BY ISAAC DEER
TopSports.news
A strong second-half rally wasn’t enough for Topeka West as United Kansas Conference foe De Soto secured the boys win on Saturday, 60-55.
Senior Jalen Foy led Topeka West with 18 points in Saturday's 60-55 UKC loss to De Soto. [File photo/TSN]
The Chargers were seeking a regular-season sweep over De Soto with the win, but the Wildcats were able to hold off Topeka West when the final buzzer sounded. Saturday’s contest was opposite from the Dec. 6 match when Topeka West defeated De Soto, 66-44.
Topeka West was presented with an early challenge by De Soto senior Pierce Krehbiel. Krehbiel drained a series of tough shots that allowed the Wildcats to stay in front for nearly the entire opening quarter. Krehbiel scored 11 points in the first quarter, including a few threes. Wildcat senior Jayden Lang added 6 points. The duo combined for 17 out of De Soto’s 19 first quarter points.
“De Soto is very well coached,” Topeka West coach Christian Ulsaker said. “They’re a well-oiled machine in terms of their circle offense. They’re very hard to defend and they have guys taking good shots. It was kind of surprising because usually (Lang) or (Max Johnson) are kind of the two motors on that team. But that’s what makes a team a team. (Krehbiel) can really shoot it. We lost (Krehbiel) one too many times. When a kid like that gets confidence, it’s tough to stop them.”
The Chargers kept up with De Soto’s rapid-fire first-quarter scoring. While nobody stole the show with their scoring, Topeka West’s starting five each had their opportunities to score. Senior Jalen Foy and junior Malakyah Duncan combined for a consistent 4-4 shooting and scored 9 out of the team’s 13 first-quarter points.
Topeka West needed defensive stops in the second quarter to slow down Krehbiel and Lang.
The Chargers were able to limit De Soto’s distance shooting in the second quarter. Topeka West played more physically resulting in the Wildcats taking tougher shots, which is exactly what Ulsaker wanted.
“The defense is good to see,” Ulsaker said. “We will have stretches where we play phenomenal defense with communicating, good help side, switching when needed … Then we will have stretches where we might not do one of those three things and that’s all it takes when you play man-to-man defense. If you don’t do one of those key things, then a shooter gets open and it makes it tough on you.”
Topeka West’s defense held De Soto to 12 points in the second quarter while the offense scored 11. Topeka West trailed De Soto, 31-24, at the break.
While the defense looked stronger in the second quarter, the Chargers needed an offensive spark and they got it in the third quarter by making some key adjustments in the locker room.
For the first time in the game, Topeka West was pushing the tempo on the offensive side of the ball. Most of Topeka West’s points were earned inside the paint. Foy had a team-high 7 points in the third quarter, while senior Javian Chambers added 5.
“We needed to push the tempo,” Ulsaker said. “We needed to get out in transition more. After pushing the tempo, we needed to get in the half-court and continue to attack off the dribble and find open guys when they are there. I feel like our guys did a good job of doing that, but we need to do better.”
Topeka West cut its deficit down to 47-42 going into the final quarter.
In the opening minute of the fourth quarter, Topeka West’s defense forced Lang to a backcourt violation. Then Gad Munganga hit a three to tie the game at 47-47 with seven minutes to go. Keimani Paul would then block Lang’s shot underneath the basket to gain a wave of momentum. The Wildcats were forced to take a timeout after the Chargers controlled the game.
Shots were traded back and forth between the Wildcats and Topeka West throughout the final quarter.
Krehbiel took the game over in the fourth quarter by scoring 9 points, giving him 32 points on Saturday afternoon. Topeka West battled but couldn’t hang on in the end.
“Our guys battled until the end and I’m pleased with that,” Ulsaker said. “De Soto made one or two more plays down the stretch to give them the win.
The Chargers were led by Foy, who had a team-high 18 points. Duncan contributed 14 points and Paul added 10.
Topeka West will be challenged next week as they will face three opponents in a four-day span. The Chargers will play Kansas City-Turner on the road on Tuesday and host Basehor-Linwood on Wednesday and Lansing on Friday.
“I’d like to see us defend at a higher clip,” Ulsaker said. “We need to get into transition more offensively and just continue to attack with confidence.”
DE SOTO BOYS 60, TOPEKA WEST 55
De Soto 19 12 16 13 – 60
Topeka West 13 11 18 13 – 55
De Soto (10-9, 7-7) – Krehbiel 12-17 1-2 32, Lang 6-11 2-2 14, Parks 2-2 1-2 5, Narayan 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 3-10 2-2 9, Hatfield 0-0 0-2 0, Lindsay 0-1 0-0 0, Dickinson 0-1 0-0 0. Totals – 23-42 6-10 60.
Topeka West (8-7, 8-5) – Ford 0-2 0-1 0, Duncan 6-9 2-2 14, Paul 5-11 0-0 10, Chambers 3-5 2-3 8, Foy 6-8 3-4, Lassiter 1-1 0-0 2, Munganga 1-2 0-0 3, Traylor 0-1 0-2 0. Totals – 22-39 7-12 55.
3-point goals – De Soto 8-19 (Krehbiel 7-13, Johnson 1-4, Lindsay 0-1, Dickinson 0-1), Topeka West 4-13 (Ford 0-1, Duncan 0-1, Paul 0-2, Chambers 0-1, Foy 3-5, Traylor 0-1, Munganga 1-2). Total fouls – De Soto 12, Topeka West 10. Fouled out – none. Technicals – none.
