By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Centennial League-leading Washburn Rural boys were a little slow getting out of the gate Tuesday night, trailing underdog Topeka High 10-8 at end of the opening quarter.
But Alex Hutchins' Junior Blues got better and better as the night wore on, rolling to a 61-35 Senior Night decision over the Trojans at Washburn Rural.
Topeka High's Jayden Norman (5) and Washburn Rural's Jack Bachelor (12) try to corral a loose ball in the Junior Blues' 61-35 win Tuesday night at Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Washburn Rural junior JC Heim (25) grabs one of his nine rebounds in Tuesday's 61-35 Centennial League win over Topeka High at Rural. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"I thought we were impatient early, we settled,'' Hutchins said. "I think we're a good shooting team and we like to get outside looks but I think that's all we were doing and weren't putting enough pressure on the rim and getting into the paint enough, but I do think our defense was pretty consistent throughout and kind of kept us in it early when we were being impatient on offense.''
It didn't take long for Washburn Rural (14-4 overall, 7-1 league) to turn its two-point deficit into a double-digit advantage, with the Junior Blues outscoring the Trojans (3-15, 0-8) by a 35-11 margin over the middle two quarters to take control.
Washburn Rural scored the final eight points of the second quarter to open up a 25-15 halftime advantage and the Junior Blues scored the first 11 points of the second halt to take a 36-15 lead on a bucket by sophomore Max Bettis.
The Junior Blues led 43-21 at the start of the fourth quarter and cruised the rest of the way.
Eleven players cracked the scoring column for Washburn Rural, led by senior Jack Bachelor with 12 points. Five other Junior Blues scored between six and eight points while junior JC Heim pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Topeka High has one of the Centennial League's most proflific 3-point shooting teams but after senior Mason Gomez hit two 3s in the first 3:46, the Trojans struggled outside the arc until junior Isaiah Lyons hit two treys in the fourth quarter.
"We just tried to get a hand up,'' Hutchins said. "We spent a lot of time in practice trying to be there on the catch and trying to make sure people weren't comfortable on the catch and getting (shots) off easy.''
Gomez tied Rural's Bachelor for game-high scoring honors with 12 points.
Washburn Rural will travel to Manhattan on Friday for a Centennial League game while Topeka High will be at home to host Hayden in a league contest.
WASHBURN RURAL BOYS 61, TOPEKA HIGH 35
Topeka High 10 5 6 14 -- 35
Washburn Rural 8 17 18 18 -- 61
Topeka High (3-15, 0-8) -- Lyons 2-11 2-2 8, Thrasher 3-8 1-1 7, Hales 1-4 0-0 2, Gomez 5-13 0-1 12, Votaw 2-4 0-0 4, J. Villegas 0-2 0-0 0, Norman 1-3 0-0 2, M. Villegas 0-1 0-0 0, Mosqueda 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 14-51 3-4 35.
Washburn Rural (14-4, 7-1) -- Morris 2-5 1-2 6, Hirschi 1-3 0-0 2, Bachelor 5-7 2-3 12, Conklin 1-5 0-0 3, Heim 3-4 0-0 6, Jones 3-3 1-1 7, Leonard 0-0 0-0 0, Ballard 1-5 0-0 3, Shriver 3-4 0-0 6, Durst 2-6 0-0 4, S. Bettis 3-5 1-2 8, M. Bettis 2-3 0-2 4. Totals 26-50 5-12 61.
3-point goals -- Topeka High 4 (Lyons 2, Gomez 2), Washburn Rural 4 (Ballard, Morris, Conklin, S. Bettis), Total fouls -- Topeka High 7, Washburn Rural 9. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- none.
