By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After suffering its only two losses of the season back to back, Topeka West boys basketball team has bounced back with three straight victories, including a 56-54 Centennial League road win Tuesday night at Junction City.
In a game that was relatively tight throughout, the Chargers got a pair of game-winning free throws from senior guard Marque Wilkerson to improve to 9-2 overall and 6-1 in the league.
Junction City (5-5, 3-4) got a pair of clutch 3-pointers to tie the game twice in the late going, but Wilkerson's charities allowed the Chargers to escape with the big road win.
Wilkerson, who scored 74 points last week in three Topeka Invitational Tournament games, continued his hot streak with a game-high 21-point performance Tuesday night.
The Alexanders, senior Trevion and sophomore Xavier, combined for 23 points, with Trevion scoring 12 and Xavier 11.
After missing the Topeka Invitational with a foot injury, junior standout Elijah Brooks returned for Topeka West, scoring 3 points.
Senior Chris Dixon led three players in double figures for Junction City with 17 points. Juniors Terrance Tedder and Seth Clark added 16 and 11 points, respectively.
JUNCTION CITY GIRLS 45, TOPEKA WEST 35
Topeka West's girls, 2-8 overall and 1-8 in the Centennial League, spotted Junction City a 10-point lead in the first quarter of Tuesday night's game, but the Chargers battled back to give themselves a chance before the Blue Jays pulled away late.
West trailed 20-10 after the first quarter, but the Chargers used a 6-3 second quarter to cut their deficit to 23-16 and outscored the Blue Jays 13-10 in the third quarter to trail by just a 33-29 margin at the start of the fourth.
Junction City (4-8, 2-6) won the game at the free throw line, hitting 18 of 27 charities while West was just 3 of 18.
Senior Lucy Rivera led all scoers with 19 points, going 12 of 16 at the line and hitting her team's only 3-pointer, while senior Mellana Davis added 16 points.
Freshman Siani Sanchez and sophomore Makinsey Jones scored 6 points apiece to lead Topeka West.
JEFFERSON WEST GIRLS 45, HAYDEN 34
Playing without its top two scorers, Hayden's girls basketball team couldn't keep pace with Jefferson West late in the game, with the Tigers pulling away for a 45-34 victory in Tuesday's first round of Wellsville's Top Gun Invitational.
Hayden, which lost junior Macy Smith to an ACL injury earlier in the season, played Tuesday without leading scorer Carly Stuke, a junior who sat out the game with an injury.
The Wildcats, who fell to 5-5 on the season, were still able to stay in the hunt though the first half, leading 12-11 at the end of the first quarter before trailing by just 2 points (22-20) at the half.
Jefferson West pushed its lead to 33-29 at the end of the third quarter and then outscored the Wildcats 12-5 in the fourth for its final margin.
Juniors Kristin Biltoft and Mellany Roenne tied for game-high scoring honors for Jefferson West (7-4) with 14 points. Biltoft hit all of 8 of her free throw attempts while Jeff West went 16 of 21 as a team.
Sophomore Noelia Cruz and senior Callie Moore scored 7 points apiece to lead Hayden, while senior Rhen Calhoon and freshman Lauren Sandstrom scored 6 each.
SHAWNEE MISSION SOUTH GIRLS 59, SEAMAN 32
Seaman, which fell to 3-4, struggled offensively in Tuesday night's 59-32 non-league road loss at Shawnee Mission South, with the Raiders taking control with a 34-15 scoring edge over the middle two quarters.
Shawnee Mission South held a slim 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter, but the Raiders used a 12-4 second quarter to take a 26-14 halftime advantage and doubled up the Vikings 22-11 in the third to take a commanding 48-25 lead into the fourth.
Freshman Brooklyn Gormley led Seaman with 11 points while senior Raigan Kramer added 10.
Senior Natalie Payne scored a game-high 25 points for Shawnee Mission South, which improved to 7-3. Freshman Camryn Smith added 17 for the Raiders.
TOPEKA WEST BOYS 56, JUNCTION CITY 54
Topeka West 22 11 11 12 -- 56
Junction City 18 16 10 10 -- 54
Topeka West (9-2, 6-1) -- Wilkerson 8 4-6 21, Brooks 0 3-6 3, T. Alexander 5 1-2 12, X. Alexander 3 3-4 11, Putthoff 2 0-0 6, Lira 0 0-0 0, Foy 0 0-0 0, Peterson 0 0-0 0, Austin 1 0-0 3, Lowery 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 11-18 56.
Junction City (5-5, 3-4) -- Dixon 5 4-4 17, Tedder 7 1-1 16, Smith 1 0-0 2, George 0 1-2 1, Rowell 2 1-2 5, Clark 3 2-2 11, Boganowski 1 0-0 2, Felton 0 0-0 0. Totals 19 9-11 54.
3-point goals -- Topeka West 7 (X. Alexander 2, Putthoff 2, Wilkerson, Austin, T. Alexander), Junction City 7 (Dixon 3, Clark 3, Tedder). Total fouls -- Topeka West 10, Junction City 16. Fouled out -- Smith.
JUNCTION CITY GIRLS 45, TOPEKA WEST 35
Topeka West 10 6 13 6 -- 35
Junction City 20 3 10 12 -- 45
Topeka West (2-8, 1-8) -- S. Triplett 2 0-1 5, Sanchez 2 1-2 6, Benson 0 0-0 0, Clark 0 1-5 1, Ford 2 1-6 5, Anthony 1 0-0 3, N. Triplett 2 0-2 4, Duncan 2 0-2 5, Davis 0 0-0 0, Henderson 0 0-0 0, Jones 3 0-0 6. Totals 14 3-18 35.
Junction City (4-8, 2-6) -- Robinson 4 0-0 8, Harris 0 0-3 0, M. Davis 5 6-8 16, Deguzman 0 0-0 0, Rivera 3 12-16 19, Parrett 0 0-0 0, Nabus 1 0-0 2. Totals 13 18-27 45.
3-point goals -- Topeka West 4 (S. Triplett, Anthony, Duncan, Sanchez); Junction City 1 (Rivera). Total fouls -- Topeka West 19, Junction City 14. Fouled out -- Robinson.
JEFFERSON WEST GIRLS 45, HAYDEN 34
Hayden 12 8 9 5 -- 34
Jefferson West 11 11 11 12 -- 45
Hayden (5-5) -- Cruz 2 3-3 7, Calhoon 3 0-1 6, Sandstrom 2 1-1 6, Moore 2 3-4 7, Schmidtlein 1 0-0 2, Lenherr 1 0-0 3, Huscher 1 0-0 3, Anguiano 0 0-0 0, Gill 0 0-1 0. Totals 12 7-9 34.
Jefferson West (7-4) -- Dickey 2 1-1 7, Roenne 4 6-10 14, Warden 2 0-0 5, Young 2 1-2 5, Biltoft 3 8-8 14, Michaelis 0 0-0 0, M. Tibbits 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 16-21 45.
3-point goals -- Hayden 3 (Sandstrom, Lenherr, Huscher), Jefferson West 3 (Dickey 2, Young). Total fouls -- Hayden 19, Jeff West 16. Fouled out -- none.
SHAWNEE MISSION SOUTH GIRLS 59, SEAMAN 32
Seaman 10 4 11 7 -- 32
SM South 14 12 22 11 -- 59
Seaman (3-4) — Kramer 4 0-0 10, Sweeney 0 1-2 1, Schumann 2 2-2 6, Stallbaumer 1 0-0 2, J. Anderson 0 0-0 0, Gormley 5 1-3 11, C. Anderson 1 0-0 2, Noble 0 0-0 0, Smith 0 0-0 0, Stueve 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 4-7 32.
SM South (7-3) — Moore 1 0-0 3, Payne 6 12-16 25, Smith 8 1-7 17, Gunnigle 2 2-2 6, Thornton 0 0-0 0, Bagby 0 0-0 0, Jorrel 0 0-0 0, Staines 0 0-0 0, Bortel 0 0-0 0, Kovalcik 2 0-0 6, Clark 1 0-0 2. Totals 20 15-25 59.
3-point goals -- Seaman 2 (Kramer 2), Shawnee Mission South 4 (Kovalcik 2, Payne, Moore). Total fouls -- Seaman 16, Shawnee Mission South 11. Fouled out -- none.
