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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Washburn men’s basketball and Emporia State faced off in the Turnpike Tussle for the third time this season and the second time in the last week Friday night.
This time the game would take place in the MIAA tournament quarterfinals and just like the first two games, it was the team from Topeka that came out on top, with the Ichabods winning 88-81.
“That was a heck of a college basketball game,” said Washburn coach Brett Ballard. “They are tough for us to play, especially those guards.”
“This is a big game for us for a number of reasons, one you are trying to extend your season. You are playing a rival and they are right down the road from us, so it means a lot for our players and our program and to our fans, too.”
Washburn celebrates at the end of Friday's 88-81 MIAA Tournament win over Emporia State. The Ichabods reached the 20-win mark for the second straight season. [Photo by Kyle Manthe/The Washburn Review]
The tournament being held in Kansas City after a year away made it more important for the players from the area.
“There’s a lot of people here, and a lot of local people that me and Lew (Jalen Lewis) have known for a while,” said senior Tyler Geiman, a Blue Valley product. “Washburn brought the crowd and the energy today so they were awesome.”
The win was Washburn’s 20th on the season as the Ichabods moved to 20-9, a second straight year the team has hit the 20-win mark.
“If you get to 20 wins in a college basketball season that is something that you should be proud of,” Ballard said. “I wasn’t sure if we were going to get here, we just kind of scratched and clawed our way back into this situation and I am really proud of our team to get 20.”
The game began with a personal 5-0 run for MIAA freshman of the year Michael Keegan to put the Ichabods in front.
The Hornets would quickly come back to tie the game at eight and take a brief lead.
Throughout the first half neither team would lead by more than five points. In the middle portion it was Geiman and Jonny Clausing who each had six points at the six-minute mark with the score tied at 23.
For Emporia State it was the usual suspects, seniors Tray Buchanan and Jumah’ri Turner, who combined for 20 first-half points.
Keegan broke loose for two transition layups in the final five minutes to give him 12 in the first half. A free throw from Clausing in the final five seconds tied the game at 35 heading into the break.
Out of halftime Buchanan heated up quickly, scoring 11 points in the first five minutes, including three 3-pointers. Washburn was able to withstand the run with 12 combined points from Geiman and sophomore Connor Deffebaugh over the same first five minutes.
“I am proud of my guys, they accepted the challenge. We didn’t flinch when they were making some tough shots, we just kept competing and kept playing,” Ballard said.
The Ichabods made it a 56-50 game just under the 14-minute mark and tied the largest lead for either side to that point. Lewis and sophomore Tyler Nelson each scored five with one 3-pointer in the stretch.
“We feel like we have different guys that can come at you in different ways, we got a lot of weapons,” Ballard said. “Hopefully one of the things that makes us hard to guard is the different guys that can step up.”
Lewis continued to score and the lead continued to grow, reaching 11 points with 7:41 left after another 3-pointer.
“TY (Geiman) found me in my spots and really got me going,” Lewis said. “Just trusting the work that I put in and shooting shots when I needed to.”
Lewis scored 20 points in the game, all coming after halftime as he follows up winning MIAA tournament MVP honors last season.
“Postseason play is always fun, this is what we work for all year, so just to be able to come out here and compete with my guys one last time. This is definitely special for me,” Lewis said.
The Hornets began to battle back, with Turner knocking down jump shots and with post players getting to the free throw line. With just over three minutes to go the lead was cut to just three.
Geiman would take over for the next two minutes, leading Washburn on an 9-4 run, scoring seven points and assisting the other two. Three of the points came on a pull-up 3-pointer with 1:30 left to take a six-point lead.
Emporia State was forced to foul and Lewis came through at the line, knocking down three of four free throws in the final seconds to secure the seven-point win.
“The game went about how I thought it would go … we knew we would have to grind it out,” Ballard said. “I just like that we didn’t flinch, kept playing and responded the right way.”
Geiman and Lewis paced the Ichabods with 20 points each, with Geiman notching seven assists. Deffebaugh scored 14 on 4-8 shooting and Keegan and Clausing scored 12 and 11 respectively as all five starters reached double figures.
Washburn will take on No. 1 Central Oklahoma in a 5 p.m. semifinal Saturday.
WASHBURN MEN 88, EMPORIA STATE 81
Emporia State 35 48 – 81
Washburn 35 53 -- 88
Emporia State (20-9)
Scoring: Van Dyke 4-6 2-4 10, Buom 0-2 0-0 0, Buchanan 6-16 5-7 22, Evans 4-10 0-0 12, Turner 7-20 6-6 23, McGuire 2-4 1-2 5, Rogers-Schmidt 0-0 5-6 5, Thiessen 1-2 0-0 2, Haddock 0-0 0-0 0, Robinson 0-0 0-0 0, McCray 1-1 0-0 2, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 25-61 19-25 81.
Washburn (20-9)
Scoring: Clausing 3-5 5-8 11, Deffebaugh 4-8 5-5 14, Geiman 7-14 5-7 20, Lewis 7-11 3-4 20, Keegan 5-8 12, Nelson 3-4 1-2 8, Harrell 0-1 0-0 0, Ellis 0-2 0-0 0, Braun 1-2 0-0 3. Totals: 30-55 19-26 88.
3-point shots – Emporia State: 12-38 (Van Dyke 0-1, Buchanan 5-14, Evans 4-10, Turner 3-11, McGuire 0-1, Thiessen 0-1). Rebounds – Emporia State 33 (Van Dyke 10), Washburn 31 (Clausing 8). Assists – Emporia State 11 (Turner 4), Washburn 12 (Geiman 12). Turnovers – Emporia State 8, Washburn 11. Fouled out – Emporia State (Evans), Washburn (Deffebaugh). Technical fouls – Emporia State 2 (Turner, McGuire), Washburn 2 (Nelson, Deffebaugh).
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Highland Park’s offensive onslaught against Piper Friday night boosted the Scots into the Class 5A boys state tournament with an 89-52 win at Highland Park.
It was a big night for the Scots’ trio of Bo Aldridge, Juan’Tario Roberts and Tre Richardson, with Aldridge leading the team with 27 points while Roberts added 20 points and Richardson 14.
Junior Bo Aldridge slams home a dunk as part of his 27-point night in Highland Park's 89-52 win over Piper in Friday's Class 5A sub-state final. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Juan'Tario Roberts (left) scored 20 points in Highland Park's 89-52 win over Piper Friday night as the Scots earned a trip to the Class 5A state tournament. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
With Friday's win Highland Park earned its second trip to the 5A state tournament at Emporia's White Auditorium in three seasons while improving to 18-4.
“Arguably, this is one of the best teams I’ve had as a head coach,” Highland Park coach Mike Williams said. “This didn’t happen overnight. Nothing in this has happened easily. This has been one of the most successful seasons that we’ve had and it’s also been one of the most challenging (seasons) we’ve had.
“If you ask me how I’m doing, I can say I am doing pretty dang good.”
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By ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
Topeka High is heading to the Class 6A state tournament for the fourth straight season after a 67-46 victory over the Liberal Redskins in Friday's sub-state final at High..
The Trojans have advanced to the semifinals the past three seasons with a pair of runner-up finishes. High, which will open state tournament play at Wichita State's Koch Arena next Wednesday, was 23-0 in 2020 when the tournament was canceled after the first round due to COVID-19 and finished second a year ago.
Junior guard Kiki Smith fired Topeka High Friday against Liberal, scoring a game-high 33 points as the Trojans improved to 20-2.
“After the first two shots I made and then the 3-pointer right after that, I knew it was going to be a great game,” Smith said. "Everything came together so fast and it felt good, as a team, to get the win and go to state.”
Junior Kiki Smith (23) poured in 33 points Friday night as Topeka High earned a Class 6A state tournament berth with a 67-46 win over Liberal. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Smith’s stellar first quarter was good, but her fourth quarter was even better, with her 13 points in the quarter all coming from the paint.
“I know (Smith) was disappointed in the Junction City game and she really wanted to get back out there, show herself and everyone else how good she truly is,” Topeka High coach Hannah Alexander said. “Most of our starters didn’t get the playing time they wanted, so they all wanted to go out on the court tonight and give everything they had.
“They gave it their all and I’m proud of Kiki and our girls for that.”
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Obviously Washburn Rural's girls basketball team was happy to earn a trip back to the Class 6A state tournament for the first time since winning the state title in 2019.
But the initial reaction after Rural's 47-27 win over Centennial League rival Manhattan in Friday's sub-state final at Rural was more of concern than celebration after a late-game injury to junior standout Brooklyn DeLeye.
DeLeye, Rural's 6-foot-2 frontliner, led the 20-2 Junior Blues with 13 points, but went down with an injury to her right knee with 55.9 seconds remaining and had to be helped from the floor.
The severity of DeLeye's injury was not immediately known, with Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick hoping for the best.
"We're hoping and praying for the best,'' Bordewick said. "She's obviously an integral part of who we are as a team, and aside from her playing ability and athleticism, she's just a great kid, a great teammate.''
Washburn Rural's girls basketball team earned a spot in next week's Class 6A state tournament with a 47-27 win over Manhattan Friday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Washburn Rural beat Manhattan for the third time Friday night, but the 9-13 Indians remained within striking distance through the first half before Rural put the game away with a 20-9 third quarter.
Bordewick was not surprised that Manhattan gave a tougher battle the third time around.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West's boys basketball team notched yet another in a growing list of impressive accomplishments Friday night.
The Chargers picked up win No. 21 on the season with their 20th straight victory while earning a return trip to the Class 5A state tournament with a 73-59 victory over Andover at West.
"It's this whole program, it's not just these guys but it's last year's team, the year before and the teams that worked to get us to this level,'' Topeka West coach Rick Bloomquist said. "To go to state back to back is pretty special for anybody.
"For Topeka West to get there twice in a row and win 20 games back to back says a lot for the kids that we have here, that they believe in what we're doing. They've bought into our system, they bought into our discipline, they bought into everything that we threw at them and this is their reward and I'm so proud of them because they're a great bunch of kids.''
Topeka West's boys basketball team poses with its sub-state championship trophy after Friday's 73-59 win over Andover. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Topeka West, the 5A runner-up last season, took control early against the Trojans and never looked back as senior Elijah Brooks and junior Malachi Berg combined for 47 points.
The Chargers opened up a 19-11 first-quarter lead and pushed their advantage to 33-20 at the half.
West led 53-39 at the start of the fourth quarter and led by a game's biggest 22 points (61-39) with six minutes remaining before Andover (17-5) used its pressure to defense to get as close as 10 points twice over the final 2:50.
That was about the only aspect of West's performance that Bloomquist was disappointed in.
"We didn't handle their press very well, but we can fix that,'' Bloomquist said. "We press each other every damn night in practice and we looked like we'd never seen a press before.''
