By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Seaman boys basketball had no problem getting fired up for Tuesday's 2025-2026 season-opener against Piper.
Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner (33), who scored 37 points, celebrates Tuesday's 83-75 season-opening win over No. 2 Piper with his Viking teammates. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
First of all, the Vikings got the chance to play in front of their home fans, with a big, spirited crowd showing up for the United Kansas Conference matchup.
Secondly, Seaman dropped both of its games against the Pirates last season, giving the Vikings some added incentive.
And finally, Piper entered the season with a lofty No. 2 state ranking after finishing third in Class 5A a year ago and second in 2024.
No. 9-ranked Seaman used all of those factors and a huge 37-point performance from senior star KaeVon Bonner to its advantage, rallying from an early deficit to take an 83-75 UKC decision over the Pirates.
"We were definitely fired up,'' Bonner said. "We went 0-2 against them last year and knew they were a good team and they only lost one player, so it was a good warmup game against a very good team, top in the league.
"We heard that they're ranked (second), so we wanted to take that spot and make them respect us. This a good start. We know that we can beat any team now.''
Seaman senior KaeVon Bonner puts up a shot in Tuesday's 83-75 season-opening win over No. 2 Piper. [Photo by Rick Peterson/TSN]
Bonner, who had scored 32 points in his last time out against Piper, was even better Tuesday, hitting 10 of 18 shot from the field with three 3-pointers and going 14 of 17 at free throw line.
And Bonner also got plenty of help from his teammates, with senior Griffin Zuniga adding 19 points and seniors Landon Wiltz and Cameron Brian 10 points each.
Piper jumped out to 6-0, 12-3 and 15-6 leads in the early going, but the Vikings didn't lose contact, rallying to within 17-15 by the end of the opening quarter and taking a 41-40 lead at the half on a buzzer-beating bucket from Bonner.
The game remained tight through most of the third stanza before Seaman closed the quarter with an 8-2 run to take a 63-56 lead into the final period.
Seaman opened the final eight minutes with a Zuniga 3-pointer and a Bonner hoop to open up a 12-point cushion at 68-56 and the Pirates got no closer than four the rest of the way.
"I tried to take the approach that playing one of the best teams in the state the first game of the season we'd find out where we're at and what we need to work on,'' Seaman coach Craig Cox said.
"We did find out a lot of things that we can do better, but to be able to do that and come out with a victory is icing on the cake.''
Senior Derrick Jackson led Piper with 25 points, followed by Alamar Brooks with 17 points, Casey Crawford with 13 and Johnny Vogel with 10.
Seaman will be off Friday before hosting Lansing in a UKC game next Tuesday.
SEAMAN BOYS 83, PIPER 75
Piper 17 23 16 19 -- 75
Seaman 15 26 22 20 -- 83
Piper (0-1, 0-1) – Jackson 9-18 4-8 25, Vogel 2-6 4-6 10, Brooks 7-13 3-5 17, Crawford 4-6 3-5 13, Sayles 1-3 0-2 2, Taylor 1-3 0-0 2, Labat 0-3 1-2 1, Seigel 0-0 0-0 0, Barnes 2-3 1-1 5. Totals 26-54 16-29 75.
Seaman (1-0, 1-0) – Wiltz 3-7 1-2 10, McConnaughey 1-1 0-0 2, Zuniga 8-11 1-2 19, Brian 4-6 2-7 10, Bonner 10-18 14-17 37, Becker 2-2 0-0 5, Esser 0-0 0-0 0, LaRosh 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 28-44 18-28 83.Z
3-point goals – Piper 7 (Jackson 3, Vogel 2, Crawford 2), Seaman 9 (Bonner 3, Wiltz 3, Zuniga 2, Becker). Total fouls – Piper 25, Seaman 25. Fouled out – McConnaughey, Brooks.
