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Rural's Joe Berry glides in for 2 of his 19 points against Topeka High (Photo by Rex Wolf/Top SportsNews)
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural's boys basketball team finally got the chance to play a game Thursday night after a long break and took advantage of that opportunity, rolling to a 64-38 Centennial League road victory at Topeka High.
Like all teams across the state, Rural had an extended holiday layoff due to the coronavirus and then had to wait a couple of extra days when Tuesday's game against Manhattan was postponed.
But it didn't take the Junior Blues long to take shake off any rust, forcing a running clock with just over three minutes remaining on the way to improving to 4-1 overall and in the league as seniors Joe Berry and Jack Hutchinson both scored 19 points while canning 3 3-pointers apiece.
Berry and Hutchinson also had plenty of help, with five Junior Blues scoring at least 6 points, including Jack Bachelor with 9 points, Quincey Kidd with 8 and Brock Howard with 6.
Defensively, Rural forced 16 Topeka High turnovers en route to building a 31-13 halftime lead and stretched its advantage to 49-28 by the end of the third quarter and 64-34 in the fourth.
"I thought we got better as the game went on,'' Washburn Rural coach Kevin Muff said. "We've been out a month now without a game, and these guys are so sick of me in practice, so they're so excited that, 'Hey we get to play again tomorrow (at Junction City) and don't have to practice, that's awesome.' They're celebrating now. The kids at this age would rather play than practice anyway.
"Coming in here is never easy. I don't care what year it is or what's going on, and I thought we did a good job of just establishing the defensive end, got some steals, got some turnovers, got some easy baskets and I thought opened things up and we started sharing the ball and putting where it needed to be.''
Senior Jayden Leesman led Topeka High (1-5, 1-5) with 14 points and senior Jalen Smith added 9, but the Trojans never seemed to get in sync offensively.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 64, TOPEKA HIGH 38
Washburn Rural 10 21 18 15 -- 64
Topeka High 8 5 15 10 -- 38
Washburn Rural (4-1, 4-1) -- Bachelor 3-5 2-2 9, Kidd 3-7 0-0 8, Berry 8-14 0-0 19, Hutchinson 8-15 0-0 19, Howard 3-6 0-0 6, Patterson 0-3 1-2 1, Brady 1-3 0-0 2, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Bunck 0-0 0-0 0, Hanks 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-56 3-4 64.
Topeka High (1-5, 1-5) -- Esquibel 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 4-17 1-4 9, Wilson 3-4 0-2 6, Leesman 6-11 2-2 14, Canady 1-5 0-0 2, Phillips 2-4 0-2 5, Kincade 0-0 0-0 0, McMillon 1-3 0-0 2. Totals 17-44 3-10 38.
3-point goals -- Washburn Rural 9 (Berry 3, Hutchinson 3, Kidd 2, Bachelor), Topeka High 1 (Phillips). Total fouls -- Washburn Rural 12, Topeka High 7. Fouled out -- Brady.
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Trojan's #5 Lilly Smith drives to the basket against Washburn Rural (photo by Rex Wolf/TopSportsNews
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka High's girls basketball team stared the end of its long winning streak in the face Thursday night and found a way to keep it alive.
The top-ranked Trojans trailed No. 4 Washburn Rural, which handed High its last loss in the 2019 Class 6A state championship game, by a 49-46 margin after a Emma Krueger basket with 1:53 remaining, but Topeka High ran off the final 7 points of the game over the final 1:34 to escape with a 53-49 Centennial League win at High.
The Trojans' vaunted defense turned the tide in the late going, forcing multiple turnovers that led to points en route to their 6th straight victory this season and 29th overall.
High junior NiJaree Canady scored back-to-back hoops to put the Trojans up 49-48 and then senior Lilly Smith scored the final 3 points of the game after coming up with two straight steals.
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Washburn Rural’s boys swimmers topped a 13-school field in the Topeka West Invitational, which was contested Tuesday and Wednesday at the Capitol Federal Natatorium, posting seven wins en route to a 434-336 margin over Blue Southwest.
Junior Dagen Clouse captured four gold medals while junior Nathen Trachta won three golds.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Washburn Rural dominated Wednesday’s Topeka High bowling quadrangular at Gage Bowl, sweeping both the boys and girls team and individual titles.
Rural senior Hannah Casto won the girls individual title with a event-best 695 three-game series, including a second-game 299, as the Junior Blues won the girls team championship by 428 pins over runner-up Shawnee Heights (2,403-1975).
Kaitlyn Doyal posted a second-place individual finish for Rural’s girls with a 594 series, while Shawnee Heights’ Brylee Prockish was third with a 555 series to lead the runner-up T-Birds.
Doyal had a high game of 209, the second-highest game in the girls division on the day.
Rural sophomore Josh Hammons rolled a 669 series to take the boys individual crown, leading the Junior Blues to a 90-pin win over Shawnee Heights (2,542-2,452).
Hammons put together three straight 200 games to win the boys title by 23 pins over Junction City’s Torrey Lindsay, who had a 646 series.
Hammons opened with a 238 game, followed by 205 and 226 games.
Runner-up Shawnee Heights was led by Aidan VanMetre (636) and Josh Egly (627), who finished fourth and fifth individually.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West junior basketball standout Elijah Brooks certainly didn't want to have to fight through an injury earlier this season.
But after going down early in the Chargers’ game against Shawnee Heights with an injury to his left foot and missing West’s final game before the holiday break against Manhattan, the 6-foot-3 Brooks is quickly making up for lost time.
“I rolled it when I tried to stop too quick and I dislocated a bone,’’ Brooks said.
Elijah Brooks
Brooks had to stay off the foot for a couple of weeks, but said that time made him appreciate how much he loves the game.
“It makes you anxious and it makes you look at the game better and see you need to cherish every moment that you play,’’ Brooks said.
Brooks has been outstanding since returning to action, scoring 28 points in West’ 78-60 Centennial League win over Hayden last Friday and following that up with a 29-point performance in Tuesday’s 76-50 win over Emporia.
