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Tuesday prep BB roundup: Hi Park boys survive Meadowlark Conference test with Atchison, 51-48
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Highland Park took command of the Meadowlark Conference boys basketball race Tuesday night with a hard-earned 51-48 road win at Atchison.
Senior Mikey Williams led Highland Park with 17 points in Tuesday's 51-48 Meadowlark Conference victory over Atchison. [File photo/TSN]
Top-ranked (Class 5A) Highland Park, which improved to 12-0 overall and 5-0 in the conference, led 14-12 at the end of the opening quarter and 23-18 at halftime before Atchison (7-4, 3-2) cut its deficit to 39-38 at the start of the fourth quarter.
The Scots held a 12-10 advantage over the final eight minutes to hold on for the win.
Highland Park senior Mikey Williams scored 8 of the Scots' 12 fourth-quarter points and went 4 of 4 at the free throw line en route to finishing with 17 points.
Senior Ja'Corey Robinson added 14 points for the Scots.
Junior Kailyn Hanni (4) scored 16 points in Silver Lake's 50-49 win over Rock Creek Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Silver Lake girls edge Rock Creek, 50-49
Junior Kailyn Hanni led the way with 16 points as Silver Lake improved to 9-1 with a 50-49 non-league win at Rock Creek Tuesday night.
The Eagles trailed 15-14 after one quarter, 26-24 at the half and 42-39 at the start of the fourth quarter before Silver Lake closed with an 11-7 edge over the final eight minutes to pull out the win.
Taylor Zordel and Ella Bolan added 12 points apiece for the Eagles.
Lucy Martinie led Rock Creek with 13 points and Kylee Frazee added 10.
Home sweet home! Ky Thomas stoked to close out college football career for hometown Ichabods
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Even the casual local football fan knows the name Ky Thomas, but it may have been awhile since you've heard as much about the former Topeka High legend.
Former Topeka High superstar running back Ky Thomas is back home for his final collegiate season, transferring to Washburn University. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
That will change this fall, with the 6-foot, 200-pound running back coming home to play his final collegiate season for Zach Watkins' Ichabods after previous stops at Minnesota, Kansas and, most recently, Kent State
"It feels good, it feels great,'' Thomas told TopSports.news. "Coach Watkins, speaking to him and seeing his vision that he had for this offseason and the season and for me moving forward and everything he has planned, it was easy to trust and easy to come back home and be a part of this.''
A 2020 Topeka High graduate, Thomas finished his prep football career for the Trojans in 2019 as the city's all-time rushing leader and the No. 2 rusher in state history with 7,703 yards, including 3,009 yards as a senior, when he was named the Gatorade Player of the Year.
Thomas began his college career at Minnesota, where as a redshirt freshman he led the Gophers with 824 rushing yards and six touchdowns on 166 carries and capped his Minnesota career with 144 rushing yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, earning offensive most valuable player honors in the Guaranteed Rate Bowl in Phoenix.
Former Kansas running back Ky Thomas scored a pair of TDs in the 2022 Liberty Bowl. [Photo by Sarah Carson/Special to TSN]
Thomas then transferred to Kansas for the 2022 season, rushing for 162 yards and two touchdowns on 53 carries while catching five passes for 39 receiving yards and a TD. Thomas scored two touchdowns, on a 29-yard pass reception and a 2-yard run, in Kansas’ 55-53 triple-overtime loss to Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl.
T-Birds continue hot streak with 82-30 UKC rout over Leavenworth
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
There was no letdown for the Shawnee Heights boys Tuesday night.
Jaret Sanchez led the way with 21 points as Shawnee Heights improved to 9-2 with an 82-30 UKC win over Leavenworth Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The T-Birds followed up their thrilling Shawnee Mission West Viking Classic championship with a blowout of Leavenworth 82-30 at Shawnee Heights.
The T-Birds picked up where they left off last weekend, drilling their first seven shots Tuesday. But it was the Shawnee Heights defense that was the catalyst. The T-Birds made such a routine of turning over the Pioneers, they only permitted the visitors 29 shot attempts in the game.
The turnovers converted to fast break attempts at the other end, which senior Jaret Sanchez said is precisely the plan.
“Coach (Ken Darting) said at the beginning of the season that he wants like 65 to 70 percent of our points to be in transition on turnovers,” Sanchez said. “All of us are just buying in, knowing that if we go for a passing lane and miss, we have our teammates behind us to back us up and they’re going to get a stop.”
The T-Birds bolted to a 27-9 first quarter lead and continued to pile on. They held the Pioneers to just three points in the second period and led 44-12 at intermission. Darting substituted liberally in the second half, which was quickened by a running clock in the fourth period.
Deacon Pomeroy scored 13 points in Shawnee Heights' 82-30 win over Leavenworth Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Ontarius Emmot scored 10 points in Tuesday's 82-30 UKC win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Nine T-Birds scored in the game. Sanchez led Shawnee Heights with 21 points. Deacon Pomeroy contributed 13, while Da’Quan Lee and Ontarius Emmot each scored 10. Players off the bench got in the act, including senior Andrew Ledell, who drilled three shots for eight points.
“It’s the best feeling seeing your friends that you grew up with go out there and get buckets and make plays,” Sanchez said. “We put hard work in every day at practice and then just see everybody shine.”
