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Four Topeka West players scored 14 or more points as the Chargers moved closer to the Centennial League boys basketball championship with a decisive 66-46 road win Monday night at Washburn Rural.
Topeka West started slow out of the gate, trailing the Junior Blues 10-5 at the end of the first quarter, but the Chargers took control of the game with a 48-23 scoring advantage over the middle two quarters en route to improving to 14-2 overall and 11-1 in the league with their eighth straight victory.
Elijah Brooks
West, which knocked Washburn Rural out of a tie for second, now leads the league race by two games over Highland Park with four games left to play.
Balance was the key in Monday's win, with junior Elijah Brooks scoring a game-high 18 points, senior Marque Wilkerson 17 and Trevion Alexander and Zander Putthoff 14 apiece for West.
Washburn Rural (10-6, 9-4) opened up a 7-1 lead on a Jack Hutchinson 3-pointer midway through the opening quarter and went up 10-3 on a 3-point play from Joe Berry with 2:43 left in the quarter, but Topeka West answered with a 12-0 run, including 6 straight by Alexander to go up 15-10 with five minutes left in the first half.
Rural was still within 3 points (22-19) with 1:52 remaining, but the Chargers ended the half with an 8-0 run, including back-to-back 3-pointers from Putthoff, to take a commanding 30-19 halftime advantage.
West went on to lead by 21 twice in the third and took a 53-33 advantage into the fourth quarter.
Berry, a senior, led Washburn Rural with 16 points, but was the lone Junior Blue in double figures as junior Quincey Kidd and Hutchinson added 8 points apiece.
TOPEKA WEST BOYS 66, WASHBURN RURAL 46
Topeka West 5 25 23 13 -- 66
Washburn Rural 10 9 14 13 -- 46
Topeka West (14-2, 11-1) -- Wilkerson 6 5-7 17, Brooks 6 5-7 18, T. Alexander 6 1-2 14, X. Alexander 0 0-0 0, Putthoff 5 0-0 14, Austin 1 0-0 3, Lowery 0 0-0 0, Lira 0 0-0 0, Peterson 0 0-2 0, Mehrens 0 0-0 0, Berg 0 0-0 0, Reimer 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 11-18 66.
Washburn Rural (10-6, 9-4) -- Bachelor 3 0-0 6, Williams 1 3-4 6, Berry 5 5-5 16, Hutchinson 2 2-2 8, Patterson 1 0-0 2, Howard 0 0-0 0, Brady 0 0-0 0, Kidd 2 3-3 8, Morrow 0 0-0 0, Conklin 0 0-0 0. Totals 14 13-14 46.
3-point goals — Topeka West 7 (Putthoff 4, Brooks, T. Alexander, Austin), Washburn Rural 5 (Hutchinson 2, Berry, Williams, Kidd 1-2). Total fouls — Topeka West 15, Washburn Rural 17. Fouled out -- Bachelor.
