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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Shawnee Heights' boys basketball team didn't have a memorable shooting night, particularly from 3-point range, and the T-Birds had trouble keeping Topeka High off the boards at times Wednesday night.
But Ken Darting's T-Birds got enough big plays from enough players to post a 62-54 non-league win at Topeka High, improving to 2-0 on the season.
"We had kids that came in and hit a three or got a big rebound,'' Darting said. "We had freshmen and sophomores playing with a four-point lead and two minutes to go in the game.
"This is a big step for everybody and everybody was picking up everybody that was having a bad game. That's what makes it so fun.''
Shawnee Heights hit just two of 16 3-point attempts on the night and were out-rebounded, 30-23, but the T-Birds got at least eight points from five different players, including multiple underclassmen in the win.
Topeka High, which fell to 0-3, jumped out in front 7-1, 8-2, 10-4 and 12-6 out of the gate, but 6-foot-2 sophomore Jayden Holly gave Shawnee Heights a huge lift off the bench, scoring eight points in the first quarter, including a shot at the buzzer to cut the Trojans' lead to 15-14 at the end of the quarter.
Heights rallied to take a 24-17 advantage with 5:14 left in the first half, but Topeka High was still within four points (31-27) at halftime.
After falling behind by seven early in the third quarter Topeka High battled back to tie the game at 36 with 4:52 left in the third quarter and was within a point at the start of the fourth quarter after a 3-pointer from sophomore Isaiah Lyons.
Sophomore BJ Canady put High in front 47-46 at the start of the fourth quarter but a huge 3-pointer off the bench from sophomore Jayden Moore put the T-Birds back in front, 49-47.
Lyons' fourth 3-pointer gave the Trojans a 50-49 advantage with five minutes remaining, but Shawnee Heights outscored High 13-4 the rest of the way to build its biggest lead of the night.
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Topeka High football coach Carlos Kelly told TopSports.news after a 28-20 win over Emporia back in September, “Tylan Alejos needs to be Tylan Alejos and magic will happen.”
That ended up being the truth.
The Topeka High senior surpassed 1,300 rushing yards on the year and had 1,605 all-purpose yards while finding his way into the end zone 18 times.
His statistical and self-effort earned him first-team All-Centennial League honors as a running back and honorable mention at defensive back. He also cracked the TopSports.news Top 22 list.
“Pretty cool for me and my team,'' Alejoas said. "Late nights, hard work and the constant grind paid off. I’m glad that I was able to earn these awards for my team.''
Topeka High has had its fair share of historical running backs in the last decade, most notably Ky Thomas.
Thomas ran for 7,703 rushing yards and 95 touchdowns in his career and is now the leading rusher for Minnesota. The Gatorade Athlete of the Year in Kansas created a path for greatness for Topeka High’s future backfield.
“He set the blueprint down,'' Alejos said. "I pick and choose what I could follow from him. He’s one of the greatest to ever do it. He taught me a lot on how to be a great player.''
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Seaman's girls basketball team posted its second straight lopsided Centennial League decision Tuesday night in a 52-17 win over Topeka West at Seaman.
Topeka West led 8-6 at the end of the first quarter, but Seaman flipped a switch in the second quarter with the Vikings establishing their presence from mid-range instead of forcing shots on the outside of the arc, like they did in the first quarter.
Lady Vike guards Taylin Stallbaumer and Anna Becker were the catalysts in the second quarter for Seaman, which ended the first half on a 21-2 run.
Becker, a freshman, scored a game-high 17 points to lead Seaman while Stallbaumer, a sophomore, added 13.
Topeka West had a difficult time finding quality shots against Seaman’s full-court press defense. Carstyn Anderson and Jaycee Schumann were leading the charge of prodding the ball free and forcing the Chargers to make unorthodox passes that wound up being turnovers.
It didn’t get easier driving the ball in the paint for the Chargers, with 6-foot-1 Seaman center Brooklyn Gormley established her post presence.
Seaman’s starters were phenomenal on Tuesday night, but the contributions by the bench did not go unnoticed.
Jaida Stallbaumer, Lindsey Smith and Lauren Stuewe played a pivotal part in the victory. The trio shot 67 percent from the field and 75 percentfrom the free throw line.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Two games, two lopsided victories for Topeka High's girls basketball team.
After opening the season with a 22-point victory over Manhattan last Friday night, the Trojans rolled to an 82-24 Centennial League decision over Junction City Tuesday night at High.
Junior Kiki Smith led an extremely balanced attack for Topeka High against the Blue Jays with a game-high 19 points.
Sophomores Ladaysha Baird and Ayana Leesman scored 17 and 13 points, respectively, off the bench for the Trojans while senior Talayah Thomas added 10 points.
The Trojans put the Blue Jays away early, opening up a 30-5 lead at the end of the first quarter and taking a 50-20 lead to the locker room at halftime.
JUNCTION CITY BOYS 80, TOPEKA HIGH 53 -- Junction City improved to 2-0 on the season in the Centennial League and overall, while Topeka High is still looking for its first victory after Tuesday's 80-53 loss.
The Trojans face a quick turnaround, hosting 1-0 Shawnee Heights in a 7:30 p.m. non-league game Wednesday night.
ROSSVILLE GIRLS 54, BISHOP WARD 24 -- Sophomore Kinsey Perine scored 16 points to pace three Bulldawgs in double figures as Rossville's girls basketball team opened its season with a 54-24 victory over Bishop Ward Tuesday night.
Joining Perine in double figures for the Bulldawgs were senior Caylee Douglas and freshman Shyanne Haehn with 10 points apiece.
Rossville opened up an 11-6 lead at the end of the first quarter and then put the game away with a 22-5 second quarter, taking a commanding 33-11 advantage.
Rossville outscored the Cyclones 21-13 in the second half.
BISHOP WARD BOYS 74, ROSSVILLE 44 -- Bishop Ward had four players crack double figures as the Cyclones rolled to a 74-44 win over Rossville.
Rossville was within six points (25-19) at halftime, but the Cyclones erupted for 33 points in the third quarter to open up a commanding 58-35 advantage.
Junior Kade Perine and freshman Brock Bush both scored 11 points for the Bulldawgs, with Perine connecting on nine of 11 free throw attempts and Bush canning a pair of 3-pointers.
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 60, COUNCIL GROVE 42 -- Silver Lake improved to 60-42 with a decisive 60-42 win over Council Grove, with multiple players filling up the stat sheet for the Eagles.
Junior Taylor Ross scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds while junior Mariah Famer also scored 16 points.
Sophomore MaKenzie McDaniel scored 14 points and grabbed 16 rebounds while sophomore McKinley Kruger had 4 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists and sophomore Kaylee Deiter had 3 points and 9 rebounds.
COUNCIL GROVE BOYS 63, SILVER LAKE 46 -- Four players scored between 17 and 13 points for Council Grove as the Braves recorded a 63-46 win over Silver Lake.
Silver Lake was within five points after the first quarter (15-10) and trailed 28-18 at the half. The Eagles were still within 11 (41-30) at the start of the fourth quarter were unable to make a run as the Braves helped a 22-16 scoring edge the rest of the way.
Junior Kamryn Kaniper paced Silver Lake with 13 points while senior Luke Womack added 10 points and junior Troy Heiman nine.
Kellen Marshall led Council Grove with 17 points while Koen Hula added 16, Hunter Brintle 15 and Gavin Mills 13 for the Braves.
CAIR PARAVEL BOYS 91, CHRIST PREP 37 -- Cair Paravel's boys improved to 3-1 on the season with a 91-37 road romp at Christ Prep Tuesday night.
CHRIST PREP GIRLS 44, CAIR PARAVEL 40 -- Senior Jaley Barkley scored 18 points and Allison Schwartz added 10 for Cair Paravel Latin, but it wasn't quite enough for the Lions to get over the top, with Christ Prep taking the 44-40 decision.
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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.
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.