By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Topeka West entered the 2026 Topeka Invitational Tournament at Highland Park as the pre-tourney favorite, and over the opening two days, the Chargers have certainly lived up to that top billing.
West, ranked No. 3 in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, opened its tournament bid on Thursday with a 20-point win over St. Thomas Aquinas and followed that up with an 86-64 win over Wichita Northwest on Friday afternoon, punching its ticket to a second straight Topeka Invitational championship game.
Topeka West senior Malakyah Duncan led Topeka West with a game-high 19 points in Friday's 86-64 Topeka Invitational semifinal win over Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
"We turned up the heat in the third quarter and I think really stretched the game to where it was a little bit unattainable for Northwest to get there,'' Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker said.
Due to expected inclement weather over the weekend, the 11-2 Chargers, who lost to Highland Park in the 2025 championship game, will have two days off before facing off with USD 501 rival Topeka High at 5 p.m. Monday in the championship game at Highland Park. The 8-5 Trojans advanced to the title game with a 69-62 semifinal win over Lansing.
Because of the weather-related schedule changes Topeka West played its semifinal at 3:30 p.m., a time slot normally reserved for consolation games, but the Chargers trailed for less than a minute (21-20) against Wichita Northwest and outscored the Grizzlies 49-29 over the middle two quarters to turn the game into a rout.
"We started a little slow, but it was a 3:30 game with no crowd,'' Ulsaker said. "The guys did what they needed to do for the most part, high intensity. I think Northwest was trying to match what we were doing as well, but we just did it just a notch above and that's about it.''
All five Charger starters cracked double figures against 6-7 Wichita Northwest, led by senior Malakyah Duncan with 19 points.
Junior Prince Lassiter scored 18 points in Friday's 86-64 Topeka West win over Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Jay'Veon Traylor had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in Topeka West's 86-64 win over Wichita Northwest. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Junior Prince Lassiter added 18 points, senior Jay'Veon Traylor recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds, senior Keimani Paul had 13 points and senior Gad Munganga 12 points on four 3-pointers.
Senior Darrian Hammond led Wichita Northwest with 12 points, the lone Grizzly player in double figures.
Now the goal for the Chargers is to win their first Topeka Invitational championship since 2022, when the Chargers topped Wichita Northwest.
"It would be a huge accomplishment for these boys to go down in history at Topeka West as one of the few teams that have won the (Topeka Invitational),'' Ulsaker said.
TOPEKA WEST 86, WICHITA NORTHWEST 64
Topeka West 20 27 22 17 -- 86
Wichita Northwest 17 16 13 18 -- 64
Topeka West (11-2) – Munganga 4-8 0-0 12, Traylor 6-6 1-1 14, Duncan 8-13 2-3 19, Paul 3-6 7-9 13, Lassiter 9-13 0-0 18, Phillips 1-4 1-2 3, Fox 0-5 2-2 2, Ware 2-5 0-0 5, Doby 0-3 0-0 0, Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Dawson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 33-64 13-19 86.
Wichita Northwest (6-7) – Hammond 5-10 0-0 12, Garland 3-5 0-0 7, Hutchison 1-4 0-0 3, Taylor 1-2 0-0 2, Laws 3-6 3-4 9, Benton 3-7 3-5 9, Ligon 0-0 0-0 0, Kates 3-11 0-0 6, Rogers 2-4 0-0 5, Young 4-6 1-2 9, Botsma 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 26-56 7-10 64.
3-point goals – Topeka West 7 (Munganga 4, Ware, Traylor, Duncan), Wichita Northwest 5 (Hammond 2, Garland, Rogers, Hutchison). Total fouls – Topeka West 9, Wichita Northwest 16. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
TOPEKA INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT
RESULTS FRIDAY
Topeka West 86, Wichita Northwest 64
Topeka High 69, Lansing 62
St. Thomas Aquinas 68, Highland Park 47
GAMES MONDAY
3:30 -- Third place: Wichita NW vs. Lansing (north gym); Seventh place (south gym).
5 -- Championship: Topeka West vs. Topeka High (north gym); Fifth place (north gym).
