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By TODD FERTIG

TopSports.news

The Shawnee Heights boys had to dig deep after they let a 15-point lead slip away in their season opener Friday night. They relied upon the efforts of a freshman and knocked down clutch free throws to hold off United Kansas Conference foe Basehor-Linwood, 61-55.

JaiMarion Cook led Shawnee Heights with 14 points in Friday's 61-55 UKC win over Basehor-Linwood. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Having graduated senior leaders from last year’s squad, the T-Birds may have a few things to learn about holding a lead. They raced to a 35-20 advantage midway through the second quarter and were still holding on 42-28 early in the third. But the Bobcats began clawing their way back into it.

With 2:49 remaining, the T-Birds’ lead was down to five, 55-50, when Bobcat Isaiah Calvert was fouled attempting a 3-pointer. He knocked down all three of his foul shots. Twenty seconds later, he went back to the line when the T-Birds were whistled for a technical foul. He drained two more free throws to knot the game at 55-55.

T-Bird coach Ken Darting felt, once the tide turned, some players attempted to do too much on their own.

“Selfishness. That’s what was going on,” Darting said. “We played hard the whole game. We played well for two-thirds of the game. But we were totally selfish at the end.”

Notably, the T-Birds were playing their first game without Jaret Sanchez and Deacon Pomeroy, a couple of graduates who hit big shots and played clutch minutes throughout their careers.

“We don’t have any of those 20-point scorers,” Darting said. “So, if we’re not near perfect defensively, rebounding and on our execution on offense, we’re not going to shoot a very high percentage. I don’t get mad when (these players) miss their shots because they’re going to miss most of the time they shoot. But if you’re taking some shot that a star can’t make, now I’m mad.

“But it’s a learning process. We’re playing an offense that’s a read-oriented offense and you’ve got to read everything to play it. So that’s going to take a while.”

Freshman Quincy Dixon (22), who had 11 points in his varsity debut for Shawnee Heights, celebrates a basket with teammate Cam Ross. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]

Giving the T-Birds a lift in the second half was freshman Quincy Dixon. Playing in his first varsity game, Dixon led the T-Birds with nine points in the second half, when the rest of the team was in a rut. He finished with 11.

Leading the T-Birds was JaiMarion Cook with 14. Cam Ross added 12.

“It was important to get this win,” said senior Ontarius Emmot, one of the T-Birds’ returning starters from a year ago. “(A lot of us) have been playing for eight or nine years together. So, it’s the first game back, but it’s not our first time playing with each other. Our chemistry is there.

“Down the stretch we didn’t handle the ball very well, but you know, crunch time, when it got down under a minute, I think we handled that pretty well.”

Emmot said he encouraged his teammates to feel comfortable in the moment.

“I just told the guys ‘This is nothing new from what you’ve been playing all your life,” Emmot said. “I said ‘You’ve played in close games before. Yeah, there might be a couple more people here now. But the ball is still the same. The size of the rim is still the same. There’s the same amount of players on the court.’”

SHAWNEE HEIGHTS BOYS 61, BASEHOR-LINWOOD 55

Basehor-Linwood                  10 16 13 16 -- 55

Shawnee Heights         19 20 10 12 -- 61

Basehor-Linwood (0-1, 0-1) – Brown 2-11 5-6 10, Morrison 5-8 1-3 13, Hofer 0-2 0-0 0, Young 2-8 2-2 6, Calvert 5-10 8-9 19 Hutchinson 0-1 2-2 2, Elliott 2-3 0-0 5, Nixon 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 16-43 18-22 55.

Shawnee Heights (1-0, 1-0) – Alston 1-8 1-4 4, Cook 4-12 4-4 14, Ross 4-13 4-6 12, Scott 1-4 4-4 7, Emmot 3-9 0-0 7, Doby 1-2 0-0 2, Dixon 4-6 3-3 11, Lee 2-3 0-0 4. Totals: 20-57 16-21 61.

3-point goals – Basehor-Linwood 5 (Morrison 2, Brown 1, Calvert 1, Elliott 1) Shawnee Heights 5 (Cook 2, Alston 1, Scott 1, Emmot 1). Total fouls – Basehor-Linwood 18, Shawnee Heights 21. Fouled out – Ross. Technical fouls – Ross. 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Topeka West boys basketball doesn't necessarily have a go-to player.

Instead, Christian Ulsaker's Chargers have four or five players that can fill that role on any given night, which could make Topeka West a very dangerous team over the course of the 2025-2026 season.

opeka West senior Loc Duncan (12) led all scorers with 26 points Friday as the Chargers opened their season with an 81-54 UKC win over De Soto. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

West's balance was on full display in Friday's 81-54 United Kansas Conference home victory over De Soto, with senior Loc Duncan leading the way with a game-high 26 points while all five West starters cracked double figures.

Junior Prince Lassiter scored 18 points in Friday's 81-54 UKC Topeka West win over De Soto. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Topeka West senior JayVeon Traylor slams home a dunk in Friday's 81-54 Charger win over De Soto. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

Junior Prince Lassiter backed Duncan with 18 points, while senior Jay'Veon Traylor added 12 points and seven rebounds, senior Gad Munganga 11 points and senior Keimani Paul 10.

"Thankfully our guys don't have a huge ego,'' Ulsaker said. "I've got guys like Loc standing next to me and he understands that nobody's above the team, so they get what they need to do.

"If it's Kei's night, he's OK with that. If it's Jay'Veon's night he's OK with that. Tonight it was just Loc's night.''

Duncan agreed with his coach that the Chargers have the firepower to share the wealth.

"I absolutely agree with that,'' Duncan said. "Everybody in the whole starting five can get going and it can be anybody's night any given night.

"If teams try to key on me that leaves my other teammates open, to get open easy buckets for them. They can't really key on one person because we've got five guys that can do anything.''

Both Munganga and Duncan hit three 3-pointers apiece as West, currently ranked No. 7 in Class 5A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, finished with eight 3s as a team. 

The Chargers went wire to wire for the victory, opening up a 17-11 first-quarter advantage and taking a 31-24 lead into the locker room at halftime.

West boosted its lead to double-digits at 53-41 by the end of the third quarter and the Chargers turned the game into a rout with a 28-13 fourth quarter.

Senior Brayan Salas led De Soto (0-1, 0-1) with 15 points while senior Dylan Narayan added 10 for the Wildcats.  

TOPEKA WEST BOYS 81, DE SOTO 54

De Soto         11 13 17 13 -- 54

Topeka West 17 14 22 28 -- 81

De Soto (0-1, 0-1) – Patterson 3-8 1-2 9, Dickinson 4-11 1-4 9, Narayan 5-6 0-0 10, Salas 7-19 1-3 15, Krier 1-3 0-0 2, Rapp 1-2 3-3 5, Brady 0-2 0-0 0, Morton 1-1 0-0 2, Hastings 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-54 6-12 54. 

Topeka West (1-0, 1-0) – Munganga 4-9 0-0 11, Traylor 5-8 1-3 12, Duncan 9-13 5-8 26, Paul 3-6 3-3 10, Lassiter 6-8 6-6 16, Ware 1-3 0-2 2, Phillips 0-2 0-0 0, Fox 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 29-50 15-22 81.

3-point goals – De Soto 2 (Patterson 2), Topeka West 8 (Munganga 3, Duncan 3, Traylor, Paul). Total fouls – De Soto 14, Topeka West 13. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls -- De Soto (pre-game dunk), Munganga, Duncan.

Wildcat girls ride 3-point barrage past Chargers

De Soto made nine 3-pointers on the night, including seven in the first half, en route to a 68-21 UKC romp past Topeka West Friday at West.

Five different Wildcats drained 3-pointers, including four players with multiple treys, as De Soto (1-0 overall, 1-0 UKC) took control early and forced a running block throughout the fourth quarter.

Junior Clare Leis paced De Soto with a game-high 15 points while freshman Maddie Leis added 12 points and junior Katie Bush 10.

Junior Sydney VanDyke led Topeka West (1-1, 0-1) with 10 points and eight rebounds.

DE SOTO GIRLS 68, TOPEKA WEST 21

De Soto         18 27 18 5 -- 68

Topeka West   6 8 6 1 -- 21

De Soto (1-0, 1-9) – C. Leis 6-10 1-2 15, O'Brien 2-4 0-0 6, Cinotto 3-3 1-2 9, Gulley 0-0 2-2 2, Chappel 0-2 0-0 0, M. Leis 4-11 2-3 12, Bush 4-9 2-2 10, Carpenter 2-6 3-4 7, Major 1-3 0-0 3, Stapp 1-3 0-0 2, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Green 0-1 0-0 0, Reiswig 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 24-53 11-17 68. 

Topeka West (1-1, 0-1) – Sa'Niya Brooks 0-2 0-0 0, VanDyke 3-10 4-8 10, Ogles 1-5 0-0 2, Hall 0-6 1-2 1, McGlory 1-2 0-0 3, Allen 1-3 0-0 3, Sa'Mya Brooks 0-2 0-0 0, Traylor 1-3 0-2 2, Fox 0-0 0-2 0. Totals 7-33 5-14 21.

3-point goals – De Soto 9 (C. Leis 2, O'Brien 2, Cinotto 2, M. Leis 2, Major), Topeka West 2 (McGlory, Allen). Total fouls – De Soto 16, Topeka West 18. Fouled out – Chappel. Technical fouls -- none.

 

By RICK PETERSON

TopSports.news

Washburn University women's basketball rode a fourth-quarter comeback to knock off Nebraska Kearney 71-65 Thursday night in Lee Arena in the Ichabods' MIAA opener.

Senior Yibari Nwidadah (32) celebrates a big basket late in the game in Washburn's come-from-behind 71-65 MIAA win over Nebraska-Kearney. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]

While happy overall with the Ichabods' start to the season, Washburn coach Lora Westling has lamented the Ichabods' penchant for making things tougher than they need to be at times.

That bugaboo showed up again Thursday night, with the Ichabods trailing much of the game, but Washburn played its best when it needed it the most, taking control down the stretch.

"We've just got to settle in earlier and that's been a struggle,'' Westling said. "They'll respond and we'll put up a fight, we're not going to get kicked down, but we'd like to be a little more aggressive to start the fight.

"But I was really proud of our team down the stretch and I thought we got some big plays and especially some big stops. Our seniors didn't quit, they showed great resilience, and that's why you love to have seniors on your team.''

"We do definitely make it harder than we need to,'' WU senior Payton Sterk said. "but I think we do make it count when it's important and I think we were really good at dialing in our energy and really focusing in that second half and that's what won the game.''  

The Ichabods (5-2 overall, 1-0 MIAA) jumped out to an early 7-0 lead while holding the Lopers (4-5, 0-1) scoreless until the 6:22 mark.

A hoop from Britany Kogbara made it 11-4 Washburn with 3:37 left in the opening quarter, but Nebraska Kearney finished the quarter on an 11-3 run, including the final seven points to lead 15-14. 

Early in the second quarter Madelyn Amekporfor scored to put Washburn back in front, but the Lopers scored the next eight points as they held the Ichabods to 27.8-percent shooting from the floor in the quarter and Kearney held a 33-26 lead at the break.  

The deficit for Washburn reached nine points midway through the third quarter, but a bucket by senior Yibari Nwidadah started a 7-0 run to pull the Ichabods within two. 

Nebraska-Kearney led 49-47 going into the fourth stanza, but Washburn finally broke through to tie the game at 53 on a Kogbara basket.

Payton Sterk drove for a layup to put the Ichabods in front 58-56 with 5:48 to go.

The Lopers rallied to go back up by four, but Washburn answered with six in a row, the final four from senior Gabi Giovannetti.

An old fashioned three-point play by Nwidadah in the final minute put the Ichabods in front for good and the Ichabods held on to win, 71-65. 

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