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By KYLE MANTHE
Special to TopSports.news
After a first quarter to forget Washburn Rural (9-3) showcased its full potential, outscoring Olathe East (4-7) 42-15 in the middle quarters on its way to a 59-34 non-league home win Tuesday night.
Senior Jack Bachelor led Washburn Rural with 14 points in Tuesday's 59-34 non-league win over Olathe East. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
Junior Griffin Durst puts up a shot in Tuesday's 59-34 non-league win over Olathe East. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
“Olathe East did a good job of guarding us and pressing a little bit and we played on our heels a little bit and were too passive (early) and I thought we did a better job in the second half of attacking and being aggressive,” said Washburn Rural coach Alex Hutchins.
The Junior Blues are as healthy as they have been all season after getting key players like senior Wyatt Conklin back during the teams' third-place finish at the Bill Hanson Memorial Tournament. A full roster has led to wins in three of the last four games and some optimism heading into the final month of the regular season.
“I still definitely think there’s things we need to learn and clean up, but I do think that over the past couple of weeks we have definitely learned some things about ourselves and taken a step or two in the right direction,” Hutchins said. “Wyatt is starting to settle in a bit, I thought tonight was the best he’s looked so far, and I know he’s still got another step he can take.”
Washburn Rural’s offensive surge in the middle 16 minutes came after the Junior Blues were held to just six points in the first quarter of play. The Hawks led by as many as six early on and were in front 8-6 after eight minutes.
“I thought our defense was better,” Hutchins said. “Over the weekend in Pittsburg, we didn’t think we did a great job of playing smart defense and defending as a team and I think that tonight we took a step in the right direction on that front.”
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
The three-point overtime loss that Highland Park's girls basketball team suffered against Salina South in last week's Salina Invitational Tournament was a tough pill for the Scots to swallow.
But Highland Park put the lessons learned from that loss to good use Tuesday night, holding off Eudora for a 56-50 non-league victory on the Scots' home court.
Highland Park sophomore Amelia Ramsey looks for operating room against Eudora in the Scots' 56-50 home non-league victory. Ramsey led Highland Park with a game-high 21 points. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Sophomore De'Asia Sanders scored 14 points in Highland Park's 56-50 non-league win over Eudora Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Scots struggled at the free throw line against South in a 50-47 loss but was 13 of 19 against the Cardinals, including a six of six performance from sophomore standout Amelia Ramsey who scored a game-high 21 points.
"Like I just told them, it's important to get these hard-fought wins like tonight,'' Highland Park coach Robert Brown said. "We just have to dig in and lock in in huddles and execute down the stretch, especially on the defensive end and making free throws.
"We learned the hard way at South, going 13 of 33. You can't win games like that and still only lost by three. That says a lot about us and you've got to finish a game with free throws and Amelia Ramsey did that.''
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By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Tuesday night's non-league game against Eudora had the makings of a possible trap game for the undefeated Highland Park boys basketball team.
After all, the Scots, top-ranked in Class 5A, were coming off an emotional championship run in last week's Topeka Invitational Tournament and had to go right back to work against the No. 3-ranked (4A) Cardinals.
Junior Tamir Anderson scored a career-high 20 points off the bench with six 3-pointers as Highland Park improved to 10-0 with a 76-45 non-league win over Eudora Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Bo Aldridge tied for game-high scoring honors with 20 points in Highland Park's 76-45 non-league win over Eudora Tuesday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But an 11-0 start to the game and a monster first half from junior reserve Tamir Anderson eased any uneasiness Highland Park coach Mike Williams might have been feeling, with the 10-0 Scots going on to take a 76-45 victory at Hi Park.
"Just coming out of the tournament with a quick turnaround with not a lot of rest, of course I was concerned,'' Williams said. "We've been thinking about that for a year since we got this game scheduled. We knew we'd probably have our hands full on this Tuesday night but it's good that we were able to answer the call and figure it out.
"That's a pretty good team on that other sideline with a couple of pretty good players.''
Highland Park jumped out to an early 17-4 advantage en route to an 18-8 first-quarter advantage and the Scots rode Anderson's 17-point first half, which including five 3-pointers, to a commanding 37-21 halftime advantage.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Highland Park's boys held on to the No. 1 spot in the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Class 5A boys state rankings for the third straight week while Seaman's girls regained the top spot in 5A.
Highland Park, celebrating its Topeka Invitational Tournament title last Saturay, is No. 1 in the KBCA Class 5A boys state rankings for the third straight week. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Matt Tinsley's Seaman girls basketball team regained the No. 1 spot in the KBCA Class 5A state rankings, released Tuesday. [File photo/TSN]
Highland Park and Seaman are two of nine Shawnee County teams in this week's KBCA rankings, released Tuesday.
Washburn Rural's girls remained No. 3 in 6A while Topeka High's girls are seventh-ranked..
Shawnee Heights girls are ranked No. 9 in 5A while Hayden's girls entered the 4A rankings in a tie for 10th.
Silver Lake's girls stayed No. 7 in 3A after winning the Burlington Invitational title.
Topeka West fell to No. 9 in the 5A boys rankings while Hayden stayed No. 10 in 4A.
KANSAS BASKETBALL COACHES ASSOCIATION STATE RANKINGS
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Bo Aldridge
BO ALDRIDGE, Highland Park
A 6-foot-5 senior, Aldridge scored 67 points in three games as the undefeated and top-ranked (Class 5A) Highland Park boys basketball team won its first Topeka Invitational Tournament championship in 10 years Saturday at Topeka West. Aldridge scored 22 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 67-36 first-round win over Shawnee Mission North, scored 27 points with eight dunks in an 86-48 semifinal win over Wichita Southeast and had 18 points in the Scots' 58-47 win over Lawrence in the tournament championship game as Highland Park improved to 9-0.
Jack Bachelor
JACK BACHELOR, Washburn Rural
Bachelor, a 6-foot-2 senior, Bachelor helped lead the 10th-ranked (Class 6A) Washburn Rural's boys basketball team to a third-place finish in the Bill Hanson Memorial Tournament at Pittsburg, scoring 51 points on the week. Bachelor scored 10 points in the Junior Blues' 68-30 first-round win over Joplin, Mo., had 23 points with three 3-pointers and a four of four performance at the free throw line in a 61-43 semifinal loss to Blue Valley Northwest and had 18 points with a six of seven showing at the free throw line and three steals in 8-4 Rural's 69-63 win over Pittsburg. on Saturday.
McKinley Kruger
McKINLEY KRUGER, Silver Lake
Kruger, a 5-foot-6 junior basketball player, was named the Burlington Invitational Most Valuable Player after helping lead No. 7-ranked (Class 3A) Silver Lake to the tournament championship. Silver Lake defeated Independence 52-39 in the championship game, with Kruger scoring 20 points and hitting five 3-pointers as the Eagles improved to 10-1 on the season.
