- Details
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Considering the start, you would think Friday's Centennial League boys game at Hayden was going to be all Manhattan.
The Indians would go on a 11-0 run to start the game before the Wildcats finally got on the board with 3:55 left in the first quarter Hayden would get on the board and Manhattan went up 25-8 in the second quarter.
Hayden sophomore Carter Compton scored 14 points with a pair of 3-pointers in Friday's 45-42 loss to Manhattan. [File photo/TSN]
Hayden junior Connor Hanika scored 14 points in Friday's 45-42 home Centennial League loss to Manhattan. [File photo/TSN]
But the Wildcats kept fighting and gave itself a chance down the stretch before dropping a 45-42 decision to the Indians at the Bueltel Activity Center.
“Unfortunately, too often we start games too passive,'' Hayden coach Dwayne Anthony said. "I’m not surprised when they bunker down and start executing and then we make it a game per se. I was disappointed tonight with how long it took to do that and with all the talk that we’ve had that, we need to start games with that same intensity.”
The Wildcats used an 8-0 run to cut its halftime deficit to 25-16 and would come out of halftime scratching and clawing and would end the third quarter still down by 9 (35-26) before sophomore Carter Compton, whose family just moved to Topeka, would score 12 of his 14 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Wildcats grab their first lead of the game with only 5:13 left.
But Manhattan would get a 3-pointer and then two free throws in the final 2 minutes to escape the hard-fought game with the 3-point win.
- Details
By Rick Peterson
TopSports.news
Coming off a tough two-point home loss to United Kansas Conference and city rival Topeka West, the No. 7-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman boys bounced back with an 84-58 UKC road romp at Leavenworth Friday night.
The Vikings improved to 6-2 overall and in the UKC as junior KaeVon Bonner and senior Bryer Finley combined for 43 points.
Junior KaeVon Bonner scored a game-high 22 points Friday night as Seaman improved to 6-2 with an 84-58 road win at Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN]
Seaman senior Bryer Finley (2) scored 21 points in Friday's 84-58 win over Leavenworth. [File photo/TSN]
Bonner led the way with 22 points while Finley was right behind with 21 points.
Junior Landon Wiltz was the third Viking in double figures with 16 points.
No. 1-ranked Seaman girls roll to 67-14 UKC win
The undefeated and top-ranked Seaman girls tuned up for what promises to be a big week next week with a 53-point 67-14 United Kansas Conference road win at Leavenworth Friday night.
Junior Maddie Gragg led the Vikings (8-0 overall, 8-0 UKC) with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals while Cara Beaton had 14 points and four 3-pointers, Anna Becker 12 points, 8 assists and six steals and Jaida Stallbaumer 11 points.
Senior Ava Esser was 2 points away from a double-double, finishing with 8 points and 10 rebounds.
Seaman will host perennial power St. James Academy on Tuesday in a makeup game before going on the road Thursday to face No. 4-ranked De Soto.
Highland Park senior Ja'Corey Robinson scored 33 points Friday night at KC-Harmon in an 89-24 Scot win. [File photo/TSN]
Hi Park boys stay perfect with 65-point win
Senior star Ja'Corey Robinson scored 33 points, easily out-scoring Highland Park's opponent by himself as top-ranked (Class 5A) Highland Park remained undeated with an 89-24 Meadowlark Conference road win over Kansas City-Harmon.
Highland Park scored an amazing 40 points in the eight-minute first quarter and tacked on 33 points in the second quarter to build a 73-10 halftime advantage.
Seniors Mikey Williams and Isaiah Kelley added 12 points each as the Scots improved to 8-0 overall and 4-0 in the conference.
Highland Park will be the top seed in next week's Topeka Invitational Tournament at Topeka High.
- Details
By Todd Fertig
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel Latin girls battled to the wire in search of their second win of the season, coming up just short at home against West Franklin 36-33 Friday.
Karsyn Hastert led Cair Paravel with 10 points in Friday's 36-33 Flint Hills League loss to West Franklin. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
First-year coach Jaley Barkley praised the Lions' effort and sees improvement from the eight players suited up.
“We’ve played some tough teams but we’ve learned so much these past couple of games,” Barkley said. “This was one of our first games that was close to the end, so just learning to finish those last couple of minutes in the fourth quarter is huge, being able to push with our small team, just being able to figure out how to finish strong.”
The Lions are navigating the Flint Hills League for the first time, with a small roster and limited experience. Barkley had to juggle the lineup in the final minutes after two players fouled out. But she is happy with the chemistry of the group.
“The girls have grown so much and they are great together,” Barkley said. “I wouldn’t say it’s a struggle (to have just eight players). It’s more of a joy just being able to figure out how to work with these eight girls.”
Freshman London Backman (12) scored seven points Friday in Cair Paravel's 36-33 home loss to West Franklin. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
The Lions were led Friday by 10 points from junior Karsyn Hastert. Freshman London Backman added seven.
- Details
By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
Beating ranked Class 6A teams has become a familiar thing for the Hayden Lady Wildcats, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association.
After beating defending Class 6A champion Shawnee Mission South in their 2024 finale and then topping 6A runnerup Washburn Rural, the Wildcats knocked off No. 5 Manhattan 54-47 in an instant classic Friday night at Hayden.
Senior Millie Ramsey scored 8 of her 13 points in the closing minutes as Hayden took a 54-47 Centennial League victory over Manhattan. [File photo/TSN]
The Lady Wildcats, who are off to a 9-0 start after placing third in 3A last year, would start off up 12-8 at the end of the first quarter and would go into halftime with a 30-24 lead.
But Hayden would cool off at the end the third quarter, allowing the Indians to come back and tie it up at 40 going into the fourth quarter.
The Centennial League rivals would trade punches until Hayden senior Millie Ramsey would deliver the knockout punch with 4:10 left in the game.
Ramsey would hit the biggest shot of the night with a 3 pointer to tie it up at 46 before hitting another 3-pointer on the next possession to put Hayden up 49-46 with 2:20 left.
Ramsey then put the icing on the cake with a layup to put the Wildcats up 51-46 with 1:15 left in the game, followed by two Brylee Meier free throws and the Cats would survive a hard fought game against the Lady Indians.
Senior Brylee scored a game-high 16 points as Hayden took a 54-47 Centennial League victory over Manhattan. [File photo/TSN]
The Wildcats who got another good scoring night from senior Meier, who would lead all scorers with 16 points.
“She carries us through times when our offense is stagnant with her ability to shoot the ball,'' Hayden coach Carvel Reynoldson said of Meier. "And when times are tough, she’s been a tremendous leader for us. The comments she makes on the bench during a time out are perfectly in sync with the message.”
“I felt like going into the game I knew I was going to have to be a big leader for the team,'' Meier said. "I just had to make sure we had energy in times where everyone was tired and staying positive when shots weren’t falling.”
- Details
By NICHOLAS GAINEY
Special to TopSports.news
The Topeka West boys basketball team saw 10 players find the scoring column as the Chargers downed visiting Kansas City-Turner 63-41 in United Kansas Conference action on Friday night at West.
Junior Malakyah Duncan (12) led a balanced Topeka West scoring attack with 10 points in Friday's 63-41 UKC win over KC-Turner. [File photo/TSN[
The Chargers jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the opening minutes of the contest with baskets from Jalen Foy and Kamoni Ford, but Turner’s Mekhi Follick answered with five quick points to give the visitors their only lead of the night.
Topeka West responded with a layup from Keimani Paul and a 3-pointer from Jay’veon Traylor to take a 9-5 lead.
Follick added a basket to cut the lead back to one possession, but the Chargers took advantage of multiple Golden Bears turnovers to take a 17-10 lead after the first quarter.
The teams traded baskets for the entirety of the second quarter.
Despite running a fast-paced offense, the Chargers struggled to get shots to fall, only tallying 11 points in the period.
West looked to take a double-digit lead into the halftime locker room, but Follick knocked down a 3-pointer late in the half to cut the Charger lead to 28-20 entering the break.
With the Golden Bears hanging around after 16 minutes, Topeka West opened up the contest in the third quarter.
