By JUSTIN BURKHARDT
TopSports.news
WICHITA -- In what marked the final game of his tenure as Seaman boys basketball coach, Craig Cox saw his team deliver a strong performance Friday, defeating city rival Topeka West 66-50 in the Class 5A third-place game at Koch Arena.
The matchup marked the third meeting of the season between the city and United Kansas Conference foes, but this time Seaman controlled the game early and never fully relinquished its advantage.
Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner (33) had 9 points and 10 assists in the Vikings' 66-50 win over Topeka West in Friday's Class 5A third-place game. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
Seaman jumped out to a quick start behind senior KaeVon Bonner, who scored four of the Vikings’ first six points to give his team a 6-0 lead.
Topeka West eventually got on the board when junior Prince Lassiter converted a basket, but Seaman quickly responded with a 7-0 run to stretch the lead to 13-4.
Chargers guard Keimani Paul knocked down a 3-pointer late in the quarter, but the Vikings answered with four more points to take a 17-8 lead into the second period.
Topeka West found momentum early in the second quarter, opening the period on a 10-1 run to pull within two points. However, Viking senior Landon Wiltz halted the Chargers’ surge with a timely 3-pointer.
Seaman regained control from there, closing the half with a flurry of outside shooting.
The Vikings connected on three 3-pointers down the stretch, including one at the buzzer, to push their lead to 11 heading into halftime.
Seaman senior Landon Wiltz (5), defending Topeka West's Keimani Paul, led all scorers with 23 points in Friday's 66-50 win in the Class 5A third-place game. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
Wiltz led all scorers with 11 first-half points and was 3 for 4 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Both teams struggled to find offensive rhythm to start the third quarter, but Topeka West closed the period strong with an 8-0 run to cut the deficit to seven.
Cox emphasized patience and ball movement during the break between quarters.
“We had moved the ball again and were just kind of settling for some shots and missing them,” Cox said. “It’s like, make the extra pass and it’ll be fine. I thought we moved the ball a lot better, got it to the middle and played a little bit from the inside out.
"With these guys having confidence, it makes it easy to not panic when a good team like Topeka West makes a run.”
“(Cox0 just told us to finish the game out,” Bonner said. "We just kept letting them back in. It’s the last game of the season, just have fun.”
Seaman responded with its strongest stretch of the game to open the fourth quarter.
After the Chargers scored five quick points to pull within four, the Vikings erupted on a 9-0 run to extend the lead to 52-39.
Paul briefly halted the surge with a 3-pointer for Topeka West, but Seaman answered with three consecutive 3-pointers of its own to effectively put the game out of reach.
The Vikings were particularly efficient from long range, shooting 13 of 26 from 3-point range, while Topeka West struggled from deep, converting just 3 of 19 attempts.
Wiltz finished with a game-high 23 points, while Bonner impacted the game in other ways. Though held to nine points, the standout guard recorded 10 assists.
“I know scoring is one of my main things, but if my shot’s not falling, I’ll go out and get my teammates involved,” Bonner said. “Landon was hitting his shots, so I just drove and found him. He did his job of shooting for me.”
Cox praised Bonner’s leadership and unselfishness after the game.
“That’s the thing you have to love about KaeVon -- he’s just as happy when his teammates are having success as if he’s having success,” Cox said. “What a great player, the best I’ve ever coached. He led us all year, and the other guys did a great job understanding their roles and getting the job done.”
With the victory, the Vikings secured their second win of the season over Topeka West and ensured Cox ended his Seaman coaching career with a win.
Junior Prince Lassiter led Topeka West with 15 points in Friday's 75-50 loss to Seaman in the Class 5A third-place game. [Photo by Selena Rivas Favela/Special to TSN]
Topeka West was led by Lassiter with 15 points and Paul with 13.
SEAMAN 66, TOPEKA WEST 50
Seaman 17 13 11 25 -- 66
Topeka West 8 13 13 16 -- 50
Seaman (22-5) -- Wiltz 8-14 0-0 23, Zuniga 6-13 2-5 16, Brian 4-9 1-2 11, Bonner 4-11 0-0 9, McConnaughey 1-2 2-3 4, Scholes 1-1 0-0 3, Larosh 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 24-51 5-10 66.
Topeka West (23-4) -- Lassiter 6-13 3-6 15, Paul 5-10 2-2 13, Traylor 3-5 2-2 8, Munganga 1-6 3-4 6, Duncan 2-11 1-2 6, Fox 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 18-46 11-16 50.
3-point goals -- Seaman 13 (Wiltz 7, Zuniga 2, Brian 2, Bonner, Scholes), Topeka West 3 (Munganga, Duncan, Paul). Total Fouls -- Seaman 12, Topeka West 12. Fouled out -- none. Technical Fouls - none.
