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.
