By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Particularly with senior standout Aron Davis still on the sidelines after a summer knee injury, the Seaman boys basketball team that took the floor Friday night against Lansing didn't bear much resemblance to the Viking team that won the Class 5A state championship last season, with senior Kaeden Bonner the lone player that played major minutes a year ago.
Senior Kaeden Bonner scored a game-high 15 points as Seaman took a 56-35 win over Lansing in the Vikings' UKC debut Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Craig Cox's Seaman Vikings stretched their winning streak to 12 games with Friday's 56-35 win over Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But the new-look Vikings got the job done in their season-opener, going wire to wire for a 56-35 home win in Seaman's United Kansas Conference debut while stretching its win streak to 12 games.
"I was really pleased with our defense,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "We recognize that Lansing didn't shoot it as well as they're going to as the season goes on, but we were really good in our help defense and I thought we did a nice job of rebounding.
"It's always good to get a good start and then it will get really tough on Tuesday with Topeka West, knowing that they're going to come over here and be a real challenge.''
Seaman opened the game with 11 straight points, holding Lansing without a point until the 3:18 mark of the opening quarter and without a field goal until the 1:48 mark.
Lansing got no closer than four points the rest of the night and Seaman held a double-digit advantage for the entire second half after senior Trey Parsel opened the second half with a 3-pointer to give the Vikings a 27-13 cushion.
Seaman went on to lead by as many as 27 points (49-22) as 12 players saw playing time and nine players scored.
Lansing did not score more than eight points over the first three quarters before scoring 15 in the fourth period well after the game had been decided.
Veteran Kaeden Bonner scored a game-high 15 points to lead the Vikings while junior Holden Finley added nine points and Parsel and sophomore Bryer Finley seven apiece.
Lansing did not have a player score more than seven points.
Davis is also expected to miss Tuesday's game against Topeka West but is on target to return to action in the near future.
SEAMAN BOYS 56, LANSING 35
Lansing 8 5 7 15 -- 35
Seaman 15 9 14 18 -- 56
Lansing (0-1, 0-1) -- Expose 1-2 1-2 3, Grafke 1-11 0-0 3, Winton 0-2 1-3 1, Butler 1-3 0-0 2, French 3-8 0-0 6, Thomas 2-3 0-3 5, Anderson 0-1 0-0 0, Allen 0-1 0-0 0, Zimmerman 0-1 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Crawford 3-4 0-0 7, Turner 0-1 0-0 0, Graber 1-2 2-2 5, Stephens 0-0 0-0 0, Kell 1 0-0 3. Totals 13-40 4-10 35.
Seaman (1-0, 1-0) -- Parsel 3-7 0-0 7, Freeman 1-4 3-4 5, Thompson 1-6 0-0 3, Kaeden Bonner 4-6 5-8 15, B. Finley 2-6 2-2 7, Bethea 1-1 0-0 2, KaeVon Bonner 1-1 1-3 3, H. Finley 3-5 1-4 9, Unruh 0-1 0-0 0, Chapman 2-2 0-0 5, Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Phillips 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-39 12-21 56.
3-point goals -- Lansing 5 (Grafke, Thomas, Crawford, Graber, Kell), Seaman 8 (Kaeden Bonner 2, H. Finley 2, Parsel, Thompson, B. Finley, Chapman). Total fouls -- Lansing 17, Seaman 15. Fouled out – none.
