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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Still playing without senior standout Isiah Johnson and his 30-point scoring average due to COVID-19 protocols, Shawnee Heights went on the road Tuesday night and came home with a big 63-51 United Kansas Conference win over Leavenworth.
Four Shawnee Heights players cracked double figures, led by sophomore Dante' Harrison with 17 points, as the T-Birds improved to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the UKC.
Andrew Rantz and Harvey Davis both added 12 points for the T-Birds while Nate Pewe had 11 for the T-Birds.
"It was a big win,'' Heights coach Ken Darting said. "I think this is something we can build on. We just need to keep growing every day and I think we will.''
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By Andrew Gill
TopSports.news
After losing their first four games of the season, Eric King’s Topeka HighTrojans looked determined to rewrite the script Tuesday night at Hayden.
“We’ve been getting better and better as a team. We’ve been emphasizing teamwork in practice,” King said – and it showed.
Their decisive 59-40 victory over the Wildcats was a true team effort for the Trojans, with eight different players scoring.
Seniors Jalen Smith, Isiah Esquibel, and Jevhyn Wilson led the way with a combined 39 points and 18 rebounds.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
A good indication of how high Rick Bloomquist's expectations are for this year's Topeka West boys basketball team was the veteran coach's mood after Tuesday night's home Centennial League game against Emporia.
The Chargers had just rolled to a 76-50 victory over the Spartans to improve to 6-0 overall and 5-0 in the league, but Bloomquist, by his own admission, wasn't exactly pleased.
"I'm not real happy,'' Bloomquist said with a chuckle. "We expect to win right now. I'm not going to be bashful about it, I'm not going to get into any old cliches about one at a time. I believe all of that, yes, but I don't do this to expect not to win. It's been a hard build to get this place to where it's at right now and we feel very fortunate that we've got the kids we have because I've got some very talented players that work hard for us, but the bar is higher and we're trying to get there too fast.
"We've got to be a little bit more patient, a little bit more poised and it's got to start from the top. That means me, so I'm going in the locker room and I'm going to be patient and poised and tell them how unhappy I am.''
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by Rick Peterson
Top Sports News
JALEY BARKLEY, Cair Paravel Latin
A junior, Barkley scored 20 points, with 3 3-pointers and a 7 of 9 performance at the free throw line, as Cair Paravel took a 46-40 road win at Olathe Heritage Christian to improve to 3-2 on the season.
MARANDA BELL, Shawnee Heights
A junior, Bell won the 191-pound championship at Saturday's Blue Valley Southwest Invitational, recording four straight pins. Ranked No. 2 in Division I, Bell improved to improve to 12-0 this season with 12 pins.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After scoring the first 19 points in Saturday's 92-34 romp past Junction City, Topeka High's girls basketball team got off to a bit of a slow start Monday night, trailing early at Hayden.
But the Trojans got cranked up over the final three quarters, increasing itheir win streak to 28 games with a 72-33 Centennial League win over the Wildcats.
NiJaree Canady
After trailing 8-5 and 10-8, the Trojans (5-0 overall and in the league) scored the final 4 points of the first quarter to take a 16-12 lead before using a 24-7 second quarter to take control, 40-19.