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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural senior Jack Bachelor has been named the Centennial League boys basketball player of the year and is joined on the all-league first team by Hayden senior Joe Otting and Topeka High junior Isaiah Lyons.
Bachelor helped lead the Junior Blues to a 15-6 overall record and a share of the Centennial League championship with a 7-2 record.
Washburn Rural senior Jack Bachelor has been named the Centennial League player of the year after helping lead the Junior Blues to a 15-6 record and a share of the league title. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden senior Joe Otting (33) has received first-team All-Centennial League recognition from the league coaches. [File photo/TSN]
Topeka High senior Isaiah Lyons (1) has been named to the All-Centennial League first team by league coaches. [File photo/TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Wyatt Conklin and sophomore Amare Jones and Hayden junior Jacob Padilla were named to the All-Centennial League second team.
Rural sophomore Kaden Ballard, Hayden senior Jake Muller, Topeka High senior Mason Gomez and Trojan sophomore Da'Mykel Hales received honorable mention.
Emporia's Jalyn King, Manhattan's Jack Wilson and Junction City's Michael Boganowski were also named to the all-league first team while King was named the league newcomer of the year.
Emporia's Lee Baldwin was voted the Centennial League coach of the year.
ALL-CENTENNIAL LEAGUE BOYS BASKETBALL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Bo Aldridge
BO ALDRIDGE, Highland Park
Aldridge, a 6-foot-4 senior, scored 47 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in Highland Park's three Class 5A state tournament games, helping the Scots cap a 24-1 season with a third-place state finish. Aldridge scored 24 points with four 3-pointers and grabbed eight rebounds in Hi Park's 55-54 semifinal loss to eventual state champion Andover and scored 16 points with six rebounds in Saturday's 79-46 win over Hutchinson in the third-place game.
Anna Becker
ANNA BECKER, Seaman
Becker, a 5-foot-10 sophomore, earned the girls player of the year honor in the United Kansas Conference after leading Seaman to the UKC championship and a berth in the Class 5A state tournament. Becker had eight points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in the Vikings' first-round state loss to St. James Academy, with Seaman finishing its season with a 21-2 record.
Brooklyn DeLeye
BROOKLYN DE LEYE, Washburn Rural
De Leye, a 6-foot-2 senior, scored 14 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in Washburn Rural's 35-34 loss to Blue Valley North in Saturday's Class 6A girls state championship game. De Leye, who helped Rural win the 6A state basketball title as a junior and the 6A volleyball title as a senior, scored 43 points and grabbed 37 rebounds in the Junior Blues' three state tournament contests.
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- Washburn Rural watched a big first-half lead slowly evaporate, finally losing it in the final seconds, as the Junior Blues came just one point short of repeating as Class 6A champs, falling to Blue Valley North 35-34 Saturday night at Koch Arena.
A disappointed Washburn Rural team leaves the floor Saturday night at Koch Arena while Blue Valley North celebrates its Class 6A title after a 35-34 win. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Brooklyn DeLeye ended her high school basketball career with 14 points and 12 rebounds in Washburn Rural's 35-34 loss to Blue Valley North in the 6A state final. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural's bench celebrates a Junior Blue 3-pointer during Saturday's 35-34 loss to Blue Valley North in the Class 6A championship game. [Photo by Selena Favela/Special to TSN]
Washburn Rural senior Chloe Carlgren goes up for a shot in Saturday's 35-34 loss to Blue Valley North in the Class 6A state championship game. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Blue Valley North claimed its fourth state championship by dropping two free throws with 17 seconds left, which gave the Mustangs their first lead since midway through the first period.
Blue Valley North then raced to the other end to thwart a last-ditch charge to the basket by Washburn Rural’s Chloe Carlgren.
With just a few ticks left on the clock, Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick opted not to take a time out, instead letting his team try to make a play. Carlgren drove the baseline and put up a jumper in a crowd that fell just short.
“My mindset was that usually you can get a good look, and I thought we had a decent look,” Bordewick said of the final play. “I would like to have seen if we could go to the free throw line in that case, because I really felt like there was some contact there. But they didn’t call it and we have to live with that.
"I think that a lot of times we’ve been successful just going and creating something. I thought Chloe had a good run at it.”
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
HUTCHINSON – Silver Lake’s outstanding 2023 campaign ended on Saturday morning when the Eagles dropped the Class 3A third-place game to Phillipsburg in a 58-45 loss at the Hutchison Sports Arena.
Silver Lake's girls finished fourth in Saturday's Class 3A state tournament, finishing the season with a 23-3 record. [Photo by Isaac Deer/TSN]
With the loss to Phillipsburg (24-1), the Eagles finished their season with a 23-3 record. Their three losses were all to teams (Riley County, Goodland and Phillipsburg) that were in the 3A state tournament.
In Silver Lake’s 23 wins, 21 contests were won by double-digits. In the last three years Silver Lake made the 3A state tournament, the Eagles have had a combined record of 47-5.
Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter’s teams have created a powerhouse and are knocking on the doorstep of making history.
Porter is well-aware his team will have a great chance of being back in the mix of things next year.
The Eagles return several contributors, including three starters who have had their hand in the success. Juniors Makenzie McDaniel, McKinley Kruger and Kaibryn Kruger will return in the starting five next year.
The trio had a great all-around tournament. M. Kruger had a 20-point night in the opening round win against Santa Fe Trail, K. Kruger made a series of clutch shots in the postseason that elevated the Eagles to a higher level and McDaniel walked away from the Phillipsburg game with a 22-point, 14 rebound double-double.
Seniors Mariah Farmer, Taylor Ross and Juliya Seele played their final game for the Eagles on Saturday.
“With our players, anything less than a state championship seems like a disappointment,” Porter said. “But it hasn’t, and it has been a very rewarding season. The growth that each player has made throughout the year, the way they play together, and the way they care about each other is something special.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Highland Park's one-point, last-second loss in Friday's Class 5A semifinal game will probably always hurt.
But the Scots handled that heartbreak in the best way possible, taking out their frustration on Hutchinson in a 79-46 rout in Saturday's third-place game at White Auditorium.
Highland Park poses with its Class 5A third-place trophy after completing a 24-1 season with a 79-46 romp past Hutchinson. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Highland Park seniors Bo Aldridge (1) and Jahmir Kingcannon (2), who combined for 38 points, leave the court after Saturday's 79-46 win over Hutchinson. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Highland Park seniors Tre Richardson and Quentin Adams celebrate at the end of the Scots' 79-46 win over Hutchinson in the Class 5A third-place game. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Highland Park coach Mike Williams said he was extremely proud of how his team answered the bell less than 24 hours after the 55-54 loss to Andover.
"You never know because we hadn't had to come back from it this year, so it was definitely new ground,'' Williams said. "But we've got guys in our locker room, players and coaches that have played this game dang near our whole life and you win some and you lose some so we have been in this boat before. Maybe not at this magnitude, but its about picking yourself back up.
"Losses feel heavy and hard at the moment and that is one we're going to carry for awhile for sure, but I do think that we gained a great experience and we did some amazing things this year and I watched a group of boys become men.''
Highland Park trailed just once in the game, at 2-0, and steadily pulled away as the game wore on, finishing its season at 24-1 as seniors Jahmir Kingcannon, Bo Aldridge and Tre Richardson combined for 52 points while outscoring Hutchinson (22-3) by themselves.
The Scots built a 15-10 lead by the end of the opening quarter and went up by double-digits (22-12) at the 6:10 mark of the second quarter on a tip-in from Aldridge.
Senior A'Ydren Drew-Gregory made it a commanding 35-22 lead at the half and the Scots opened the second half with an 8-2 run to take an insurmountable 43-24 advantage.
Highland Park led 52-34 at the start of the fourth quarter and it was showtime the rest of the way, with the Scots outscoring the Salthawks 27-12 over the final eight minutes.
Kingcannon finished with a game-high 22 points while hitting five of six 3-point attempts and eight of 10 shots overall.
"We lost a tough one yesterday so we had to come back and fight,'' Kingcannon said. "We had to have character and end the season on a 'W.' ''
Kingcannon agreed that Saturday might have been one of the best games of his career and said he had an inkling in the Scots' shoot-around that he was ready to go.
"It was definitely one of my best games,'' Kingcannon said. "I take my pregame shoot-around very seriously and that's what led to me having a great game.''
Aldridge added 16 points while Richardson had 14 points while going seven of eight from the field.
Sophomore Jacorey Robinson finished with six points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Scots while junior Tamir Anderson had six points on two 3-pointers.
"The reality of it is that two teams in every classification end every year with a win -- your champion and your third-place game,'' Williams said. "This is the first time that we've been able to have a win in the very last game of the year. It makes it a little bit bittersweet but at least it's little bit of sweetness in there.''
Highland Park shot 56.6 percent from the field, including 70.8 percent in the second half, while limiting Hutchinson to a 31.7-percent shooting night.
The Scots were nine of 19 from 3-point range while Hutch was just two of 26 from outside the arc.
Terrell King led Hutchinson with 17 points, the lone Salthawk in double figures.
HIGHLAND PARK BOYS 79, HUTCHINSON 46
Hutchinson 10 12 12 12 -- 46
Highland Park 15 20 17 27 -- 79
Hutchinson (22-3) -- King 7-14 3-5 17, Robertson 0-12 0-1 0, Meyer 3-8 1-1 9, King 4-7 1-2 9, Lange 3-7 0-0 6, Lewis 0-1 1-2 1, Clark 0-0 0-0 0, Spiller 0-0 0-0 0, Heneha 0-1 0-0 0, Rodriguez 0-2 0-0 0, Smith 1-6 0-0 2, Van Syckle 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 19-60 6-11 46.
Highland Park (23-1) -- Richardson 7-8 0-0 14, Aldridge 5-9 5-6 16, Kingcannon 8-10 1-2 22, Adams 1-2 2-2 4, Robinson 3-6 0-0 6, Drew-Gregory 1-2 0-0 2, Williams 1-4 0-0 2, Taylor 1-2 0-0 3, Wilson 0-2 2-2 2, McMillion 1-2 0-1 2, Anderson 2-6 0-0 6, Davis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-60 6-11 46.
3-point shots -- Hutchinson 2-26 (Meyer 2-7, Robertson 0-8, King 0-3, Smith 0-3, King 0-2, Lang 0-1, Heneha 0-1, Rodriguez 0-1), Highland Park 9-19 (Kingcannon 5-6, Anderson 2-6, Aldridge 1-3, Taylor 1-2, Williams 0-2). Total fouls -- Hutchinson 12, Highland Park 15. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- Meyer 2, Adams.
