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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Washburn University men’s basketball entered the NCAA Division II Tournament as the sevethn seed, going up against the second-seeded Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, but the Ichabods did not play like it as they led by as many as 17 points in the process of pulling off the upset victory in Sioux Falls, S.D., 83-73.
“There is no question that this is the best region in Division II,” said Washburn coach Brett Ballard. “Just to get here means a lot, it means you have done something pretty special.”
The 10-point final score was dictated in large part by the play of Ichabod senior All-American Tyler Geiman, who neared a triple-double, finishing with 21 points along with nine assists and nine rebounds.
“I don’t know if there is another player that impacts this team as much as this guy does,” Ballard said. “He just wants our team to win and I am hoping we can keep playing a few more games together.”
The win moves the Ichabods to 22-10 on the year and into the semifinals of the Central Region where they will face Northwest Missouri State for the second straight year on Sunday.
Connor Deffebaugh (left) drives against Minnesota Duluth in Washburn's 83-73 win in the opening round of the NCAA Central Region tournament Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Silver Lake's girls bounced back from Friday's semifinal loss with a 53-51 win over Nickerson in Saturday's third-place game of the Class 3A state tournament.
The Eagles, who finished the season 24-2, trailed 36-31 at the end of the third quarter, but outscored Nickerson 22-15 over the final eight minutes to pull out the victory at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Silver Lake held a 15-9 lead at the end of the first quarter, but Nickerson (23-3) used an 18-7 second quarter to take a 27-22 halftime advantage.
The Eagles outscored Nickerson 31-24 in the second half.
Sophomore Kaibryn Kruger led Silver Lake with 14 points while hitting 4 of 7 3-point attempts while sophomore Makenzie McDaniel added 12 points and junior Taylor Ross 10.
Ava Jones, a 6-foot-2 junior, scored 26 points and grabbed 19 rebounds for Nickerson.
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 53, NICKERSON 51
Nickerson 9 18 9 15 -- 51
Silver Lake 15 7 9 22 -- 53
Nickerson (23-3) -- Allen 0-3 0-0 0, McLean 1-8 2-2 5, A. Ontjes 0-0 0-0 0, K. Ontjes 4-9 0-1 10, Ponds 1-4 0-1 2, Abernathy 4-4 0-0 8, Jones 10-21 5-8 26. Totals 20-49 7-12 51.
Silver Lake (24-2) -- Wehrli 0-0 0-0 0, Farmer 2-6 0-2 5, Deiter 1-3 2-2 5, McDaniel 5-10 2-2 12, K. Kruger 5-10 0-2 14, M. Kruger 2-12 3-8 7, Bolan 0-0 0-0 0, Ross 3-6 4-5 10. Totals 18-47 11-21 53.
3-point goals -- . Nickerson 4 (K. Ontjes 2, McLean, Jones), Silver Lake 6 (K. Kruger 4, Farmer, Deiter). Total fouls -- Nickerson 17, Silver Lake 15. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- With Seaman on the doorstep of history, the Vikings knocked that door down, claiming the first boys basketball state championship in school history with a decisive 66-47 romp past De Soto Saturday at White Auditorium.
Ending the season with an 11-game winning streak and four straight double-digit postseason victories, 18-7 Seaman outscored De Soto in all four quarters, including a 36-22 edge in the second half to turn the game into a rout down the stretch.
The win capped an amazing postseason run for the Vikings, who entered the state tournament as the No. 8 seed in the eight-team field.
"All the hard work we put in every single practice -- coach said we had I think about 80 of them -- and every single one we worked to get better and all that hard work finally paid off,'' Seaman senior Ty Henry said. "Going out my senior year as a state champ there aint any better finish than that.''
Seaman celebrates after Saturday's 66-47 win over De Soto in the Class 5A state championship game at Emporia's White Auditorium. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
For the third straight state game, Seaman got off to a hot start, leading 14-10 at the end of the opening quarter.
De Soto (20-5) opened the second quarter with an 8-0 run to take an 18-14 lead at the 5:40 mark of the second quarter, but the Vikings outscored the Wildcats 16-7 to end the half and take a 30-25 advantage.
For the second straight day Seaman junior Kaeden Bonner drained a long, long 3-pointer to end the half and send the Vikings to the locker room with momentum.
De Soto, which will be Seaman's league rival in the United Kansas Conference next season, got no closer than three points in the third quarter and senior Mateo Hyman canned two free throws with 3.2 seconds left in the quarter to give the Vikings their biggest lead of the game at 45-35.
The Vikings opened the final period with hoops by Henry and senior Dreighton Griess and De Soto got no closer than 11 the rest of the way while Seaman went up by 21 (66-45) with two minutes remaining.
"The guys get all the credit for having themselves ready to play, to be focused, especially when you get in an invironment like this,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "It could be easy to be distracted and they were dialed in and just came out of the gates swinging and then I just loved our defense.''
Seaman junior Aron Davis scored a game-high 17 points in Saturday's 66-47 win over De Soto in the Class 5A state championship game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman junior Kaeden Bonner scored 15 points and hit three of three 3-pointers in the Vikings' 66-47 win over De Soto in the Class 5A state championship game. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman junior Aron Davis led all scorers with 17 points and added 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 blocked shots while hitting all eight of his shots from the field.
"I try to find my spot and see what I can do best,'' said Davis, who missed nearly half the season with an ankle injury. "Get to the rim, pass it around, get rebounds especially and hold down on the defensive end.
"My teammates were finding me today and I have trust in my teammates.''
Bonner finished with 15 points while hitting all three of his 3-point attempts and Hyman had 9 points, a game-high 8 rebounds and a game-high 4 assists.
The Vikings shot 64.7 percent from the field (22 of 34) and 73.9 percent from the free throw line (17 of 23).
Senior Gavin Wilhelm had eight points, including a pair of 3-pointers, but his biggest contribution was on the defensive end.
Wilhelm drew the defensive assignment on De Soto standout David Cobin, who had scored 32 points, including the game-winning hoop, in the Wildcats' semifinal win over St. James Academy on Friday.
Cobin managed just 10 points Saturday while going 3 of 11 from the field and 1 of 5 from 3-point range.
"I knew I would (guard Cobin), I have done this multiple times throughout the year,'' Wilhelm said. "I was obviously worried because having a 32-point game is pretty scary, but I knew in myself I could do it.
"Yesterday I had 10 rebounds and I was doing everything I could to get to the boards. Today was more about not letting him touch the ball. That was my main goal.''
Tyler Schultze led De Soto with 15 points on 5 of 8 shooting from 3-point range while Trent Johnson added 10 points.
Cox won his third career state championship while never losing in a state final.
Cox's Shawnee Heights team won 5A state crowns in 2000 and 2002.
"I think the big difference here is it's the first one for Seaman High School in boys basketball, so that makes it extra special,'' Cox said. "It's pretty cool.''
SEAMAN BOYS 66, DE SOTO 47
De Soto 10 15 10 12 -- 47
Seaman 14 16 15 21 -- 66
De Soto (20-5) -- Johnson 4-8 1-1 10, T. Schultze 5-13 0-0 15, E. Schultze 3-5 0-0 6, Cobin 3-11 3-4 10, James 1-2 0-1 2, Hicks 0-3 0-0 0, Lang 1-2 0-0 2, Dow 0-0 0-0 0, Sullivan 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 0-0 0, McBride 0-0 0-0 0, Chappel 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-46 4-6 47.
Seaman(18-7) -- Hyman 2-3 5-6 8, Henry 3-8 2-2 8, Bonner 5-9 2-2 15, Wilhelm 2-3 2-2 8, Davis 8-8 1-5 17, Freeman 0-0 0-0 0, Griess 2-3 5-6 9, Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Phillips 0-0 0-0 0, Chapman 0-0 0-0 0, Barta 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 22-34 17-23 66.
3-point shots -- De Soto 7-21 (T. Schultze 5-8, Johnson 1-5, Cobin 1-5, E. Schultze 0-1, Hicks 0-2, Seaman 5-7 (Bonner 3-3, Wilhelm 2-3, Henry 0-1). Total fouls -- De Soto 18, Seaman 14. Fouled out – E. Schultze, Hicks. Technical fouls -- none.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden went toe to toe with Class 4A giant Bishop Miege in Friday night's state boys semifinal and gave the the Stags a battle before dropping a 62-50 decision at the Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina.
The Wildcats, who fell to 10-14 were within six points at the half, but could never get over the hump against defending champion Miege (18-6), which will play Andale for the state title at 6:15 p.m. Saturday.
Hayden will take on McPherson in a 2 p.m. third-place game Saturday. The Bullpups dropped a 49-42 semifinal decision to Andale on Friday.
Peyton Bartlett hit four of four 3-pointers and tied for team-high scoring honors with 14 points in Hayden's 62-50 state semifinal loss to Bishop Miege Friday night. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden junior Joe Otting scored 14 points in the Wildcats' 62-50 Class 4A state semifinal loss to Bishop Miege Friday night. [FIle photo/TSN]
Hayden led 26-22 after a 3-pointer by senior Peyton Bartlett with 1:42 left before halftime, but Miege scored the final 10 points of the quarter to take a 32-26 lead at the break.
Miege then opened the second half with a 9-3 run and Hayden never got any closer than nine the rest of the way.
Christian Bowen scored 24 points to lead the Stags while Aiden Wing and Daegan Jensen scored 13 points apiece.
Hayden, which knocked off top seed Eudora in the first round, got 14 points apiece from Bartlett and junior Joe Otting.
The Wildcats out-rebounded Miege by a 22-18 margin and shot 55 percent from the field (18 of 33), but the Wildcats hurt themselves with 17 turnovers.
BISHOP MIEGE BOYS 62, HAYDEN 50
Bishop Miege 15 17 16 14 -- 62
Hayden 15 11 9 15 -- 50
Bishop Miege (18-6) - Hall 1-5 1-2 3, Bowen 7-12 8-12 24, Wing 5-7 3-4 13, Jensen 4-8 5-7 13, Boylan 2-5 4-4 9, Armstrong 0-1 0-0 0, Coppage 0-0 0-0 0, Anderson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-38 21-29 62.
Hayden (10-14) - Bartlett 5-5 0-0 14, Muller 3-7 1-2 8, Scott 1-3 1-1 3, Duffey 2-7 2-2 8, Otting 6-7 2-2 14, Foster 0-0 0-0 0, Ridley 0-1 0-0 0, Ham 0-0 0-0 0, Alfonsi 0-0 0-0 0, Gorman 0-1 1-2 1, Rice 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 18-33 7-9 50.
3-point shots - Bishop Miege 3-5 (Bowen 2-2, Boylan 1-2, Armstrong 0-1); Hayden 7-15 (Bartlett 4-4, Muller 1-5, Duffey 2-4, Gorman 0-1,l Rice 0-1). Total fouls - Bishop Miege 15, Hayden 22. Fouled out -- Duffey.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
HUTCHINSON -- Silver Lake’s bid for a Class 3A girls state title came to end with a heartbreaking 59-53 loss to Goodland on Friday afternoon.
“I am proud of the way our girls fought until the very end,” Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter said. “We were able to fight through adversity and bring the game within three (points). Goodland is a really good team. Big, athletic and they are tough to simulate.
“This one was tough.”
The Lady Eagles had been dominant the entire season and Silver Lake had been 3A’s No.1-ranked team for six weeks and three days prior to Friday's loss.
Silver Lake's record was 12-10 in 2020-2021 and the Eagles were an impressive 23-2 after Friday's loss. Silver Lake will play Nickerson, a 59-52 semifinal loser to Hugoton, in Saturday's 2 p.m. third-place game.
Silver Lake's girls will try to bounce back in Saturday's Class 3A third-place game after a 59-53 semifinal loss to Goodland on Friday. [Photo by Isaac Deer}
Silver Lake returns every player from its state roster next season. The Eagles’ starting five was comprised of three sophomores and two juniors.
“This experience for our kids was invaluable,” Porter said. “There was a wide range of emotions and understanding the gravity of the situation. This experience was huge for our team and our program.
“Hopefully we can make it back here next year.”
Silver Lake didn’t fold when things didn't go their way, battling through every possession.
Unfortunately for Silver Lake, when things went the Eagles' way for a small sliver of time, Goodland would have an answer.
In the first quarter, both teams started a bit shaky. The tension and nerves were evident early in the game.
Although both teams were rattled, points were coming at a decently fast rate for both teams.
Kaibryn Kruger was a big part of the Lady Eagles' first quarter success. K. Kruger was able to score seven points, block a corner 3-point attempt and steal the ball to set up Kaylee Deiter in the paint.
Goodland’s offensive outburst in the second quarter would be a large factor in why the Cowgirls were able to advance to Saturday's state championship game.
Goodland started off of the quarter on a 12-2 run. Silver Lake would manage a 7-0 run before the Cowgirls would finish out on a 6-0 run.
The Cowgirls shot nearly 50% from the field in the quarter while Silver Lake managed to shoot 20% from the field.
Silver Lake would need a terrific third quarter in order to turn the game in their favor.
Offensively the quarter would go on to be a solid one, defensively, not as much. It was a back and forth slugfest.
Goodland junior Talexa Weeter, who had a game-high 20 points, answered back for every Lake conversion. Weeter and the Cowgirls’ efforts made it increasingly difficult for Silver Lake to come out on top.
The Lady Eagles decreased a 15-point deficit to a 9-point deficit by the end of the quarter.
Stellar shooting from McKinley Kruger and key shots from Deiter would bring Silver Lake within three.
Weeter, Jaxi Mitchek and Emma Lehman would hush the Silver Lake faithful and take control of the game with two minutes to go.
All the Lady Eagles could do late was foul and hope for the best and Goodland held on for the win.
“Our season isn’t over, we have a game tomorrow,” Porter said. “It will be important for us to respond tomorrow from tonight’s game.”
GOODLAND GIRLS 59, SILVER LAKE 53
Goodland – 12 18 19 10 – 59
Silver Lake – 13 9 18 13 – 53
Silver Lake (23-2) – Farmer 5-12 0-0 11, McDaniel 2-6 0-0 4, K. Kruger 5-13 1-2 14, M. Kruger 4-10 4-5 16, Ross 0-3 2-2 2, Deiter 2-3 2-2 6.
Goodland (23-2) – Biermann 0-1 2-2 2, Mitchek 5-9 0-1 12, Weeter 8-13 3-5 20, Cure 1-3 1-5 4, O. Lehman 4-5 1-2 11, E. Lehman 3-9 2-2 10.
3-point goals – Silver Lake 8 (M. Kruger 4, K. Kruger 3, Farmer), Goodland 8 (E. Lehman 2, O. Lehman 2, Mitchek 2, Weeter, Cure). Team fouls – Silver Lake 17, Goodland 11. Fouled out – Silver Lake, Deiter. Technical fouls – none.
