timeout at 43-35.
After another Ross dunk and a Aiden Scott buzzer-beating layup, Shawnee Heights led by 10, 47-37 going into the fourth.
The Bears would bring its deficit down to seven after a Cedric Scott three, but after that Turner committed several turnovers leading to transition points along with fastbreak opportunities and the lead grew to 63-47 before Turner called another timeout.
