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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
No. 1-ranked Washburn University men's basketball remained perfect on the season Wednesday night with an 87–75 road win at Missouri Western, improving to 15-0 overall and 5-0 in the MIAA.
Senior Sam Ungashick came off the bench to score 18 points in Wednesday's 87-75 MIAA road win over Missouri Western. [File photo/TSN]
The Ichabods never trailed, building a commanding 48-29 first-half lead, and then withstood a second-half push by the Griffons to secure the victory.
Washburn shot a scorching 65.5 percent from the floor in the opening half (19 of 29) and knocked down 4 of 9 attempts from 3-point range while scoring 48 first-half points.
Missouri Western, meanwhile, struggled to find rhythm early, shooting just 25.0 percent (8 of 32) in the first half.
Missouri Western (11-5 overall, 3-2 MIAA) played its best basketball after halftime, shooting 53.3 percent in the second half and outscoring Washburn 46-39 over the final 20 minutes while dropping to 6-1 in home games this season.
The Griffons trimmed the Ichabod advantage into the mid-teens on multiple occasions.
However, each time the Griffons threatened, Washburn answered, keeping Western at arm's length.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen scored 16 of his 18 points in the first half, going 6 of 10 from the field for the game while adding eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks.
Senior Sam Ungashick provided a big lift off the bench with a season-high 18 points on 7 of 10 shooting and junior Jack Bachelor added 16 points while senior Brady Christiansen contributed 13 points and nine rebounds, helping Washburn win the rebounding battle, 42–24.
As a team, Washburn finished the night shooting 56.4 percent from the field (31 of 55), 33.3 percent from 3-point range (7 of 21) and 72.0 percent at the free-throw line (18 of 25). Missouri Western shot 38.7 percent overall and just 21.4 percent from beyond the arc.
Washburn returns to the road on Saturday, continuing its four-game road trip at Northwest Missouri (3:30 p.m. start).
Wednesday's win was the fifth in a row by the Ichabods over the Griffons while improving to 8-2 in the last 10 meetings.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
A night after suffering their first loss of the season, the No. 2-ranked Topeka West boys bounced back Tuesday with a 74-47 United Kansas Conference road win at Leavenworth.
Senior Gad Munganga scored a career-high 26 points with eight 3-pointers in Tuesday's 74-47 UKC win at Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN]
The Chargers, who dropped a 53-49 road decision at Lawrence Free State on Monday, led by just a 30-22 margin at halftime, but put the game out of reach with a 31-15 third-quarter blitz and closed out the 27-point victory with a 13-10 edge over the final eight minutes.
Senior guard Gad Munganga had a career night for the Chargers (6-1 overall, 5-0 in the UKC), scoring 26 points with eight 3-pointers.
Senior Malakyah Duncan and junior Prince Lassiter both added 13 points for West while senior Keimani Paul scored nine points.
Topeka West will return to action Friday with a UKC contest at Basehor-Linwood.
Pioneers top Lady Chargers, 49-35
Topeka West's girls dropped a 49-35 United Kansas Conference decision at Leavenworth Tuesday night, falling to 1-6 on the season and remaining winless in league play.
The Chargers will be back on the road Friday, traveling to Basehor-Linwood.
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored 29 points for Topeka High in Tuesday's 65-47 victory at Lawrence [File photo/TSN]
Topeka High girls post third straight win
Topeka High's girls stretched their winning streak to three games Tuesday night with their third straight double-digit victory, a 65-47 non-league road decision at Lawrence.
Junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton led the Trojans with 29 points while Keimara Marshall added 15 points and Trish Short 13 while Hailey Caryl had 8 points, 9 rebounds and 8 assists.
Topeka High, now 3-4 on the season, will be back at home on Friday, hosting Manhattan in a Centennial League game.
Trojan boys top Lawrence in nailbiter
Topeka High's boys took a tight 66-65 non-league road win at Lawrence Tuesday night, improving to 4-3 on the season.
The Trojans will open their Centennial League season on Friday, hosting Manhattan.
Junior Blue boys improve to 6-2
Defending Centennial League boys champion Washburn Rural opened defense of its league title with a 50-45 road win Tuesday night at Junction City.
Senior Kieffer O'Connor led the Junior Blues with 16 points while senior Simon Rowley added 11 points. Senior John Hoytal led Washburn Rural with seven rebounds.
The Junior Blues led 17-11 at the end of the first quarter and 29-25 at halftime. The game remained close the rest of the way, with Rural outscoring the 4-3 Blue Jays 21-20 in the second half to stretch its winning streak to five games.
Washburn will be back at home on Friday, hosting Hayden in a league game.
Lady Blues get back on track with 68-32 rout
Washburn Rural, which dropped a 50-25 non-league game to Olathe North on Monday, got back on track in a big way Tuesday night, rolling to a 68-32 road win over Junction City in the Junior Blues' Centennial League opener.
Now 5-2 on the season, Rural will be back at home Friday to host Hayden in a Centennial League contest.
Senior Cameron Miller scored 26 points in Rossville's 73-42 win over Jefferson West Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Miller powers Bulldawg boys to 73-42 win over Jeff West
Senior Cameron Miller scored 26 points Tuesday night as Rossville improved to 4-3 overall and 2-1 in the Big East League with a 73-42 road win at Jefferson West.
Senior Jack Donovan backed Miller with 16 points while Jakoby McDonnell scored 13 points and Cael Horgan 11.
Rossville will travel to Hiawatha Friday for a Big East matchup.
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By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Cair Paravel Latin girls basketball had trouble all night trying to break Wabaunsee’s defensive pressure, resulting in a home 54-13 Flint Hills defeat Tuesday night.
“Being able to talk about the things that we didn’t execute is important,” CPLS coach Jaley Barkley said. “One of the goals I have for this second part of the season is I want to execute our offense specifically because we have great defense.
"We hustle and work hard, but not being able to succumb to the pressure. Wabaunsee was all over us, so being able to slow down because when we do that, we can take good shots, take care of the ball… and be able to adapt.”
Wabaunsee was all over CPLS in the open court with presses and traps, forcing turnovers and bad shots for the Lions.
The Chargers jumped out to an 8-0 lead after Reese Michaelis hit her second 3-pointer of the night, forcing a timeout for CPLS with 5:17 left in the first.
The lead would only expand more for the Chargers, as they got out to a 16-0 lead after a Talen Orton bucket, causing CPLS to call another timeout while trying to find any answers. Orton finished with 10 points.
Michaelis would nail her third three of the game after the timeout making it 19-0 and the Chargers ended the first quarter up 23-0, holding the Red Lions scoreless after eight minutes.
It wouldn’t be until the 5:59 mark of the second quarter when senior KellyAnn Chada took a trip to the charity stripe and made one of two shots, making it a 23-1 score.
After a Charger basket Chada drew a foul and made one of two shots from the free throw line again.
Wabaunsee made the only two field goals in the quarter until senior Karsyn Hastert kissed one off the glass for two but missed the and-one opportunity and it was 27-4 at that point.
Chada would convert another bucket off a fastbreak steal from the Lions but the Chargers had a commanding lead at the break, 31-6.
The Lions had no answer for the Chargers, as Wabaunsee consistently trapped CPLS in the open court, the post and on the perimeter, forcing several turnovers.
CPLS did create many turnovers for itself, showing hustle despite the score.
“The game was tough, we got down early and for them (players) to keep their heads up and continue to be aggressive and do what I ask of them on the defensive end, I’m super proud of them for that,'' Barkley said. "Coming off of Christmas break, both sides I could tell were tired and the ability to play all four quarters with there all, I’m proud of that,” Barkley said.
In the third quarter Kameron Welshans for CPLS got the scoring started but that would be the only bucket. Michaelis for Wabanunsee drilled her fourth three-pointer of the game, finishing with five total in the game making it 34-8 and ending with 14 points.
The Chargers would convert two, and-one opportunities later in the quarter and led 45-8, resulting in a running clock in the fourth quarter, where both teams pulled their starters and emptied the benches.
Grace Zeller for Wabaunsee led all scorers with 18 points.
“Halftime we talked about not keeping our heads down, we got two more quarters, it’s 0-0, taking what we learned from the first half, changing our approach and adapting. I just want the girls to make those basketball plays and take charge out there,” Barkley said.
WABAUNSEE 54 , CAIR PARAVEL LATIN 13
Wabaunsee 23 8 14 9 -- 54
Cair Paravel Latin 0 6 2 5 -- 13
Wabaunsee (6-1) – Grace Zeller 6 5-7 18, Kirwin Russell 2 0-2 5, Reese Michaels 5 0-0 14, Talen Orton 4 2-3 10, Edan Schrader 3 1-2 7
Cair Paravel Latin (3-4) – Karsyn Hastert 1 0-3 2, Avery Rosenow 2 0-0 2, Becca Gateley 1 0-0- 3, Kameron Welshans 2 0-0 2, Kelly Ann Chada 2 2-6 4
3-point goals – Wabaunsee 6 (Zeller 1, Russell 1, Michaelis 4), Cair Paravel Latin 1 (Gateley 1). Total fouls – Wabaunsee 11, Cair Paravel Latin 10. Fouled out – none. Technical foul -- none
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
A four-game road trip gets underway for Washburn University women's basketball on Wednesday with a 5:30 p.m. MIAA contest against Missouri Western in St. Joseph, Mo.
Senior Payton Sterk scored 21 points and hit 5 of 7 3-pointers in last Saturday's 86-59 MIAA win over Emporia State. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Yibari Nwidadah recorded a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds in last Saturday's win over Emporia State. [File photo/TSN]Washburn, 10-3 overall and 3-1 in the conference, will take a four-game winning streak into the Missouri Western game after rolling to an 86-59 win over Emporia State on Saturday in Lee Arena.
"I think we're definitely up for the challenge,'' said sophomore point guard Brooke Gomez, who leads the Ichabods with 3.3 assists per game, ranking sixth in the MIAA in assists per game and seventh in assist to turnover ratio. "I think us playing at home and getting good wins at home has really put us in a good spot to start these away trips very good.
"Our starting five is mostly veterans, so I think we're all prepared and ready to go play hard.''
Buoyed by its current winning streak, Lora Westling feels like the Ichabods are getting to the point where they are confident they can win every time out.
"I think we've been a long time for this feeling and I don't know if we're there yet, where everybody's like, 'Oh yeah, it's automatic,' but we're certainly close and I feel like our leadership is getting there with consistency,'' Westling said. "And our new players are kind of figuring out where they're going to thrive and get a lot of credit and praise and really add value for us.
"It's kind of a calming competitiveness around our program right now, which is exactly what you want as a coach.''
Senior Payton Sterk scored a game-high 21 points with five 3-pointers against the Hornets while senior Yibari Nwidadah had a double-double with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Senior Gabi Giovannetti added nine points on three 3-pointers shooting with seven rebounds, a steal and block while senior Aniah Wayne also had nine points off the bench.
Missouri Western enters the matchup 4-9 on the year and 0-4 in the MIAA after falling 87-56 on the road to No. 6 Fort Hays State last time out.
Sterk is leading the Ichabods with a 13.2 scoring average while drilling a team-high 27 3-pointers. Sterk ranks third in the MIAA in 3-point percentage and is sixth in the conference in 3-pointers made.
Nwidadah is averaging 12.6 points and a team-high 6.8 rebounds while also shooting a team-high 57.4 percent from the floor. Nwidadah leads the MIAA and ranks 18th nationally in field goal percentage.
Giovannetti scored 12.1 points and is second on the team with 25 3-pointers while also recording a team-high 1.8 steals per game.
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Coming off a loss to city rival Topeka High four days earlier, Highland Park's boys bounced back with a big 60-32 Meadowlark Conference win over visiting Kansas City- Schlagle Tuesday night.
The Scots would get off to a hot start, with junior JoJo Kingcannon scoring the team's first 8 points to give his team an 8-4 lead early in the first quarter.
Schlagle would answer with a 6-0 run of their own before the Scots would let them know what the nickname Runnin Scots is all about as they would go on a 25-2 run and go into halftime with a commanding 35-13 lead.
“I thought we were out of position several times in the first quarter. We gave them the lead early on just because we weren’t in rotations the right way,'' Highland Park coach Nate Wallace said. "Once we tightened up, we started buying into sharing the ball, we started sharing it pretty well and pretty often, and it gave us a lot of opportunities to get good looks.”
The third quarter would see the Stallions outscore the Scots 14-9 and leave the Scots with a 44-27 lead going into the fourth.
“We didn’t want to say too much to them coaching wise in the third because we wanted them to figure it out,'' Wallace said. "There is a lot of learning lessons that have to be done, I feel like that was a good, comfortable area to let them try to figure it out and try to get recorrected by themselves, because I am a firm believer in player-led groups, and the one big thing about being a player-led group is you got to take ownership.
"So the third quarter, I sat back and wanted to see and observe a little more if they were going to communicate, if they were going to notice, if the other team was going on a run or not, were they going to slow down, just trying to help grow their basketball IQ’s. And then we talked about it at the end of the quarter, and I feel like we made a stronger force.”
The Scots would outscore the Stallions 16-5 in the fourth to beat the Stallions by 28 points.
The Scots would get huge nights from Kingcannon and sophomore Davion Anderson as Kingcannon would lead all scorers with 21 points on 8-11 shooting and three 3s.
“I put a lot on his plate, I put a lot on his shoulders, he’s been bought in since Day 1,'' Wallace said. "He would do two a days at football and then come into the gym and do basketball. He’s been on varsity for three years now with me being an assistant the last two years.
"I am a firm believer in JoJo, he was a huge part of us last year, and I always knew he can score, and he’s scoring efficiently and that’s what I look for.”
Anderson backed Kingcannon with 15 points, including three 3-pointers.
“I knew from the jump when I got the job and looking at the roster, I was like he is my point guard,'' Wallace said of Anderson. "I told him, 'It is yours to lose.' He’s showing up. He’s staying confident. I tell him all the time as a sophomore, you’re going to make mistakes and I am going to live through your mistakes as a sophomore.”
The Scots have a huge league matchup on Friday as league rival and Class 4A No. 2 and 8-0 Atchison will make the hour trip south to Topeka to face the Scots in a game that has determined the League championship since the Scots entered the league.
“That’s a big breakfast is what we call it,'' Wallace said. "They've got all that you want, They've got bigs, they've got guards, they've got bigger wings and they've got shooters. We are going to stay true to our defensive principles. We are going to make it hard on them and play Runnin Scot basketball, push our way through and see what the outcome is in the fourth quarter.”
HIGHLAND PARK 60, KC-SCHLAGLE 32
KC-Schlagle 11 2 14 5 -- 32
Highland Park 16 19 9 16 -- 60
KC-Schlagle (2-5 1-1) -- Dyer 7-11 1-4 16, White 3-11 2-4 8, Howard 1-3 0-0 3, Frazier 1-1 0-0 2, Jones 0-6 0-2 0, Brown 0-2 2-2 2, Johnson 0-0 1-2 1, Evans 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 12-35 6-14 32.
Highland Park (2-4 2-0) -- Kingcannon 8-11 2-2 21, Anderson 6-12 0-0 15, Montgomery 3-6 0-0 7, Mitchell 3-5 0-0 7, Drew 2-4 0-0 6, Pollard 1-3 0-2 2, Smith 1-5 0-0 2, Nance 0-1 0-2 0. Totals 24-47 2-6 60. 3-point goals — Schlagle 2 (Howard, Dyer) Highland Park 10 ( Kingcannon 3, Anderson 3, Drew 2, Montgomery, Mitchell) Total Fouls -- Schlagle 12, Highland Park 13.
