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Created: 12 January 2021

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka West senior Marque Wilkerson helped open the door for Seaman in Saturday's Class 5A boys sub-state championship game by missing his first three free throw attempts and four of his first five.

But the Charger point guard slammed the door on the Vikings with 12.6 seconds remaining, hitting a pair of charites to clinch a 55-52 win that earned West a spot in the Class 5A state quarterfinals.

Topeka West's Marque Wilkerson slams the door on the Vikings with 12.6 seconds remaining, hitting a pair of charities to clinch a 55-52 win that earned West a spot in the Class 5A state quarterfinals. (Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN)

"I thought, "These have got to count. I haven't hit none all game, so these have to count. I've got to knock them down,'' Wilkerson said after the Chargers earned their first trip to state since 2010 with their 13th straight victory.

Topeka West, now 19-2, will travel to Hays on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. contest, with the Indians improving to 22-0 with a 61-48 win over Salina South.

Topeka West with its sub-state championship trophy after Saturday's 55-52 win over Seaman. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

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Created: 12 January 2021

TopSports.news

Two of Washburn University's six regular-season men's basketball losses came at the hands of Missouri Western, but Brett Ballard's Ichabods took no chances of that happening a third time, going wire to wire for a 101-72 romp past the Griffons in the MIAA Tournament semifinals Friday night at Maryville, Mo.

With the victory the 18-6 Ichabods advanced to the 6 p.m. championship game Saturday against 23-1 Northwest Missouri on the Bearcats' home court. Northwest Missouri, whose lone loss on the year came against Washburn, advanced to the championship game with a 104-72 win over Central Oklahoma.

Washburn rode 9-0 and 18-0 first-half runs to a commanding 57-29 cushion over Missouri Western and never looked back, leading by as many as 35 points in the second half.

“We played terrific,” Washburn coach Brett Ballard told KTPK radio. “The first couple of times we played them I thought they were the more aggressive team, so we really tried to emphasize to our guys that we wanted to come out and attack them and we were really good that first 20 minutes. I thought our guys executed at a high level.

"Everybody was good, and certainly when you score 57 points in a half, there's a lot of things going well.''

Junior Jalen Lewis finished with a career-high 29 points while connecting on 6 of 9 3-point attempts. Senior Tyler Geiman backed Lewis with 21 points and a huge 12 assists while junior Jonny Clausing added 16 points as WU 62 percent from the field (38 of 62) with 14 3-pointers.

 Jalen Lewis scored a career-high 29 points as Washburn advanced to the MIAA Tournament title game with a 101-72 romp past Missouri Western. [File photograph from Rex Wolf/TSN]

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Created: 12 January 2021

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

EMPORIA -- Perseverance paid off for Seaman's girls basketball team Friday night, with the Vikings upsetting Emporia 37-27 in a Class 5A sub-state final to advance to the Class 5A state tournament for the third straight season.

"Like I told the girls before the game, we've had to overcome so much this year," Seaman coach Matt Tinsley said. "Twenty-four days in quarantine, cancellations, COVID protocols, and we took those setbacks and let it fuel our comeback. I'm just so happy for the girls that they get to experience this."

Seaman, which will take a 6-14 record into Monday's 6 p.m. 5A quarterfinal game at Salina Central (18-4), entered postseason on a 5-game losing streak while Emporia started the night on an 8-game win streak, but the Vikings rode outstanding defense and some timely offense to the upset win.

Seaman's girls basketball team celebrates after receiving the Class 5A sub-state championship trophy Friday night. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

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Created: 12 January 2021

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

WICHITA -- Washburn Rural put itself in position to challenge for a Class 6A boys state bowling championship with a solid performance in the three American Tenpin games that started Friday's state tournament at Northrock Lanes, punctuated by an outstanding third game.

Rural rode a 948 third game, with 4 bowlers between 214 and 258, to a 2,602-2,583 margin over Wichita Heights entering the four Baker format games, but that's where the Junior Blues' title hopes faded, with Washburn Rural ending up 4th in the final standings while Wichita Northwest rallied for the championship by a 3,387-3,354 count over Heights.

Washburn Rural sophomore Geo Itzep receives congratulations from his teammates after rolling a strike in Friday's Class 6A bowling tournament. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Washburn looked to have everything going its way at the start of Baker, but the Junior Blues stumbled out of the gate with a 148 opening game and then followed that up with a 167, opening the door for a balanced 6A field.

The Junior Blues came alive with a 224 3rd game but slipped back to a 180 in their final game, posting a 719 total which was the second-lowest among the eight teams in the field. Olathe South edged Rural 3,330-3,321 for the third-place trophy.

"I think we had so much momentum and then we kind of had a little break and we got in our heads because of it,'' said junior Matthew Hartter, who placed 6th individually with a 675 series to lead 4 state medalists for the Junior Blues.

"We bowled good, but we were just so close to what we wanted.''

Washburn Rural coach Jo Ricard agreed.

"I could see them kind of tense up some going into the Baker after having that wonderful third game and when you go into your Baker you've got to stay relaxed,'' Ricard said. "If you tense up it's hard to just throw your shot and I think we saw some of that happening.''

Rural senior Jacob Morgan finished 12th individually with a 633 series while sophomore Geo Itzep was 14th (629) and senior Cale Marsh 19th (610).

The Junior Blues also got 32nd-place finish from senior Sam Shonka (572) and a 55th-place finish from sophomore Joshua Hammons (490).

Wichita Northwest senior Brandon Bonta won the individual championship with a 788 three-game series while Campus junior V-Thoon Thanasouk finished second with a 713 series.

CLASS 6A BOYS STATE BOWLING

Team scores

Wichita Northwest 3,387, Wichita Heights 3,354, Olathe South 3,330, Washburn Rural 3,321, Campus 3,299, Lawrence 3,256, Olathe West 2,829, Free State 2,937. 

Individual results

1. Brandon Bonta, Wichita Northwest, 788; 2. V-Thoon Thanasouk, Campus, 713; 3. Jy'Vaughn Martin, Wichita Heights, 686; 4. Carson Toews, Lawrence,  680; 5. Silas Limes, Wichita Heights, 677; 6. Matthew Hartter, Washburn Rural, 675; 7. Peter Dokolas, Olathe South, 670; 8. Joshua Q. King, Lawrence, 668; 9. Kaden Whitehurst, Garden City, 663; 10. Logan Bennett, Olathe East, 653 (246); 11. Aidan Baker, Free State, 653 (226); 12. Jacob Morgan, Washburn Rural, 633; 13. Jason Miller, Derby, 631; 14. Geo Itzep, Washburn Rural, 629; 15. Dylan Depperschmidt, Wichita Heights, 626; 16. Tyler Newell, Wichita South, 624; 17. Nathan KleinSchrodt, Campus, 616 (247); 18. Eddie Shipley, Olathe South, 616 (221); 19. Cole Marsh, Washburn Rural, 610; 20. Maison Albadaro, Lawrence, 604.

Other Washburn Rural -- 32. Sam Shonka, 572; 55. Joshua Hammons, 490.

Other Topeka High -- 41. Majayla Boyd, 487.