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Eagle boys hold off Holcomb in 3A quarterfinal behind Johnson’s 16 points
By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
SALINA -- Silver Lake boys basketball coach Shannnn Kruger said a couple of times after Tuesday's game that the Eagles' performance was not a pretty one by any stretch and described it as a grind it out type of game.
And the Eagles did just that, knocking off Holcomb 47-37 at the Tony's Pizza Event Center to advance to the Class 3A semifinal.
Silver Lake senior Dayne Johnson scored a game-high 16 points in Tuesday's 47-37 win over Holcomb. [File photo/TSN]
“I prefer the ball to go into the basket,” Kruger said with a smile. “What we can control is our defensive effort and attention to detail and we talk about let’s not hope they miss, let's try to make a miss.
"Obviously I'd love to see great defense for us and us play a little more fluid offensively, but a game like that it was sure it was ugly, but we're okay with that.''
“I don’t think we played our best offensive game by far, but we always make our main focus defense and I thought we worked our butts off on defense, on the boards,'' said Silver Lake senior standout Dayne Johnson, who led all scorers with 16 points. "That means when you have a bad offensive game you still stay in the game and win.”
The Longhorns began the game on a quick 5-0 run but Silver Lake went on its own 10-2 run thanks to senior Drew Womack converted two and-one opportunities as the Eagles led by three (10-7).
After Silver Lake went up five (12-7), Holcomb called a timeout with 1:27 left in the quarter. The Longhorns then scored five straight and ended the quarter tied, 12-12.
The second quarter featured both teams struggling to get baskets, combining for just 10 points.
Johnson was quiet in the first half, scoring six points, four in the second quarter and Womack had eight and ended with that total.
Silver Lake took the lead at the half in the low scoring affair, 18-16.
The third quarter was much the same as the first half.
Johnson, who sank 8-10 free throws, helped the Eagles to a 20-19 lead and then Johnson ended an eight-minute field goal drought for Silver Lake with 3:42 left in the third quarter, putting the Eagles up, 22-19.
The Eagles took a seven point lead (29-22) heading into the fourth quarter, thanks to a Camden Kruger buzzer beating jumper in the paint.
Silver Lake scored seven straight to go up 12 (36-24) looking to be in the driver seat until the Longhorns went on a 7-2 run, and Silver Lake called a timeout with 4:02 left in the game.
After that, the Eagles went on another field goal drought but their clutch free throws kept them ahead and took home the victory. Silver Lake went 20-26 from the charity stripe in the game.
“(Free throws) and rebounding were huge for sure,” Shannon Kruger said.
“We always attack the bucket,'' Johnson said. "We’re not afraid of contact and when they call the calls we get to the line and knock them down.''
Hayden turns tables on Andale after earlier losses, rolling to state semis, 54-37
By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
EMPORIA -- Andale has gotten the better end of recent meetings with Hayden, with the Indians not only handing the Wildcats a heartbreaking three-set loss in last fall's Class 4A state championship match while also taking the past two 3A state title games in football.
Sophomore Sophia Wichman came off the bench to score 11 points and grab five rebounds in Hayden's 54-37 Class 4A state tournament win over Andale Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But Hayden gained a big measure of revenge on Tuesday in White Auditorium, with the No. 4-seeded Wildcats rolling to the 4A state basketball semifinals with a 54-37 quarterfinal win.
Now 20-6 on the season, Hayden will face No. 1 seed and defending 4A champion Wellington (23-1) in a 2 p.m. Thursday semifinal at the Hutchinson Sports Arena.
Sophomore Sophia Wichman, who gave the Wildcats a big lift with 11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals off the bench, said no one had to tell Hayden how important Tuesday's game was.
"That came up all this week,'' said Wichman, who was also a member of the Wildcats' volleyball team. "We were all just so hyped up. We were like, 'We cannot lose because we lost in volleyball and in football, so we have to take something back.' ''
No. 5 seed Andale (17-7) led 13-12 at the end of the opening quarter and 17-12 after two straight buckets to open the second quarter, but Hayden outscored the Indians 15-5 over the remainder of the first half to take a 27-22 advantage.
After holding a 15-9 scoring edge in the second stanza Hayden outscored Andale 16-7 in the third quarter to take a commanding 43-29 advantage into the fourth.
Hayden, third in 4A last season after a third-place finish in 3A in 2024, went on to take a game's biggest 21-point cushion (52-31) on a three-point play from sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein and cruised the rest of the way for the 17-point win.
Sophomore Hailey Schmidtlein scored a game-high 14 points with 5 rebounds and 4 steals in Hayden's 54-37 Class 4A state tournament win over Andale Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore Blakely Walter scored 11 points in Hayden's 54-37 Class 4A state tournament win over Andale Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Schmidtlein led all scorers with 14 points and added 5 rebounds and 4 steals while sophomore Blakely Walter scored 11 points with Hayden's lone 3-pointer.
Senior Reese Huscher had a game-high five steals for the Wildcats.
Abbigail Winter led Andale with 12 points, including the Indians' only two treys, while Brooke Grimes added 11 points and Mayla Spexarth grabbed 17 rebounds.
Hayden didn't have one of its best offensive nights Tuesday, shooting 34.4 percent from the floor while going 1 of 14 from 3-point range and just 11 of 26 from the free throw line.
But that was plenty good enough for the Wildcats, who pestered Andale into 31.6 percent shooting and 29 turnovers.
"They came out and our first possession they stole it and got a layup,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said. "That was a terrible way to start, but I think the mixture of us playing some man to man, some fullcourt press and then that halfcourt 1-3-1 we played was really effective.''
Vikings ride big plays to 57-46 come-from-behind 5A win over Maize South
By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Seaman boys turned in momentum-changing plays in every period of their 57-46 Class 5A quarterfinal victory over Maize South Tuesday in Wichita.
Seaman basketball poses for a picture with its student section after Tuesday's 57-46 Class 5A state tournament win over Maize South. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
The fourth-seeded Vikings’ come-from-behind win gives them a shot at top-seeded Kapaun Mt. Carmel on Thursday. The Crusaders are the defending champs in 5A and extended their undefeated 2025-2026 streak to 26 games by knocking off Shawnee Heights Tuesday.
Seaman had to withstand a shaky first half and a hot start by Maize South. The two teams traded punches the entire first half. The Vikings got a shot of adrenaline from a driving two-hand dunk by KaeVon Bonner to close the first quarter. Still, the Mavericks led essentially the entire first half, building a six-point lead with 1:25 before halftime.
The Vikings closed the first half with back-to-back buckets to cut the deficit to 22-20. A Bonner 3-pointer with just three seconds left would have sent the Vikings to halftime in the lead, but an official ruled Bonner stepped on the sideline on the catch-and-shoot attempt.
Despite being denied the big shot before the half, the Vikings felt the momentum shifting. Senior Landon Wiltz seized the opportunity. He buried a 3-pointer to open the second half to give the Vikings a 23-22 lead. Two minutes later, he knocked down another to put Seaman up 28-25. The Vikings never trailed again.
“My final comment before we took the floor was we’d been a really good second-half team this year,” said Seaman coach Craig Cox. “We were 0-6 (on 3-pointers) in the first half. The only one we actually made, we stepped out of bounds. So, we were a little bit frustrated. So, for (Wiltz) to step up and make them was very huge momentum-wise.”
“We play defense to offense,” said Bonner. “So, when we get stops and just run down the court, I feel like we’re a good running team, so that starts our momentum. When Landon started (the second half) with those threes, yeah it was a big momentum change for us for sure.”
The Vikings outscored the Mavericks 18-8 in the third period and closed the quarter leading 38-30 on a rim-rocking fast break dunk by Bonner. Cox said the dunks and 3-pointers were not the only highlights.
“You know, those are big momentum plays, but also like Matthew McConnaughey stepping up and taking a charge. That’s a huge momentum play,” Cox said. “We made a lot of big, big plays that allowed us to build that lead.”
Once the Vikings were in the lead, they didn’t surrender to a late run by the Mavericks. The Vikings knocked down 11-12 free throws in the final period, including 8-8 from Bonner, to close out the game.
Facing a variety of defensive looks, Bonner was just 3-6 from the field in the first half for eight points. He focused on breaking down the Maverick defense and distributing the ball. In the second half, he found his scoring touch. The senior finished with 24 points. Wiltz scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime. Griffin Zuniga added 10.
