By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
After dropping its opening game against Topeka West on the road Washburn Rural boys basketball looked to even up its record Tuesday night against Emporia.
A 25-5 run in the first half would put the Junior Blues in control.
“It's about taking the lessons from the first game and improving on them,” said Rural coach Kevin Muff. “We took better care of the ball, better execution offensively, we did some good things.”
The 65-34 win moves Washburn Rural to 1-1 on the year and 1-1 in conference play after the home opener.
“It felt really good, home games are really important to win so getting the first one was good,” said junior Tre Morris. “After that first game we kept our heads up, we could have played better that first game but keeping our heads up brought us more momentum to here.”
After the Spartans got out to a 9-8 lead with 2:20 left in the opening quarter the Junior Blues offense picked up pace and attacked the basket, going on a 10-1 run to close the quarter with all baskets coming in the paint.
“I thought we were better about getting paint touches and just getting some shots inside,” Muff said.
Washburn Rural junior Jack Bachelor led the Junior Blues with 14 points in Tuesday's Centennial League 65-34 win over Emporia. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
The run continued into the second quarter as the lead grew to as many as 17 points after a putback by senior Brock Howard.
“I thought we were really good defensively … I was proud of how we got some steals and created some offensive opportunities with that,” Muff said.
Emporia junior Parker Leeds scored four points to put an end to the run. Leeds scored seven of the Spartans nine points in the quarter.
Free throws by junior Jack Bachelor made it a 37-19 game heading into the break.
Both teams were held scoreless in the third quarter until Leeds knocked down a free throw with 5:19 left in the quarter. After being quiet Washburn Rural’s pace and scoring picked up to close the quarter, including two 3--pointers by Morris.
The Junior Blues' defense remained active, holding the Spartans to just seven points in the quarter and expanding the lead to 24 points.
“It was our zone more than anything. When we go zone we got five or six stops but we couldn’t score,” Muff said.
Washburn Rural emptied its bench for most of the fourth quarter, trading baskets with Emporia for most of the quarter and growing the lead late to ease into the 31-point victory.
“You want to start taking steps towards being better. We are very young as far as experience. Jack Bachelor is the only starter we have back, we got a lot of new faces out there learning to play together and its going to take some time,” Muff said.
Bachelor did pace Washburn Rural with 14 points while Morris added 13, including three triples, and Quincey Kidd added nine.
For Emporia, Leeds led the way with 16 points while Ortega chipped in with eight.
Washburn Rural will be back home Friday against Highland Park.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 65, EMPORIA 34
Washburn Rural 18 19 13 15 -- 65
Emporia 10 9 7 8 -- 34
Washburn Rural (1-1, 1-1) -- Kidd 3 3-3 9, Morris 5 0-0 13, Bowen 2 0-1 5, Hirschi 0 0-0 0, J. Heim 1 0-0 2, Bachelor 5 2-2 14, Durst 2 1-1 5, J.C. Heim 2 2-2 6, Ross 1 0-0 2, Howard 2 0-0 4, Hanks 1 3-4 5. Totals 22-44 11-13 65.
Emporia (0-2, 0-2) -- Stewart 1 3-4 5, Leeds 6 1-2 16, Templeton 0 0-0 0, Rech 1 1-2 3, Hess 1 0-0 2, Seeley 0 0-0 0, Cooper 0 0-0 0, Ortega 3 1-3 8, Peters 0 0-0 0, Rios 0 0-0 0. Totals 12-36 6-11 34.
3-point goals – Washburn Rural 6 (Morris 3, Bachelor 2, Bowen 1), Emporia 4 (Leeds 3, Ortega 1). Turnovers – Washburn Rural 10, Emporia 16. Total fouls – Washburn Rural 16, Emporia 16. Fouled out – None.
