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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.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
It's hard to imagine a much better start to the basketball season than Seaman's girls and Viking freshman Maddie Gragg got off to Friday night.
Seaman, playing its first-ever game in the United Kansas Conference, scored the first 14 points of the night and went on to lead by 33 points on the way to a 62-32 home win over Lansing.
Seaman freshman Maddie Gragg scored a game-high 17 points in her high school debut Friday night against Lansing. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore Anna Becker had a double-double with 15 points an 10 rebounds in Seaman's 62-32 UKC win over Lansing Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Gragg scored a game-high 17 points in her high school debut to lead three Vikings in double figures as Seaman, ranked No. 9 in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A state rankings rolled past No. 3-ranked Lansing.
"I felt good,'' Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "We jumped out 14-0 and it's kind of a natural tendency to let up, but they hit us with a run and I wanted to see how we would respond to that. We missed a lot of layups that we normally make but we can maybe attribute that to first-game jitters.
"We just go out and play our game and we're excited to get the season started off with a 'W' and we need to get ready for Tuesday (home against Topeka West) now.''
Gragg, 5-foot-9, scored seven of Seaman's first nine points as the Vikings held the Lions scoreless until the 2:50 mark of the opening quarter.
"She's a gamer and I knew she was kind of under the radar, no longer any more though,'' Tinsley said. "She's played a lot of competitive basketball and she knows how to read and make passes and kind of feed off girls. I thought she did a good job.''
Seaman went on to lead 18-7 at the end of the first period and was in command by a 37-20 margin at the half.
The Vikings then followed that up with a 21-7 third quarter to force a running clock throughout the final eight minutes.
Sophomore Anna Becker added a double-double for Seaman with 15 points and 10 rebounds while junior Taylin Stallbaumer had 12 points, including three 3-pointers.
Seaman played 13 players in the game, with eight players cracking the scoring column.
Senior Skylar Weaver led Lansing with 14 points, including the Lions only two 3-pointers.
SEAMAN GIRLS 62, LANSING 32
Lansing 7 13 7 5 -- 32
Seaman 18 19 21 4 -- 62
Lansing(0-1, 0-1) -- Jaccard 4-7 0-0 8, Linaweaver 1-5 0-1 2, Krause 0-2 1-4 1, Calloway 1-2 0-2 2, Weaver 5-9, 2-6 14, Martynowski 0-0 1-2 1, Koontz 0-1 0-0 0, Anderson 1-2 0-0 2, McNabb 0-0 0-0 0, Wilson 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 13-29 4-15 32.
Seaman (1-0, 1-0) -- Schumann2-6 1-1 5, T. Stallbaumer 3-8 2-4 12, Becker 7-15 0-0 15, Gragg 8-14 1-2 17, Gormley 1-5 0-2 2, Anderson 1-5 0-0 2, Wilhelm 0-2 0-0 0, J. Stallbaumer 2-5 2-2 7, E. Stallbaumer 0-3 0-0 0, Miller 0-3 0-0 0, Moulden 0-0 0-0 0, McLaughlin 1-1 0-0 2, Steiner 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-68 7-11 62.
3-point goals -- Lansing 2 (Weaver 2), Seaman 5 (T. Stallbaumer 3, Becker, J. Stallbaumer). Total fouls -- Lansing 11, Seaman 17. Fouled out – none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
LANSING at SEAMAN
Seaman senior Aron Davis is coming off a summer knee injury but is being counted on to be one of the top players in Shawnee County for the Vikings, the defending Class 5A state champions. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman senior Kaeden Bonner averaged 13.4 points and hit 64 3-pointers last season as the Vikings captured the school's first Class 5A boys state title. [File photo/TSN]
The reigning Class 5A state champions kick off the 2022-2023 season with their first United Kansas Conference game against Lansing (7:30 p.m.). Craig Cox's Vikings won their final 11 games last season to finish 18-7 and dominated the 5A state tournament. Returning from that team are senior standouts Kaeden Bonner and Aron Davis, who played a big role in the Vikings' run to the school's first boys state title . Bonner received TSN Top 10 All-Shawnee County and second-team All-Centennial League recognition last season as well as All-5A honorable mention from the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. Bonner averaged 13.4 points, 2.6 assists and 2.0 steals, shooting 63 percent on 2-point field goal attempts and 45 percent from 3-point range while hitting a city-high 64 3-pointers. Davis came on strong late last season for the Vikings, earning All-Shawnee County Second 10 recognition and averaging 5.7 points and 1.6 blocked shots while shooting 65 percent from 2-point field goal range.
DE SOTO at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS
Junior Brennon Dodge is in his third varsity season for Shawnee Heights, averaging 14 points with 47 3-pointers last season. [File photo/TSN]
Shawnee Heights had a breakout 14-8 season a year ago and opens its United Kansas Conference schedule (7:30 p.m.) against a De Soto team that advanced to the Class 5A state championship game last season, dropping a 66-47 decision to Seaman to finish off a 20-5 campaign. Shawnee Heights is still a relatively young team, but returns several experienced players. Junior Brennon Dodge, who has played a big role for Ken Darting's T-Birds since his freshman season, earned Second 10 All-Shawnee County honors and second-team All-United Kansas Conference recognition last season. Dodge averaged 14 points his sophomore season to go with 2.0 assists and 1.9 steals per game while hitting 47 3-pointers on the season.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
LANSING at SEAMAN
Seaman sophomore Anna Becker averaged 14 points as a freshman for the 16-6 Vikings, earning Top 10 All-Shawnee County and first-team All-Centennial League honors. [File photo/TSN]
A good Class 5A and United Kansas Conference matchup right out of the gate between Lansing, No. 3 in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association preseason rankings, and No. 9 Lansing (5:45 p.m. tipoff). Seaman posted a 16-6 record a year ago and will build this year's team around returning standouts Anna Becker, a sophomore, and junior Taylin Stallbaumer. Becker was a TopSports.news All-Shawnee County Top 10 and All-Centennial League first-team pick as a freshman and was named the newcomer of the year in the Centennial League and Shawnee County. after averaging 14 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.7 assists. Stallbaumer averaged 11 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.4 steals and 2.0 assists a year ago while connecting on 43 3-pointers. Stallbaumer was a Top 10 All-Shawnee County and second-team All-Centennial League selection. Lansing finished fourth in the 5A state tournament last season.
DE SOTO at SHAWNEE HEIGHTS
Shawnee Heights senior Emari Doby returns to lead a T-Bird team that is looking to improve on last season's 10-11 record. [File photo/TSN]
Shawnee Heights opens its United Kansas Conference schedule against De Soto (5:45 p.m.), with the T-Birds looking to take steps this season after a 10-11 record a year ago. Bob Wells' T-Birds showed flashes of potential last season and Shawnee Heights returns a solid nucleus from that team. After missing her sophomore season with a knee injury, Emari Doby bounced back with a strong junior campaign, earning first-team All-UKC and Second 10 TSN All-Shawnee County recognition. Doby averaged 11.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.3 assists while hitting 13 3-pointers. Breezy Canady, a junior, also returns for Shawnee Heights after averaging 1.6 asists and 1.2 steals as a sophomore. Other experienced T-Birds include seniors Riley Showalter, Taylor Rottinghaus, Abby Fleischer and Taylor Rantz.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Andrew Orr grew up in a football family, with his father, Michael Orr, playing at Kansas State and his brother, Nicholas, playing at Colorado State-Pueblo
And Andrew played the sport himself for his first two years of high school at Blue Valley North before deciding that basketball would be his primary sport in college.
Washburn 6-8 sophomore Andrew Orr leads the Ichabods with a 13.6 scoring average, including a career-high 24 points in his last game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Andrew Orr, a state champion in two sports at Blue Valley North, has scored 8 or more points in every game this season, cracking double figures in six of seven games. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
It's a decision that's paid dividends for both Orr and the Washburn men's basketball team.
"I played football my freshman and sopomore year -- I was a tight end and D-end,'' Orr said. "Going into my junior year I was thinking about how I really wanted to play basketball in college and I really wanted to pursue that so I figured that whole fall season spending my time doing football necesarily wasn't a waste of time but it was just I could be advancing my skills in basketball.
"I was decent (at football), but my thing is I wasn't the type of kid that wanted to go out and really hit somebody. I wasn't a very aggressive kid when it came to it, so that was my problem, trying to go out and just hit somebody in the mouth. That wasn't really my mentality a lot of the time.''
Of course Andrew still had to sell dad, who played offensive line or Bill Snyder at Kansas State, on the idea of giving up the sport.
"I had to convince my dad to let me stop playing football,'' Orr said. "Most kids have to convince their parents to let them play football. I had to convince my dad to let me stop playing.
"Once I did that, then it was just talking to my coach and it was the summer before the season started so I wasn't too locked in.''
The bottom line was that basketball is his favorite sport.
"Growing up I enjoyed playing basketball more than I did football,'' Orr said. "I enjoyed football, I just enjoyed the style of basketball and it was better for me.''
