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By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
A strong showing on the defensive end led to offensive opportunities as the Washburn Rural boys picked up a 74-45 win over Centennial League rival Manhattan on Tuesday night at Rural.
Junior John Hoytal led Washburn Rural with 18 points in Tuesday's 74-45 Centennial League win over Manhattan. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
The Junior Blues set the tone early, starting the game with an 8-0 run. Junior Simon Rowley earned the first points of the evening, snagging his first of a team-high seven rebounds and finishing with a putback layup. The run also saw a layup from junior John Hoytal before senior Kaden Ballard knocked down a mid-range jumper to give the hosts the 8-0 lead.
After a pair of free throws by the Indians, Washburn Rural answered with layups from Rowley and senior Amare Jones to stretch the lead to 12-2.
Sam Spiegel gave Manhattan its first field goal of the evening, but a floater from Hoytal forced an Indian timeout with 2:03 to play in the first quarter. The Junior Blues forced eight turnovers by Manhattan in the first period on their way to an 18-6 lead, with Hoytal scoring seven points in the opening frame.
The Indians found the first points of the second quarter with a layup from Vince Doering, but Hoytal answered with a 3-pointer.
While the Manhattan offense took better care of the ball in the second period, Washburn Rural kept its foot on the gas, jumping out to a 36-17 halftime lead.
Jones helped the hosts’ effort with six consecutive points late in the half.
After allowing an 8-0 run to start the game, Manhattan found an 8-0 run of its own to open the second half, cutting the Junior Blue lead to 36-25.
The hosts answered with a 3-pointer from junior Draden Chooncharoen and a layup from Ballard, but a jumper from Landon Knopp and a layup from Doering kept the Indians within striking distance.
Midway through the third quarter, a pair of big plays shifted the momentum in favor of the Junior Blues.
Ballard finished a difficult layup along with a foul, hitting the free throw to complete the 3-point play. Jones then knocked down a 3-pointer from the left wing to extend the lead to 47-31.
The visitors continued to battle into the fourth quarter, with Noah McFadden completing a 3-point play to start the period.
Hoytal answered with a 3-point play of his own, before the Indians found two consecutive baskets to cut the lead to 14.
Washburn Rural closed the game with an 18-3 run to secure the win, with much of the scoring coming off the bench.
Freshman Brooks Ballard hit a pair of 3-pointers, with the first coming off an assist from older brother Kaden with 3:49 to play in the contest.
Junior Simon Rowley scored 14 points Tuesday as Washburn Rural improved to 11-4 with a 74-45 win over Manhattan. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Senior Amare Jones scored 14 points in Washburn Rural's 74-45 Centennial League win over Manhattan. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Hoytal led the Junior Blues with 18 points on 6-8 shooting while adding five rebounds. Rowley and Jones added 14 points each.
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By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
Maddie Vickery may have two full seasons of high school basketball left, but Manhattan residents got an early glimpse of the Kansas State commit as the Washburn Rural girls knocked off the Manhattan Indians 58-28 on Tuesday night at Washburn Rural.
Sophomore Maddie Vickery scored a game-high 27 points in Washburn Rural's 58-28 win over Manhattan Tuesday night. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Both offenses were slow to develop, with the Indians (10-5 overall, 3-2 Cetennial League) grabbing the first lead with a pair of free throws from Bailey Busch.
After the teams traded layups at each end, Ella Hirschi knocked down a 3-pointer to give the Junior Blues (11-4, 4-1) a 5-4 lead.
Senior Kate Hinck had a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds in Tuesday's 58-28 win over Manhattan. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Despite the initial slow start, the Washburn Rural offense took off in the later stages of the first quarter, with a pair of layups from senior guard Kate Hinck giving the Junior Blues a 11-6 advantage. Hirschi added a pair of 3-pointers to grab a quick nine points off the bench, with the hosts leading 19-10 after eight minutes of play.
While Hirschi led the dance in the first quarter, the second quarter belonged to Vickery. The sophomore tallied 16 of her 20 first-half points in the frame, knocking down four 3-pointers and going a perfect 4-4 from the line.
The Junior Blue defense held the Indians to nine points in the period, taking a 40-19 lead into the locker room.
Manhattan came out of the gate quickly, grabbing the first four points of the second half with layups from Kat Ball and Delaney Larson, cutting the Washburn Rural lead to 40-23. The Junior Blues answered with a 12-2 run, featuring a pair of layups from Hinck and six points from Vickery.
With the contest in hand for Washburn Rural, the fourth quarter was played with a running clock, with the hosts securing the 58-28 victory.
Vickery led the Junior Blues with 27 points on 7-17 shooting, going 9-10 from the charity stripe. Hinck added 12 points on 5-10 shooting while pulling down 11 rebounds to complete the double-double.
Washburn Rural out-rebounded Manhattan by a 30-19 margin.
Busch led the Indians with 8 points, with Ball chipping in 7 points. Jelena Depusoir led Manhattan with six rebounds.
Even though the hosts endured an early dry spell, Washburn Rural coach Kevin Bordewick was pleased to see his team taking advantage of the defense and getting high-quality shots from behind the arc.
“I thought we recognized (Manhattan was) backing off,” Bordewick said. “I just thought we were taking what the defense was giving us and doing a good job of finishing plays.”
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
It might have been cold outside, but it definitely was not cold inside the Ken Bueltel Center Tuesday as the Class 4A No. 1-ranked Hayden girls would go up against Topeka High.
Freshman Hailey Schmidtlein (2) tied for game-high honors with 19 points in Hayden's 55-49 win at Hayden Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
Senior Millie Ramsey had 11 of her 17 points in the second half in Hayden's 55-49 win over Topeka High. [File photo/TSN]
And although the Wildcats would trail much of the game, Hayden took control down the stretch to pull out a 55-49 Centennial League victory.
The Trojans would get off to a hot start by going up 15-11 to end the first and the game would go back and fourth but ending the first half would be all Trojans.
The Trojans were led by sophomore guard Ahsieryrhuajh Rayton, who scored 11 of her 19 in the first half.
After making some changes at halftime Hayden would finish the third quarter still trailing 42-40 but would out-score the Trojans 14-13 in the third and 15-7 in the fourth to pull out the 6-point win.
The Wildcats got big nights from freshman Hailey Schmidtlein, who would tie for game-high scoring honors with Rayton with 19 points, and senior Amelia Ramsey, who would score 17 points with 11 of those coming after halftime.
“This was a hard fought game, they have a lot of talent and their two guards were hot and they have added some things down low,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. "They will be a tough out for anybody come postseason. I was really proud of our girls for coming back and getting the win.
“Hailey allowed us to get out in transition, Millie did what Millie does. She is a force in the paint, gets offensive and defensive rebounds, has a soft touch around the rim. Brylee (Meier), Norma (Greco) and Bella (Reid), all our seniors played really well tonight.”
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By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Rewind to a year ago and the Hayden boys where in the same position as Topeka High found itself in Tuesday night as the Wildcats entered the game on a 12-game losing streak and would leave by beating the Trojans 57-42.
Junior Elisha Guest scored 15 points with three 3-pointers in Topeka High's 65-60 Centennial League win over Hayden. [File photo/TSN]
Fast forward to Tuesday as Topeka High would be the team needing a win and the Trojans would find just that, picking up their first win of the season with a 65-60 road Centennial League victory over Class 4A No. 4-ranked Hayden .
The start of the game would be in favor of the Wildcats as they would get off to the hot start with a 14-12 lead at the end of the first quarter and take a 33-27 lead into halftime, led by junior Connor Hanika, who would have 12 of his team high 16 points at halftime.
High would come out of halftime fighting as they would be down 54-47 at the end of three with a huge momentum swing right at the buzzer when junior Elisha Guest would hit a 3 to end the third and help his team get hot going into the fourth.
The Trojans would out-score the Wildcats 18-6 in the fourth to rally for the 5-point victory.
The Trojans would get a big night from Topeka West transfer Guest, who would score 15 points.
Guest, who spent the last 2 seasons at West made the move to High over the summer and has been a huge help for coach Geo Lyons and the Trojans.
“He is a basketball junkie, he is a gym rat, he is the kid I talk to the most,'' Lyons said. "He watches a lot of film, he is a sponge and wants to absorb as much as he can. We do a lot of film sessions one on one, and he has came in and helped push the guys that where here before he got here. He has been a great spark for us coming over from West.''
“It has been crazy,'' Guest said. "The pressure, the challenge of coming in and starting, I am glad to be doing it. I love basketball.”
Junior Octavian McFadden led Topeka High with a game-high 18 points in Tuesday's 65-60 Centennial League win at Hayden. [File photo/TSN]
The Trojans also got a big night from junior Octavian McFadden, who would lead all scorers with 18 points.
“I am proud of my teammates, all my points came off of assists from my teammates,'' McFadden said. "Coach just kept telling us we were right there and remained calm and kept telling us we were right there. Every game we’ve been there and then we slipped, but this one we started slipping and big guys came in and made big plays, and defense led to offense.”
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By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Seaman boys swim team placed third in the top-heavy United Kansas Conference boys championship meet at Capitol Federal Natatorium Tuesday.
Lansing placed first in all three relays and took first in four of the nine individual events on the night to rack up 264 points. Basehor-Linwood came in second with 227. De Soto finished in fifth but took home three of the individual medals.
Shawnee Heights senior Truman Brede was the lone city gold medalist in Tuesday's UKC swimming championships. [File photo/TSN]
That left just one first-place medal in the Capital City. Shawnee Heights senior Truman Brede took home the gold in the 100 yard backstroke with a time of 56.59.
"I’m a little disappointed on the time,” Brede said. “I took first in the city meet with a (55.83), so I kind of added a little bit. I knew the kid from Lansing is tough competition. He beat me in this meet last year, so I was really focused on beating him this year.”
Brede finished 10th in Class 5A state in the backstroke as a sophomore, then moved up to ninth as a junior. He said he is ranked fourth in the state currently. He said the UKC meet is good preparation for the state meet.
“It’s really about facing the teams that I know are going to be up there, Lansing being a big one. They have a lot of top swimmers coming to state,” Brede said. “The only thing we don’t get with the league meet is the Wichita schools. Wichita schools are also a lot of top placers.”
Peyton Holmes helped lead Seaman to a city-best third-place team finish in Tuesday's UKC swimming championships. [File photo/TSN]
City champ in the 50 yard freestyle, Peyton Holmes, shaved .31 seconds off his time from the city meet to finish second at the UKC meet.
“I still think I can go faster,” said Holmes. “This is a really tough meet. I’m happy with second for now.
“Getting third (in the UKC) is cool. We got third at city and there was less competition there. So third here is a lot better than what we did at city. We kind of redeemed it a little bit.”
“Lansing and Basehor-Linwood are great programs, so we feel good about taking third,” Seaman coach Bernie Tuck said. “We’ve had some challenges this season, so making it to this point is exciting. The guys can be self-reflective on their performance. That’s always good to give you an eye-opener going into the state meet.”
In a poll of league coaches, Tuck was voted UKC co-ocach of the Year.
“It’s always nice to be recognized for the work,” Tuck said. “I know I’m not the only coach that, you know, works seven days a week, so it’s good to be in a great community of the coaches who I admire and look up to.”
UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE SWIMMING
