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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
The Washburn men's basketball season came to end Sunday in the NCAA Central Region semifinals with the Ichabods dropping a 70-55 loss to familiar MIAA rival Northwest Missouri in their fourth meeting of the season.
"I'm proud of our guys,'' Washburn coach Brett Ballard said. "We could have gave in a couple of times in that game, but we battled back. We didn't play our best obviousely. They had a lot to do with that, but we battled.
"I thought we played hard, got back in the game. We got it (to four) and just couldn't quite get over that hump. They made plays and we didn't.''
Freshman Michael Keegan led Washburn with 16 points in the Ichabods' 70-55 NCAA Tournament loss to Northwest Missouri Sunday. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
Offensively the Ichabods, who finished the season 22-11, were limited in the first half as they were held to 9 of 28 shooting with six of their nine field goals coming from 3-point range.
The Bearcats took a 41-27 lead into the break after hitting 12 of 22 shots overall and going 7 of 10 from 3-point range and hitting 10 of 11 free throws.
Washburn trailed by as many as 21 points in the opening half before cutting the margin to 14.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Five Shawnee Heights basketball players earned All-United Kansas Conference recognition, led by first-team selections Carter Olson and Emari Doby.
Olson, a senior, was named to the All-UKC boys first team, while Doby, a junior, was named to the girls all-conference first team.
Shawnee Heights senior Carter Olson has been named to the All-United Kansas Conference boys basketball first team after helping the T-Birds post a 14-8 record. [File photo/TSN]
Shawnee Heights junior Emari Doby has been named to the All-United Kansas Conference girls basketball first team. [File photo/TSN]
Olson and Doby both missed the entire 2020-2021 season with knee injuries. Olson also missed the final few weeks of the recently completed season with a knee injury.
Shawnee Heights sophomore Brennon Dodge and senior Nate Pewe were named to the All-UKC boys second team.
Senior Abby Schulte earned a spot on the All-UKC girls second team.
Basehor-Linwood senior Carter Bergman was named the United Kansas Conference boys player of the year while Basehor-Linwood's Mike McBride and De Soto's Matt Rice were named co-coached of the year.
Lansing senior Kamryn Farris was named the UKC girls player of the year while Lansing's KC Simmons was named the girls coach of the year.
ALL-UNITED KANSAS CONFERENCE BASKETBALL
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After starting the 2021-2022 season 3-12, Hayden's boys basketball team ended its season Saturday with a fourth-place finish in the Class 4A state tournament.
The Wildcats, who upset top seed Eudora in the first round of the state tourney, dropped a 37-33 decision to McPherson in Saturday's third-place game at Tony's Pizza Events Center in Salina.
Hayden senior Trent Duffey scored 12 points to lead the Wildcats in Saturday's 37-33 loss to McPherson in the Class 4A boys third-place game. [FIle photo/TSN]
Hayden, which finished with a 10-15 record, trailed McPherson (15-10) by just two points at the end of the first quarter but the Bullpups used a 13-5 second quarter to take a 20-10 halftime advantage.
The Wildcats cut their deficit to five points (27-22) by the start of the fourth quarter but were unable to get over the hump down the stretch.
Senior Trent Duffey led Hayden with 11 points while junior Jake Muller added 10 points and junior Joe Otting seven points and a game-high 10 rebounds.
Seth Madron led McPherson with a game-high 12 points.
McPHERSON 37, HAYDEN 33
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By Joanna Chadwick
WICHITA -- From the first day of basketball tryouts in November, Washburn Rural junior Brooklyn DeLeye carried with her the intense disappointment of failing to win a Class 6A volleyball title in October.
“Going in undefeated (to state volleyball) … we had this chip on our shoulder,” she said. “And then we just kind of … I guess, we gave it away. We didn’t play our best, and we knew that we had to in the state championship. And it was really disappointing.”
The goal shifted after volleyball to winning a state basketball title, and that’s just what the Junior Blues did on Saturday at Koch Arena with a 40-23 win over Derby.
Washburn Rural's girls basketball team poses for a team picture after winning its second Class 6A state championship since 2019 Saturday in Wichita. [Submitted]
DeLeye, a 6-foot-2 forward who has committed to play volleyball at Kentucky, had 13 points and 10 rebounds.
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By KYLE MANTHE
The Washburn Review
Washburn University men’s basketball entered the NCAA Division II Tournament as the sevethn seed, going up against the second-seeded Minnesota Duluth Bulldogs, but the Ichabods did not play like it as they led by as many as 17 points in the process of pulling off the upset victory in Sioux Falls, S.D., 83-73.
“There is no question that this is the best region in Division II,” said Washburn coach Brett Ballard. “Just to get here means a lot, it means you have done something pretty special.”
The 10-point final score was dictated in large part by the play of Ichabod senior All-American Tyler Geiman, who neared a triple-double, finishing with 21 points along with nine assists and nine rebounds.
“I don’t know if there is another player that impacts this team as much as this guy does,” Ballard said. “He just wants our team to win and I am hoping we can keep playing a few more games together.”
The win moves the Ichabods to 22-10 on the year and into the semifinals of the Central Region where they will face Northwest Missouri State for the second straight year on Sunday.
Connor Deffebaugh (left) drives against Minnesota Duluth in Washburn's 83-73 win in the opening round of the NCAA Central Region tournament Saturday in Sioux Falls, S.D. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
