- Details
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Topeka High boys basktball dropped a 61-59 Centennial League heartbreaker to Junction City Tuesday night on a buzzer-beater.
Senior Bryson McComas scored 26 points Tuesday night but Topeka High dropped a 61-59 Centennial League heartbreaker to Junction City. [File photo/TSN]
The Trojans led by six points (57-51) with about two minutes left in the game, but the Blue Jays pulled to within two (57-55) with 55.6 seconds left.
Senior Lovell Autry, who had a team-high 26 points, put his team on his back in the final ticks of the game, scored four straight to put the Blue Jays up 59-57 with 9.5 seconds left, forcing Topeka High coach Robbie Sanders into a timeout.
T-High inbounded and called another timeout to advance the ball with six seconds.
Trojan senior Bryson McComas, who had a stellar 26-point performance, drove to the bucket for a layup, but a Blue Jays player smacked the backboard, prompting the referees to call a goaltend, tying the game at 59-all.
With just 1.5 seconds left on the clock in regulation, Autry got open down the sideline, a hail mary pass fell right in his arms and he scored the game-winning lay-up, stunning Topeka High, 61-59.
A dejected Sanders in the locker room took a few seconds to gather his thoughts on what happened.
“In the month of January we found ways to win and this month we’ve consistently found ways to lose,” he said. “We’ve been in every game. Four game losing streak. We haven’t been able to step up and make the necessary plays to get some victories.
"I think it’s a little bit of nerves, a little bit of coaching mistakes and possibly having the wrong people in the game. This one is on me. I have to make adjustments. I have to figure out some ways to get another win.”
It was a back and forth contest between the league rivals and the Blue Jays had the last answer. Sanders said the last player he wanted the ball in the hands of was Autry.
“I don’t understand how we allowed that to happen but things happen,'' Sanders said. "What I said to them in the locker room is, 'I’m trusting you guys to make plays but sometimes you have to be able to step up and make that play.'
"Trust is a two-way street and me placing my trust and belief in them, you got to give me something to trust and believe in. We’ll get back to work and we’ll fight and scrap and try to get a win on Friday.''
- Details
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
With both teams needing a win and each ranked seventh in their respective classes by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, Hayden hosted Manhattan Tuesday in a huge Centennial League matchup.
Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein led the way with 20 points in Hayden's 66-61 win over Manhattan Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
In a game that went down to the wire Wildcats were able to outlast the Indians for a 66-61 win.
Hayden jumped out to a fast start behind sophomore Sophia Wichman, who has earned a start in the last two games due to illness and has stepped up in a big way.
“It's definitely boosted my confidence a whole lot because just playing with Hailey (Schmidtlein) and Blakely (Walter) together, we work so well together,'' Wichman said. "I feel like when us three are in the game together, we just know each other really well, and it builds my confidence because I know I have them to help me.”
Wichman scored the first five points of the game before Manhattan senior Delaney Larson found the basket.
Walter then knocked down a 3-pointer to give Hayden an early 8-2 lead. Manhattan struggled offensively in the first quarter as the Wildcats surged ahead 24-12 by the end of the period.
“We played last week and kind of just played halfcourt basketball, and we really felt like this team's better when we push the tempo,” Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. “So we really tried to push the tempo and create space early in possessions, and we did that.
"(Lauren) Borjon hitting some big threes helped us spread them out even more.”
Wichman opened the second quarter with another basket, but Manhattan began to chip away at the lead.
Schmidtlein attacked the rim and got to the free throw line, converting four straight as Hayden built a 33-18 advantage. The Indians responded with a 9-0 run to cut the deficit to 33-27.
Schmidtlein answered with two more free throws, and after the teams traded baskets down the stretch, Hayden carried a 42-35 lead into halftime.
Manhattan came out of the locker room energized, scoring two quick baskets to trim the lead to 42-39.
Hayden struggled offensively in the third quarter as the Indians continued to close the gap. With Hayden leading 46-45 and 3:18 remaining in the third, seniors Kat Ball and Delaney Larson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Manhattan its first lead of the game at 51-46.
The surge forced Reynoldson to call a timeout.
“I told them great teams aren't just going to sit back -- they punch back hard, and now we’ve got to counter with everything we have,” Reynoldson said.
“He just said we need to stick together, that we're going to win this game, but we have to get the rebounds because they got so many offensive and defensive rebounds,'' Wichman said.
"We just needed to box out, and whoever was going to fight the hardest was going to win this game. We were all just like, ‘We got this -- we need to fight hard.’ We were encouraging each other.”
Manhattan carried the lead into the fourth quarter, but Hayden refused to back down.
The Indians went ice-cold from the field while the Wildcats opened the final period on a 13-0 run.
Manhattan didn’t score until the 1:55 mark of the fourth quarter.
“It just says a lot,” Wichman said. “It shows that our coach has so much faith in us that we can apply ourselves. I think us working together and knowing we can win as a team -- and encouraging each other -- made the difference.”
- Details
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
The turnovers the Topeka High girls create night in and night out to create points on the offensive end have been a huge part in their success this year, and that was the story again Tuesday night, as the Trojans knocked off Centennial League rival Junction City, 66-33.
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored a game-high 30 points Tuesday night in Topeka High's 66-33 win over Junction City. [File photo/TSN]
“No question the defense turned into offense,'' Topeka High coach Ron Slaymaker said. "We had 50 something points at the half? That’s a lot on any level. We’re not interested in how badly we can beat somebody, that’s not what this is all about. At halftime, I really tried to slow us down and that’s so hard.
"Any coach will tell you it just doesn’t work from going to go, go, go and then woah woah woah… I was so proud of that first half.''
With this seven-game winning streak the 12-8 Trojans are on, Slaymaker said it’s a great time to start doing this and he’s hoping that continues on as they’ve shot the ball very well and are playing good defense.
The Trojans started the game up 6-2 after junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton drilled a triple and then pushed it to a 12-4 lead after another three from Rayton.
It just kept raining from the floor for T-High, as sophomore Hailey Caryl had herself another stellar performance, going coast-to-coast off a turnover to put the Trojans up 21-5 and Topeka High would lead 32-5 at the end of one.
The clinic continued as Rayton started the second quarter with another tray to give High a 35-5 lead and the Trojans stretched their lead to 43-7. After senior Trish Short and Rayton scored a quick five points, it was 50-12. The Trojans took a commanding halftime lead of 56-18.
From then on, Topeka High would not relinquish the advantage. Slaymaker emptied his bench with 1:35 left in the third quarter and the starters sat the rest of the game.
Rayton led all scorers with 30 points.
Sophomore Hailey Caryl set Topeka High's single-season assist record Tuesday night in the Trojans' 66-33 win over Junction City. [File photo/TSN]
Caryl accomplished a milestone feat, setting the Topeka High single-season assist record at 115 and counting.
“There’s no question she has a really good basketball IQ,'' Slaymaker said. "We’re constantly talking about what’s next… where’s the next pass going, the next dribble, is there going to be a shot and she’s really good at seeing that. She’s a really good all-around player and that's her value. She plays smarter than a lot of other players.''
- Details
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Following a Silver Lake score that gave the Eagles a 50-49 lead, Rossville senior Jakoby McDonnell drove the length of the floor and dropped a driving jumper at the buzzer for a thrilling 51-50 finish in a rivalry known for thrilling finishes.
Senior Jakoby McDonnell (0) scored the game-winning basket at the buzzer Tuesday night, giving Rossville a 51-50 win over rival Silver Lake. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]]
Rossville has seen Silver Lake senior Dayne Johnson hit so many big buckets over the years, it could have wilted when Johnson scored and was fouled with 8.7 seconds remaining. Johnson’s basket tied the game at 49-49. His free throw could have been the final nail in the Rossville coffin.
The play Rossville coach Brandon McDonnell drew up faltered, so his son Jakoby was forced to improvise.
“We were supposed to run a play that we added in for times like that, but I guess we were a little antsy. We weren’t ready,” Jakoby McDonnell said. “So, at that point, with just (a few) seconds left, you just got to go down the court and get to the basket, either make it or get fouled. I knew once I saw a little bit of space I was going to get downhill and try to get fouled or get the basket.”
McDonnell slipped through the right side of the Silver Lake defense and bounced off the chest of a defender as his shot went off the glass and in at the final horn.
“That play broke down from what I called,” Brandon McDonnell said, explaining that not all the Rossville players heard the play call. “And I’ve always told the boys ‘I have full confidence in you. If it breaks down, you have to turn into a basketball player quickly.' Jakoby got downhill, he saw an opening, went into (the defender), finished hard and finished strong.”
Rossville, ranked ninth in Class 2A, avenged a disappointing December loss at Silver Lake. The Bulldawgs improved to 13-6, 7-4 in the Big East League. Coach McDonnell praised the rivalry with Silver Lake.
“That’s what you’ve got to love about playing Silver Lake as a whole,” the Rossville coach said. “It brings good energy. You want good basketball like that, and that’s what came out tonight.”
“This was a very big win for us seniors,” Jakoby McDonnell added. “We didn’t want to go out our last time playing them on a loss, especially with Senior Night and the whole town being here. It was just great for the Rossville community.”
Johnson has been a thorn in the Bulldawgs’ side for years. He finished with 20 points, but Rossville utilized a special defense to try to keep Johnson from taking over the game. Brandon McDonnell called the defense “amoeba,” which he described as a zone with a lot of shifting and checkoffs and which put the Bulldawgs in good position to rebound.
Senior Jack Donovan scored 12 points to tie for team-high honors in Rossville's 51-50 win over rival Silver Lake. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Both teams’ defensive strategies slowed the pace and stifled the other team’s number one scorer – Johnson for Silver Lake and Jack Donovan for Rossville. Coming off a 40-point outburst last Friday, Donovan was held to 12 points.
“To be honest, I was so engaged in the game that when the buzzer went off in the second quarter, I thought it was the end of the first quarter,” Brandon McDonnell said. “The score was 18 to 19. I’m looking at the score saying ‘Ok, let’s go for the second quarter.’
“That’s the way it was on both ends. They put us in a little press to slow us down because we like to get up and down the court. And for us, we knew that, hey, Dayne is very good. We can’t do much with him when we’re doing a man-on-man action. So, we have to throw a little amoeba at them, try to make him pass the ball as much as possible.”
Senior Dayne Johnson scored a game-high 20 points in Silver Lake's 51-50 loss to Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The strategy worked, barely. Johnson finished with 20 points, but on 8-20 shooting. The Eagles relied on some big three-point shots to stay in the game. Camden Kruger and Joel Miller each dropped three three-pointers. All three of Miller’s triples came in a three-minute stretch late in the fourth period.
The loss was Silver Lake’s first in Big East play. The Eagles dropped to 15-5, 9-1 in the league.
ROSSVILLE BOYS 51, SILVER LAKE 50
Silver Lake 9 9 16 16 -- 50
Rossville 15 4 15 17 -- 51
Silver Lake (15-5, 9-1) – Kruger 3-9 0-0 9, Johnson 8-20 4-4 20, Rooks 1-6 0-0 3, Bergman 1-5 0-0 2, Miller 3-8 0-0 9, Womack 1-3 0-0 2, Kraus 2-6 0-0 5, VanVactor 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 19-57 4-4 50.
Rossville (13-6, 7-4) – McDonnell 6-13 0-0 12, Donovan 5-11 2-2 12, Bush 1-2 0-0 2, Miller 4-6 0-0 10, Johnson 3-4 1-2 7, Horgan 2-3 0-0 6, Lewis 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 22-40 3-4 51.
3-point goals – Silver Lake 8 (Kruger 3, Miller 3, Rooks 1, Kraus 1), Rossville 4 (Miller 2, Horgan 2). Total fouls – Silver Lake 8, Rossville 7. Fouled out – None. Technical fouls – None.
- Details
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Silver Lake girls, ranked atop the Class 3A field statewide, bolted to a 9-0 lead and never looked back at Rossville Tuesday, steamrolling the Lady Dawgs, 71-31.
Junior Savanah Wende scored a game-high 25 points with five three-pointers in Silver Lake's 71-31 win over Rossville. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Savanah Wende dropped in five three-pointers and scored 25 points to lead Silver Lake. She scored 10 points in the first period, which saw the Lady Eagles take a commanding 23-9 advantage.
Silver Lake increased its lead to 41-20 at halftime. The Lady Eagles then outscored Rossvile 25-8 in the third period to put the game away.
“I’m really proud of our effort over the 32 minutes,” said Silver Lake coach Kyle Porter. “Especially because last time we played (against Rossville), in the third quarter, we let them go on a little run, made the game much closer. I’m really happy with our approach in the third and fourth quarter.”
Senior Kailyn Hanni scored 23 points in Silver Lake's 71-31 win over Rossville Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Silver Lake senior Kailyn Hanni scored 23 points, and sophomore Karys Deiter added 16 in support of Wende’s 25.
“Savanah, when she’s on, she just adds another dimension,” Porter said. “We’re going to need her to score and to hit open threes for us. She’s a player who always thinks the next shot is going in and I think you saw that tonight.”
“I feel like we’ve been playing great together lately, and I’m just trusting in my teammates and they got me the ball tonight, so props to everyone, really,” Wende said. “I feel like when I get hot, I just bring a positive energy that my teammates build upon to just make them better.”
Senior Rylee Dick scored 16 points in Rossville's 71-31 win loss to Silver Lake Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Rossville was frustrated into 12-43 shooting by the Silver Lake defense. Rylee Dick and Nora Burdiek combined for 26 points for the Lady Dawgs, but did so on just 10-36 shooting.
“Defensively, we played really connected, being able to do some things to limit (Burdiek) and (Dick),” Porter said. “I really want to credit Paige Heiman’s defense in the post and then Kylie Hanni, what we asked her to do with post doubles was phenomenal in taking away (Burdiek). Those are two unsung players that deserve a lot of credit for tonight.”
Silver Lake improved to 19-1, 10-0 in the Big East League with three games remaining in the regular season.
SILVER LAKE GIRLS 71, ROSSVILLE 31
Silver Lake 23 18 25 5 -- 71
Rossville 9 11 8 3 -- 31
Silver Lake (19-1, 10-0) – Ka. Hanni 9-17 4-4 23, Heiman 1-1 0-0 2, Ky. Hanni 0-3 0-0 0, Deiter 5-12 6-8 16, Wende 9-16 2-2 25, Thompson 0-0 1-2 1, Erb 1-1 0-0 2, May 0-1 0-0 0, Gerber 0-0 0-0 0, Erb 0-0 0-0 0, Eisenbarth 1-1 0-0 2, Tamaat 0-0 0-0 0, Wise 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-52 13-16 71.
Rossville (11-9, 4-7) – Dick R. 6-23 2-4 16, M. Sanders 0-1 1-2 1, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Burdiek 4-13 1-4 10, Miller 2-4 0-0 4, E. Sanders 0-0 0-0 0, Bunck 0-0 0-0 0, Perine 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Hubbell 0-0 0-0 0, Donovan 0-0 0-0 0, P. Dick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 12-43 4-10 31.
3-point goals – Silver Lake 6 (Wende 5, Ka. Hanni 1), Rossville 3 (Dick 2, Burdiek 1). Total fouls – Silver Lake 7, Rossville 11. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
