By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
Despite what was at times an ugly performance, the Topeka West boys took one of the top teams in Class 5A to the wire Tuesday, with the Chargers losing to Piper at home, 57-55.
Topeka West senior Johnny Young (1) scored 16 points in the Chargers' 57-55 UKC loss to league-leading Piper Tuesday night. [File photo/TSN]
One would think that a team that hit just four of 18 free throws would get blown out. Yet the Chargers had opportunities to tie the game in the final seconds despite the miserable performance from the line.
While the Chargers clanked free throws, Piper was an efficient 21-43 from the field and 13-15 from the line.
“The biggest reason we lost was free throws. That’s a no-brainer,” said Charger coach Rick Bloomquist. “I think we’re a pretty decent free throw shooting team. I can’t do anything about it today because that hasn’t been the situation before. But at this point in the season, probably the best thing I can do is not talk about it. I don’t want them to dwell on it. We’ll just go on and talk about the positive.”
Bloomquist found plenty of positive to take from the game.
“I just finished telling (the team) that what I liked was the second half,” Bloomquist said. “We had to get physical. It turned into a muddy game. It had to be that way for us to have a chance.”
Piper had four players finish in double figures, led by Devin Kerr’s 14.
“We tried everything we could possible to stop them from penetrating in the second half,” Bloomquist said. “We talked a little bit about how porous our defense was in the first half.
“So, to come back on a team that’s well-coached and very talented was a positive. We’re going to use it as a positive. Piper’s very good. So, we’ll take that as a positive and move forward. We’re not going to dwell on the negative.”
Bloomquist’s Chargers were particularly out of synch in the second period, netting just five points. The Pirates used the opportunity to stretch their halftime lead to 25-15.
The Chargers outscored the visitors by four points in the third period and did it again in the fourth period. With 43 seconds remaining, they finally reduced the deficit to a single possession. A couple of opportunities were missed down the stretch, however, and the Pirates escaped with the win.
Piper held onto its spot atop the United Kansas Conference, improving to 17-2 and 14-1 in the conference. The Pirates visit Shawnee Heights – their top competition for the crown – on Friday.
Topeka West will finish its regular season slate on Friday at Leavenworth. The Chargers sit at 12-7 with an opportunity to land in the upper half of the sub-state seedings. The close loss to Piper and a recent victory over De Soto prove the Chargers could make some noise in the postseason.
“I’ve said all season long that we’re a dangerous team,” Bloomquist said. “We’re young and make some dumb mistakes sometimes. But we are going to give everybody a good basketball game. We could take this potentially as far as it can go.
“But it’s been such a roller coaster ride, we want to try to make sure it stays a little bit high after this game and not take a big-time dip, which is kind of what we’ve done.”
The Chargers were led in scoring by senior Johnny Young, who hit four 3-pointers and netted 16 points. Kamoni Ford tallied 12 and Jalen Foy added 11.
PIPER BOYS 57, TOPEKA WEST 55
Piper 15 10 11 21 -- 57
Topeka West 10 5 15 25 -- 55
Piper (17-2, 14-1) – Walton 2-5 0-0 5, Moore 4-6 2-2 10, Kerr 5-10 4-6 14, Jackson 3-10 5-5 12, Thomas 6-8 0-0 12, Vogel 1-1 0-0 2, Roth 0-3 2-2 2. Totals: 21-43 13-15 57.
Topeka West (12-7, 10-5) – Young 6-15 0-0 16, McGee 0-0 0-0 0, Duncan 3-7 1-4 7, Paul 1-3 2-4 5, Foy 5-16 0-2 11, Ford 5-11 1-2 12, Chambers 2-9 0-6 4. Totals: 22-61 4-18 55.
3-point goals – Piper 2 (Walton 1, Jackson 1), Topeka West 7 (Young 4, Paul 1, Foy 1, Ford 1). Total fouls – Piper 19, Topeka West 14. Fouled out – Walton, Thomas. Technical fouls – None.
