- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn University's men's basketball team hits the road to Joplin, Mo. to face Missouri Southern in a 7:30 p.m. Thursday MIAA contest.
The Ichabods, 8-6 overall and 5-3 in the MIAA, will be looking for their third win in a row against a Lions team that is 8-4 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
Washburn defeated Missouri Western 76-64 last time out on Jan. 8, winning for the fourth time in the Ichabods' last five games. The Lions are coming off a 72-71 win over Northeastern State on Jan. 11 in Tahlequah, Okla. after trailing by as many as nine points in the second half.
The Lions have only played two games since Dec. 18 (81-66 win over Lincoln and Tuesday's game with Northeastern State) after having their games with Missouri Western and Northwest Missouri re-scheduled due to COVID protocols.
The Ichabods lead the series with Missouri Southern 49-36, but the Lions have won five of the last six meetings.
Junior Jalen Lewis leads Washburn with a 15.0 scoring average while hitting 34 of 84 3-point attempts.
Freshman Michael Keegan averages 10.9 points and a team-high 6.3 rebounds per game.
Senior Tyler Geiman is averaging 10.4 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.3 assists in seven games this season while Tyler Nelson averages 10.5 points.
Geiman is ninth on Washburn's career scoring chart with 1,465 points and and needs 20 points to move past Dan Buie for the No. 8 spot.
Geiman's 213 career 3-pointers is third all-time at Washburn and his 579 career 3-point attempts is second behind Shannon Kruger's 584.
RJ Smith leads Missouri Southern with a 20.5 scoring average while Stan Scott averages 15 points, Winston Dessesow 13.2 and Christian Bundy 11.9 points. Smith leads the Lions with 9.5 rebounds per game.
Washburn will be back in action Saturday at Pittsburg State before returning to Lee Arena to face No. 2-ranked Northwest Missouri next Monday.
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Five Shawnee County basketball teams earned spots in the latest Kansas Basketball Coaches Association state rankings, led by the 8-0 Highland Park's boys, who are ranked No. 2 in Class 5A.
Topeka West, 6-1 on the season, is ranked No. 5 in 5A heading into Friday's Centennial League clash with the Scots at West.
Topeka High (8-0) climbed to No. 4 in the 6A girls rankings while Washburn Rural (6-1) is ranked No. 7.
Silver Lake (7-0) is ranked No. 5 in the 3A girls rankings.
KANSAS BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION STATE RANKINGS
- Details
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman opened its 2022 high school bowling season on Tuesday at Gage Bowl with a sweep of the team titles in the Hayden quadrangular.
Seaman, which finished third in Class 5A-1A last season, won the boys team title by a 3,397-3,042 margin over Topeka West, with Manhattan third (2,820) and Hayden (2,508).
The Vikings, fourth in 5A-1A a year ago, took top team honors in the girls division by a 3,237-2,707 margin over Topeka West, followed by Manhattan (2,589) and Hayden (2,193).
Teams bowled three traditional American 10-Pin games followed by four Baker format games.
Seaman's Draven Townsend was the boys individual champion with a 728 three-game series while Seaman's Ethan Burns was second at 680 and Topeka West's third at 623.
Manhattan's Jasmine Bridges won the girls individual title with a 764 series, followed by Seaman's Makenzie Millard with a 729 series and Topeka West's Megan Wood with a 652.
Seaman's Alexander Prescott bowled an outstanding 747 series in the boys junior varsity division while Seaman's Alyssa Boox was the girls JV champ with a 473.
HAYDEN QUADRANGULAR
BOYS
Team scores
Seaman 3,397, Topeka West 3,042, Manhattan 2,820, Hayden 2,508.
Individual results
1. Draven Townsend, Seaman, 728; 2. Ethan Burns, Seaman, 680; 3. Dason Tidwell, Topeka West, 623; 4. Jack Easum, Seaman, 592; 5. Zander White, Seaman, 585.
GIRLS
Team scores
Seaman 3,237, Topeka West 2,707, Manhattan 2,589, Hayden 2,193.
Individual results
1. Jasmine Bridges, Manhattan, 764; 2. Makenzie Millard, Seaman, 729; 3. Megan Wood, Topeka West, 652; 4. Kayla Mize, Seaman, 637; 5. Katie Price, Seaman, 631.
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's girls basketball team bounced back from its first loss of the season with a decisive Centennial League road victory, taking a 57-27 decision at Manhattan.
The Junior Blues, who improved to 6-1 overall and in the league, took control with a 15-6 opening quarter and then hit the host Indians with an 18-8 second quarter to open up a commanding 33-14 halftime advantage.
Washburn Rural, which was coming off a 45-39 loss to unbeaten Topeka High the previous Tuesday, closed out the win with a 24-13 scoring edge over the second half.
Senior Emma Krueger paced the Junior Blues with a game-high 16 points while sophomore Zoe Canfield added 11 points, junior MaRyah Lutz nine and junior Brooklyn DeLeye eight points.
Manhattan, which fell to 3-5 overall, 3-4 in the league, was led by sophomoe Maxine Doering with 11 points.
Washburn Rural will be back at home Friday, hosting Junction City.
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 55, WABAUNSEE 23 -- Silver Lake rolled to its seventh straight victory Tuesday night, a 55-23 decision over Wabaunsee, as four Eagles scored eight or more points.
Sophomore Makenzie McDaniel led 7-0 with a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 10 rebounds.
Sophomore McKinley Kruger added 11 points while sophomore Kaylee Deiter had eight points and 12 rebounds and junior Taylor Ross contributed eight points and nine boards.
JUNCTION CITY GIRLS 43, HIGHLAND PARK 41 -- Highland Park's bid for its second win of the season came up just short Tuesday night, with Junction City rallying for a 43-41 Centennial League decision.
Highland Park (1-7, 0-7) led Junction City 20-18 at the half and took a 32-25 advantage to the the fourth quarter, but the Blue Jays outscored the Scots 18-9 over the final eight minutes to pull out the win, improving to 2-7 overall and 2-5 in the league.
Freshman Amelia Ramsey led Highland Park with 14 points, including a five of five performance at the free throw line, while sophomore Victoria Reed added 11 points, including a pair of 3-pointers, and freshman Mariah Parker-Brown scored 10 points while connecting on three 3-pointers and convering a 4-point play.
Ramsey also grabbed 13 rebounds.
The Scots will travel to Topeka West on Friday.
EMPORIA GIRLS 55, TOPEKA WEST 26 -- Emporia kept Topeka West winless on the season, romping to a 55-26 home Centennial League victory.
The Spartans, who improved to 6-2 overall and 5-2 in the league, put the game away with a 24-7 opening quarter and led 34-13 at the half and 51-20 after three quarters.
Standout guard Gracie Gilpin led Emporia with a game-high 17 points for the Spartans, who also got 12 points from Rebecca Snyder and 10 from Rylee Peak.
Junior Jazmyn Ford led Topeka West with 10 points while sophomore Zoe Clark added seven.
The Chargers, who will host Highland Park on Friday, fell to 0-8 overall and 0-7 in the league.
ROCK CREEK GIRLS 51, ROSSVILLE 45 -- Rossville was unable to completely climb out of a 30-18 halftime hole, dropping a 51-45 decision to the Mustangs.
Rock Creek jumped out to a 12-6 first-quarter advantage over the Bulldawgs and then outscored Rossville 18-12 in the second quarter to push its halftime lead to 12 points.
The Bulldawgs got back in the hunt with a 14-7 third quarter but Rock Creek (7-1, 4-1) held on down the stretch, outscoring Rossville 14-13 over the final eight minutes.
Senior Caylee Douglas and sophomore Emma Mitchell scored 12 points each for Rossville (4-4), with both Douglas and Mitchell going five of six from the free throw line.
Sophomore Kinsey Perine added 10 points for the Bulldawgs.
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
In a season of big wins, Highland Park notched its biggest victory Tuesday night, romping to a 70-54 Centennial League decision over previously-unbeated Junction City on the Blue Jays' home court.
Highland Park, which improved to 8-0 overall and 7-0 in the league, took control with an 18-7 first quarter and then hit the Blue Jays with a 21-13 second quarter to open up a commanding 39-20 halftime cushion.
The Scots led 58-37 at the start of the fourth quarter and cruised the rest of the way, dropping Junction City to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the league race.
"We've got to keep taking every day serious and continue to work to get better,'' Highland Park coach Mike Williams said in a text.
Senior Juan'Tario Roberts scored a game-high 24 points for Highland Park while junior Ketraleus Aldridge added 18 points and junior Tre Richardson 10 points.
Howard Johnson led Junction City with 14 points.
Highland Park faces another key Centennial game on Friday, playing at Topeka West.
TOPEKA WEST BOYS 71, EMPORIA 57 -- Topeka West rode a big first half to a 71-57 Centrennial League road win at Emporia, improving to 6-1 overall and 5-1 in the league.
The Chargers hit the winless Spartans with an 18-6 first quarter to take control and were in command 38-21 at the half.
Topeka West senior Elijah Brooks scored a game-high 21 points to pace the Chargers while junior Xavier Alexander added 18 points, including five 3-pointers, and senior Zander Putthoff had 17 points and three 3-pointers.
Parker Leeds and River Peters scored 20 points apiece for Emporia (0-8, 0-7).
With Tuesday's win Topeka West remained a game out of the Centennial League lead and the Chargers will host league-leading Highland Park on Friday.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 51, MANHATTAN 31 -- Senior Quincey Kidd scored a game-high 19 points and junior Jack Bachelor added 11 as Washburn Rural climbed above .500 with a 51-31 Centennial League road romp Tuesday night at Manhattan.
Washburn Rural, now 4-3 overall and in the league, trailed by a 7-6 margin at the end of the first quarter but took command with a 17-5 second quarter, taking a 23-12 lead to the locker room at the half.
The Junior Blues boosted their advantage to 42-28 by the end of the third quarter and outscored the Indians 9-3 in the fourth.
Kidd canned a pair of 3-pointers on the night and also connected on five of six free throw attempts.
Tate Brown led Manhattan, 2-6 overall and 2-5 in the league, with 14 points.
Washburn Rural will be at home on Friday to host Junction City.
WABAUNSEE BOYS 52, SILVER LAKE 49 -- Silver Lake suffered a heartbreaking 52-49 loss to Wabaunsee Tuesday night, with Wabaunsee's Brayden Meseke capping a 24-pound night with a game-winning 3-pointer with 1.5 seconds remaining.
Silver Lake had one last desperation possession to try to force overtime, but the 6-1 Chargers came up with a steal as time ran out.
Junior Kamryn Kaniper had a big night for Silver Lake (4-3), finishing with 21 points, while senior Troy Heiman added 12 points.
Silver Lake led 15-8 at the end of the first quarter, but Wabaunsee answered with a 20-4 second quarter to take a 28-19 haltime advantage.
Silver Lake outscored Wabaunsee 30-24 in the second half to give itself a chance before Meseke pulled out the win for the Chargers.
ROCK CREEK BOYS 61, ROSSVILLE 43 -- Junior Kade Perine scored a game-high 17 points for Rossville, including five 3-pointers, but it wasn't enough to overcome a dominant middle third quarter by the Mustangs.
Rossville and Rock Creek were locked in a 30-30 deadlock at the half but the Mustangs hit the Bulldawgs with a 17-5 third quarter to take control and held a 14-8 scoring edge the rest of the way.
Rock Creek improved to 2-6 on the season behind three double-figure scorers while Rossville fell to 1-7.
Senior Aiden Garcia added nine points for Rossville.