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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
Late in the second period Tuesday, the Cair Paravel boys looked up at a 21-7 deficit on the scoreboard. But as a ranked team for the first time in the program’s history, the Lions believe they are capable of overcoming adversity.
Chase Hastert, Cair Paravel [Photo by Barry Benteman/Special to TSN]
Cair Paravel entered the contest with Centralia ranked seventh in Class 2A by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association. They didn’t play like it for the first 14 minutes Tuesday, but the Lions found their footing in the second half and turned that 14-point deficit into the team’s ninth win in a row, 50-42.
Cair Paravel outscored the visiting Panthers 18-12 in the third period, then ran away with a 19-6 advantage in the fourth period.
“First half we were selfish and soft. Second half looked night and day different,” said Cair Paravel coach Chip Kueffer. “(The Panthers) were hitting some tough shots, too. Not all of them were easy looks. But they got hot and then it can be tough to battle back when you’re down double digits.”
Sophomore Chase Hastert, who led the Lions with 14 points, echoed and added to his coach’s criticism of the first half.
“We were not going after loose balls, letting them go after it, not attacking the boards and playing selfish. We were taking first-side shots, not getting it inside. We had like four paint touches in the first half,” Hastert said. “In the second half, coach was like, ‘We can’t shoot any bad shots.’ We went on a run and we were just playing a lot harder, not just moping around.”
Kueffer credited his seniors for leading the turnaround.
“Our leaders do a great job,” Kueffer said. “We have three senior captains -- Drew Fay, Caleb Cleverdon and Lucas Marichal. They’re kind of our quarterbacks out on the court. Those floor generals can kind of rally each other and huddle everyone up to get it going.
“But the way (you stage a comeback) is one stop at a time. You can’t get 10 in a row. You can’t look at it that way. It’s just one good possession at a time, one good guard, one good rebound at a time. When you don’t get stops it’s hard to run in transition. Once we did get stops, we finished possessions. We were able to pitch ahead and score in transition.”
Fay scored 13 points for Cair Paravel and Marichal added 11. After going scoreless in the first half, sophomore Blaine Durbin turned in nine second-half points. The Lions outscored the visitors 13-3 over the final 4:41.
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By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Cair Paravel girls faced another tough test Tuesday when the Centralia Panthers – ranked third in Class 1A Div. I – came to Topeka. The Lions hung tough for a half but fell off the pace and lost 58-22.
The Lions have been tested by some of the best small school programs in the state, including Wabaunsee, which sits one spot ahead of Centralia in the 1A-I rankings. On Tuesday, Centralia applied a stifling press to the Lions to add its twelfth victory against just two losses on the season. Junior Josie Haverkamp led the Panthers with 22 points on 9-16 shooting.
“It’s always fun (playing Centralia). It’s always a good challenge,” said Cair Paravel coach Jaley Barkley. “It’s tough playing teams that press the whole game. We’ve seen Wabaunsee do a run-and-gun trap against us. Osage City kind of presses. So, we’ve seen it a lot. But I think it’s good for the girls to learn how to adapt. There will be turnovers that come with it, but it helps them learn and grow a lot.”
Barkley hopes that the experience of playing top-ranked teams will pay dividends later in the season.
“There are games on the schedule that I think will be good matchups for us,” Barkley said. “So, I think the hard teams that we’ve faced has allowed us to learn some lessons that will hopefully allow us to be victorious.”
The Lions fell to 5-9 with the loss Tuesday. Their top offensive threat, London Backman, had trouble getting free for shot attempts against the Panthers. She finished with just three points. Junior Becca Gateley led the Lions with eight points.
CENTRALIA GIRLS 58, CAIR PARAVEL 22
Centralia 13 15 22 8 -- 58
Cair Paravel 4 10 4 4 -- 22
Centralia (12-2) – Kramer 4-15 1-2 10, Thompson 2-3 1-2 5, Rempe 1-5 0-0 3, Gibbs 1-8 2-2 4, Haverkamp 9-16 4-6 22, Becker 5-7 4-10 14, Tanking 0-0 0-0 0, Heinen 0-1 0-0 0, Niehaus 0-0 0-0 0, Franklin 0-1 0-0 0, McKee 0-0 0-0 0, Osterhaus 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-57 12-22 58.
Cair Paravel (5-9) – Hastert 3-7 0-0 6, Donaldson 0-4 0-2 0, Gateley 3-5 1-1 8, Chada 0-3 0-0 0, Backman 1-8 0-0 3, Wehlshans 2-4 0-0 4, Rosenow 0-0 1-2 1. Totals 9-31 2-5 22.
3-point goals – Centralia 2 (Kramer, Rempe), Cair Paravel 2 (Gateley, Backman). Total fouls – Centralia 7, Cair Paravel 18. Fouled out – Backman. Technical fouls – None.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner, one of the state's most prolific scorers, had an off night offensively -- by his lofty standards -- in Tuesday's non-league game at Washburn Rural.
Washburn senior John Hoytal (left) scored a game-high 20 points while Seaman senior Landon Wiltz (5) scored 14 points with four treys in Tuesday's 53-46 Viking win. [Photo by Doug Walker/Special to TSN]
But Bonner, who still led the Vikings with 15 points, got plenty of help from his friends as No. 5-ranked (Class 5A) Seaman used a big third quarter to build a nine-point advantage and held off the Junior Blues for a 53-46 win.
Bonner had a tough shooting night from the field, but hit a pair of 3s, including the game-clincher, and went 7 of 8 from the free throw line.
Viking senior Landon Wiltz hit four first-half 3-pointers and finished with 14 points while senior Griffin Zuniga also scored 14 points with a pair of 3s and senior Cameron Brian chipped in with eight points and a pair of treys.
Brian hit a big 3-pointer with 3:40 remaining after the Junior Blues had clawed within two points and Zuniga nailed a 3 to put Seaman up by a 48-42 margin with about two minutes left before Bonner connected with about 30 seconds remaining to give the 10-2 Vikings a 51-45 cushion
"There were a couple of those shots that some people behind me were like, 'No, no, yeah,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "But Cameron hit a big 3 for us and Griffin hit a big 3 and then Bonner goes to the corner in pretty much the same spot as the other two and those three shots allowed us to escape with the win.''
Tuesday's win was Seaman's second straight victory over a Class 6A school after the then-No. 2 Vikings dropped a disappointing 53-51 decision to Hutchinson in the first round of the McPherson Invitational last Thursday.
"We got a little bit too caught up in the rankings and the headlines and everybody patting you on the back telling you how good you are,'' Cox said. "I knew with the competition (Hutchinson) played that they'd been tested and we weren't going to scare them.
"We gave them too many layups and then they hit a big 3 late. We had a couple of opportunities, but we weren't ready to play and we paid the price for it, which is to (Hutch's) credit because they did what they had to do.''
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Hayden rallied from a 15-point halftime deficit to outlast host Baldwin 74-68 in double overtime Monday in the weather-delayed final round of the Baldwin Invitational to claim the tournament championship.
Hayden's boys basketball team captured the championship in the 2026 Baldwin Invitational on Monday with a 74-68 double-overtime win over Baldwin. [Submitted photo/Hayden basketball]
The two-time Baldwin Invitational champs went 3-0 in the tournament, with Monday's thriller following a 62-39 first-round win over Wellsville and a 78-53 win over Bishop Seabury in the second round.
Junior Carter Compton led the Wildcats with 13 points in Monday's win over Baldwin while junior Mason Becker added 12 points, senior Makhi Kidd 11 and junior Everett Tourtillot 10 points as Hayden improved to 7-8 on the season while posting its fourth win over its past five games.
Hayden senior Kade Mitchell (2), junior Carter Compton (12) and junior Mason Becker (4), with Wildcat coach Dwayne Anthony, were named to the Baldwin Invitational All-Tournament Team. [Submitted photo/Hayden basketball]
Compton and Becker were named to the all-tournament team along with senior Kade Mitchell.
Hayden will return to action Wednesday, hosting Shawnee Mission West in a non-league contest.
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By VINCE LOVERGINE
TopSports.news
Before the Capital City Classic tips off later this week, Topeka High hosted the Atchison Phoenix in the Dungeon Monday night and rolled to a 71-33 win.
Topeka High junior Ahsieyrhuajh Rayton scored 33 points in Monday's 71-33 win over Atchison. [File photo/TSN]
Atchison kept themselves in the hunt in the first quarter, trailing by just five at 19-14.
Junior Ahsieryrhuajh Rayton, who scored a game-high 33 points, scored the first five points for the Trojans followed by a couple of 3-pointers from senior Keimara Marshall while sophomore Hailey Caryl added one, too. Caryl finished with 16 and Marshall ended with 10.
“I wasn’t very happy after that first quarter,” Trojan coach Ron Slaymaker said. “I said in the timeout I called, I didn’t think that they would get that many points in the whole game and they had that in the first quarter… but after that we played pretty good.”
Atchison only had six players and Slaymaker told his team sometimes those games are hard to play, but credits the Phoenix for having the season they’re having despite the low number of players.
Alondra Herrera scored five straight for Atchison putting them up 9-8, forcing Slaymaker into a timeout, but then Topeka High turned it up a notch. Herrera led Atichson with 12 points.
In the second quarter, the Trojans began the quarter on a 14-0 run, leading 33-14 and finished on a 26-5 run, taking a commanding 45-19 lead at the break.
The Trojans were all over the glass, creating second-chance opportunities and creating turnovers on the defensive side leading to points. That’s something Slaymaker stressed before the season began on how important that would be for their success.
Rayton was scoring at will all game, helping the Trojans to a 11-0 run to begin the second half and after a Caryl two-point bucket that would start the running clock with five minutes left in the third quarter and lead 67-26 heading into the fourth.
