Andrew Beckler has been named an assistant coach for Washburn University golf for the remainder of the 2026 season. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
After avenging its only loss of the season in an emotional five-point United Kansas Conference road win over No. 2-ranked Topeka West on Tuesday, the No. 3 Seaman boys returned to action Friday against a Leavenworth team that entered the night in the throes of a six-game losing streak.
Senior KaeVon Bonner scored 24 points as No. 3-ranked Seaman rolled to a 72-50 UKC win over Leavenworth Friday night. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
But the Vikings didn't slack off, stretching their winning streak to six games with a 72-50 home UKC romp past the Pioneers.
"It's no disrespect to Leavenworth, but all our guys see is their record and don't know anything about what they're going to bring to the table,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said. "So coming off of a big win, that human nature letdown is scary.
"So for us to hold it together enough to get the job done and separate ourselves in the second half was good.''
Now 8-1 overall and 7-1 in the UKC, the Vikings led 16-13 at the end of the opening quarter and 30-22 at halftime before turning the game into a rout with a 22-10 third quarter to open up a commanding 52-32 advantage and cruised the rest of the way.
Leavenworth used a box-and-one defense on Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner, but the Viking star still finished with a game-high 24 points while hitting nine of 10 shots from the floor.
"Give Leavenworth a lot of credit for their defensive game plan,'' Cox said. "They came out and showed us that box and one, which we really haven't seen much. We've done some preparation, but until you actually see somebody else do it, it's not the same.
"It gave us an opportunity to see what would work and what wouldn't and I thought we found some stuff there in the third and early fourth quarter that worked.''
Senior Landon Wiltz scored 18 points in Seaman's 72-50 UKC home win over Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Senior Landon Wiltz also had a big night for the Vikings, scoring 18 points while going a perfect five of five from the free throw line.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman girls basketball put together a strong comeback Friday night after falling behind by 11 points in the first half.
But for the second straight game, it wasn't enough, with the Vikings dropping their second United Kansas Conference decision in three days, a 52-46 home loss to Leavenworth.
Seaman senior Maddie Gragg (32) scored 16 points in Friday's 52-46 UKC loss to Leavenworth. [Photo by Rex Wolf/TSN]
Seaman, which lost 52-38 to De Soto on Wednesday at home, spotted the Pioneers a 27-16 halftime advantage before rallying to get as close as two points with 1:07 remaining, but the Pioneers outscored the Vikings 5-1 down the stretch to hold on for the win.
The Vikings, now 6-4 overall and 6-3 in the UKC, have dropped back-to-back games for the first time since the 2020-2021 season.
"We came out flat and all three games this week we've come out flat,'' said Seaman coach Matt Tinsley, whose Vikings opened the week with a 49-26 conference road win at Topeka West on Tuesday. "You can't dig yourself a hole and then that's just too much energy to come back.
"They'd get a rebound that we have a chance to get and they'd hit a 3 or we'd have a turnover in a critical moment. We're still learning that every possession is so important, especially in a tight game like that. We had no energy in the first half at all. We showed what we can do in the second half, but unfortunately the game is two halves.''
Senior Maddie Gragg led the Vikings with 16 points, 11 in the second half, while junior Cara Beaton added 14 points, including a pair of 3-pointers.
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By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Andrew Beckler has been named an assistant coach for Washburn University golf for the remainder of the 2026 season. [Photo courtesy of Washburn Athletics]
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
Two city boys basketball teams battled on Thursday night at Shawnee Heights as the host T-Birds took a 76-53 non-conference victory over Highland Park.
Junior Cam Ross led Shawnee Heights with a game-high 28 points in Thursday's 76-53 non-league win over city rival Highland Park.
The first four minutes of the game saw both teams trade buckets and Shawnee Heights led 10-8. But the T-Birds went on a 12-3 run to build a 22-11 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Junior Cam Ross scored the first basket of the second quarter and the T-Birds extended their lead to 28-11 before the Scots were able to score. The teams went back-and-forth for the remainder of the quarter and Shawnee Heights took a 41-27 lead into the halftime break.
Both teams were very efficient on offense in the third quarter, with the T-Birds outscoring the Scots, 21-18.
Senior Ja’Veon Alston scored eight points for the T-Birds in the quarter while fellow senior JaiMarion Cook dropped in five. The Scots had two players score six points each in the quarter -- juniors G’honi Montgomery and JoJo Kingcannon.
Shawnee Heights led 62-45 going into the final quarter and were able to empty their bench over the final two minutes while capping the 23-point victory.
The T-Birds finished the game shooting 28 of 42 from the field for 67 percent and 60 percent from the 3-point line (9 of 15).
The T-Birds were led by three in double figures -- Ross with 28 points, Alston with 16 and Cook with 13.
The Scots had two in double figures, led by Kingcannon with 22 points while Ke’Sioun Drew dropped in 12.
Shawnee Heights improved to 6-4 on the season and will be in action on Saturday with a road game at Gardner-Edgerton. Highland Park fell to 2-7 on the season and will play at home Friday against Kansas City-Harmon.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 76, HIGHLAND PARK 53
Highland Park 11 16 18 8 -- 53
Shawnee Heights 22 19 21 14 -- 76
Highland Park (2-7) -- Anderson 1-8 0-0 2, Montgomery 0-1 3-6 3, Drew 4-13 0-0 12, Mitchell 2-4 1-2 6, Kingcannon 10-17 0-1 22, L. McMillon 0-2 0-0 0, Pollard 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 1-1 1-2 4, Nance 2-3 0-0 4. Totals 20-49 5-11 53.
Shawnee Heights (6-4) -- Alston 5-9 4-6 16, Cook 5-6 0-0 13, Ross 10-16 5-6 28, Scott 3-4 2-2 9, Wallace 2-4 0-0 4, Lee 1-1 0-0 2, Halloran 1-1 0-0 2, Becker 0-0 0-0 0, Vega 0-0 0-0 0, Terrell 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-42 11-14 76.
3-point goals -- Highland Park 8 (Drew 4, Kingcannon 2, Mitchell, Smith), Shawnee Heights 9 (Cook 3, Ross 3, Alston 2, Scott). Total fouls -- Highland Park 14, Shawnee Heights 15. Fouled out -- L. McMillon. Technical fouls -- none.
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By CHARLES SPURLOCK
Special to TopSports.news
A non-conference city girls basketball matchup took place on Thursday night at Shawnee Heights between the host T-Birds and the Scots of Highland Park, with Heights in control from the opening jump and winning convincingly, 64-27.
Shawnee Heights senior Reianna Vega scored 12 points in Thursday's 64-27 win over city rival Highland Park. [File photo/TSN]
Shawnee Heights jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game, led by senior Reianna Vega’s seven points. Highland Park scored their only point of the first quarter on a free throw from junior Zayah Kincade with 5:29 remaining in the first stanza.
The Thunderbirds scored the final five points of the quarter to take a commanding 15-1 lead into the second quarter.
The 5-0 run that ended the first quarter was extended to 21-0 over the first seven minutes and thirty seconds of the second quarter, giving the T-Birds a 31-1 lead with thirty seconds remaining in the first half. The Scots scored 5 points in the last 25 seconds to trail 31-6 at halftime.
The third quarter saw the Lady Scots warm up from the field by scoring 15 points in the quarter, led by juniors Mi’Luv Cosey and Kincade with 6 points each. But the T-Birds continued their efficient offense, scoring 21 in the quarter and led 52-21 heading to the final quarter.
With the lead at 31, the running clock was in effect for the final eight minutes. The T-Birds emptied their bench early in the quarter and went on to pick up the 37-point victory.
Senior Reianna Vega scored 12 points to lead Shawnee Heights and junior KK Emmot finished with 10 points.
The Lady Scots also had two in double figures, with Cosey leading the way with 12 points -- all on 3-pointers -- and Kincade dropping in 10 points.
Shawnee Heights moved to 8-3 on the season and will be in action next Friday (1/23) on the road at Topeka West. Highland Park fe;; to 3-6 on the season and will host Kansas City-Harmon on Friday.
SHAWNEE HEIGHTS 64, HIGHLAND PARK 27
Highland Park 1 5 15 6 -- 27
Shawnee Heights 15 16 21 11 -- 64
Highland Park (3-6) -- Cosey 4-11 0-0 12, Kincade 3-14 1-2 10, Jones 0-3 0-0 0, Barnett 0-1 0-0 0, Atkins 0-2 0-2 0, Cameron 0-0 0-0 0, Inyard 1-4 0-0 3, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Williams-Sanders 1-2 0-0 2. Totals 9-37 1-4 27.
Shawnee Heights (8-3) -- Emmot 3-9 2-3 10, McGlory 3-7 0-0 8, Carter 2-4 4-4 8, Baum 3-5 2-2 9, Vega 5-9 0-0 12, Brees 1-4 0-2 3, Aubrey Hamilton 3-3 0-2 6, Schmidt 0-1 0-0 0, Pierce 1-4 0-0 2, Allie Hamilton 0-0 0-0 0, Carlisle 3-5 0-2 6. Totals 24-51 8-15 64.
3-point goals -- Highland Park 8 (Cosey 4, Kincade 3, Inyard), Shawnee Heights 8 (Emmot 2, McGlory 2, Vega 2, Baum, Brees). Total Fouls -- Highland Park 17, Shawnee Heights 12. Fouled out -- none. Technical fouls -- none.
