By Andrew Gill
TopSports.news
After losing their first four games of the season, Eric King’s Topeka HighTrojans looked determined to rewrite the script Tuesday night at Hayden.
“We’ve been getting better and better as a team. We’ve been emphasizing teamwork in practice,” King said – and it showed.
Their decisive 59-40 victory over the Wildcats was a true team effort for the Trojans, with eight different players scoring.
Seniors Jalen Smith, Isiah Esquibel, and Jevhyn Wilson led the way with a combined 39 points and 18 rebounds.
After a back-and-forth first quarter, the Trojans controlled the tempo the rest of the way. Methodical offense gave Topeka High a 12-point lead at the half (30-18), with the Trojans outscoring the Wildcats 19-6 in the second quarter.
Along with sharing the ball, King attributed the win to minimizing turnovers.
“The first four games we lost by 13, 1, 13, and 2 but we had 20 turnovers each game, so we told our guys to take care of the ball and we’ll be okay.”
Both teams struggled with turnovers to start the second half, forcing King to call a timeout after just 90 seconds of play.
“I just told them, ‘We’re not playing our kind of ball, we’re playing reckless. Turning the ball over, not cherishing the ball. Let’s get the ball inside and get the momentum back.' ”
Smith drove to the bucket and scored off the inbounds the very next play.
The Trojans’ discipline on offense carried them through the rest of the third quarter, giving them a 47-27 lead to start the fourth.
Other than senior Geivonnii Williams’ 14-point effort, the Wildcats simply could not find any rhythm on the offensive end.
The loss to Topeka High was the 2-4 Wildcats' fourth straight and Hayden will look to turn things around tFriday at Emporia.
TOPEKA HIGH BOYS 59, HAYDEN 40
Topeka High 11 19 17 12 -- 59
Hayden 12 6 9 13 -- 40
Topeka High (1-4, 1-4) – Esquibel 4 2-4 10, Smith 7 4-5 18, Fulton 1 0-0 2, McMillan 1 0-0 2, Wilson 5 1-2 11, Cameron 1 0-0 2, Leesman 3 0-0 7, Canady 3 1-1 7. Totals 25 8-12 59.
Hayden (2-4, 2-4) – Williams 4 5-7 14, Muller 3 0-0 7, Triplett 1 3-6 5, Duffey 2 1-1 6, Otting 1 3-4 5, Gorman 1 0-0 3. Totals 12 12-18 40.
