By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Topeka West boys had to go to overtime to defeat 12th-seeded Bishop Carroll Wednesday night at home, but they advanced with a 69-63 win. And they got a surprise when it was over.
Several minutes after the conclusion of the sub-state semifinal contest, another cheer went up from the Topeka West crowd when it was announced the Chargers would host another playoff game. Due to Valley Center’s upset of Seaman, fifth-seeded Topeka West will host 13th-seeded Valley Center Saturday with a trip to state on the line.
Senior Jalen Foy scored 19 points in Wednesday's 69-63 Topeka West overtime win over Bishop Carroll. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
First-year Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker and the Chargers will play for a Class 5A sub-state title on Saturday. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
“I got to go in there and say, “Well boys, I gotta tell you seniors, this isn’t your last home game,’ and their faces all lit up,” Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker said.
The Chargers had to fight back from a fourth-quarter deficit to send the game to overtime.
“Basketball is a game of runs and that’s how it goes,” Ulsaker said. “Our guys did not pack it in. Down six in the fourth quarter with four minutes left, some teams couldn’t deal with that pressure. I’m very lucky to have some seniors and juniors that understand what it takes to win basketball games. That’s the great thing about playing in the (United Kansas Conference). We’re used to these kinds of nights.”
Senior Jalen Foy scored 12 of his 19 points in the fourth period and overtime. Also making a huge second half impact off the bench was Jay’veon Traylor. The junior hit all four of his shot attempts and provided 11 second-half points.
“I felt like the fourth quarter, when we got there, it was a little rough, and then we started to pick it up,” Foy said. “We all just contributed in our own way. None of us thought it was one man bigger than the other. It was all just playing as a team.”
Ulsaker praised Foy for his leadership and character.
“He is very tough minded and has thick skin,” Ulsaker said. “We’ve had a lot of talks about what we need from him, not only on the basketball court but off of it, being a leader for some of these guys.”
The game turned on Topeka West’s defense. Blocked shots and steals turned into fast-break baskets.
“We went to a 2-2-1 full-court press that really hurt them with our length,” Ulsaker said. “We gave up a couple of buckets at the rim off of it, but I think what happened was it really sped (the Golden Eagles) up so that they couldn’t run through their offense. I knew that with no shot clock in the postseason, Bishop Carroll would really want to draw a lot of possessions out, make this game smaller.”
“Our coach has been telling us how our defense would turn into offense,” Foy added. “If we get the defensive rebounds, run the floor, we’ll get easy buckets,”
Offensively, the Chargers hit 23-41 shots from the field. Joining Foy and Traylor in double-figures was Malakyah Duncan with 13, Keimani Paul with 11 and Kamoni Ford with 10.
Valley Center’s upset of Seaman gives the Chargers a chance to reach the state tournament by beating two lower-seeded teams.
“I’ve watched a few games already of Valley Center,” Ulsaker said. “They have a mean 2-1-2 defense that’s really tough to play against. So we need to get prepared in two days to be ready to go against them.”
TOPEKA WEST BOYS 69, BISHOP CARROLL 63
Bishop Carroll 9 14 18 7 -- 63
Topeka West 12 12 15 17 13 -- 69
Bishop Carroll (10-11) – Bergkamp 0-2 0-0 0, Steven 0-4 0-0 0, Blasi 6-7 2-3 14, Kreutzer 5-14 2-2 16, Muth 7-11 3-4 13, St. Vrain 1-1 0-0 2, Goetz 6-10 0-0 12, Littlejohn 2-2 1-2 6, Mull 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-59 8-11 63.
Topeka West (13-8) – Ford 4-7 0-2 10, Duncan 5-6 3-4 13, Paul 4-9 2-2 11, Chambers 0-1 0-0 0, Foy 5-10 7-9 19, Lassiter 0-1 0-0 0, Traylor 4-4 3-6 11, Munganga 1-3 2-2 5. Totals 23-41 17-26 69.
3-point goals – Bishop Carroll 7 (Kreutzer 4, Muth 2, Littlejohn 1), Topeka West 6 (Ford 2, Foy 2, Paul 1, Munganga 1). Total fouls – Bishop Carroll 25, Topeka West 16. Fouled out – Steven. Technical fouls – None.
