By TODD FERTIG
TopSports.news
The Seaman boys turned in momentum-changing plays in every period of their 57-46 Class 5A quarterfinal victory over Maize South Tuesday in Wichita.
Seaman basketball poses for a picture with its student section after Tuesday's 57-46 Class 5A state tournament win over Maize South. [Photo by Todd Fertig/TSN]
The fourth-seeded Vikings’ come-from-behind win gives them a shot at top-seeded Kapaun Mt. Carmel on Thursday. The Crusaders are the defending champs in 5A and extended their undefeated 2025-2026 streak to 26 games by knocking off Shawnee Heights Tuesday.
Seaman had to withstand a shaky first half and a hot start by Maize South. The two teams traded punches the entire first half. The Vikings got a shot of adrenaline from a driving two-hand dunk by KaeVon Bonner to close the first quarter. Still, the Mavericks led essentially the entire first half, building a six-point lead with 1:25 before halftime.
The Vikings closed the first half with back-to-back buckets to cut the deficit to 22-20. A Bonner 3-pointer with just three seconds left would have sent the Vikings to halftime in the lead, but an official ruled Bonner stepped on the sideline on the catch-and-shoot attempt.
Despite being denied the big shot before the half, the Vikings felt the momentum shifting. Senior Landon Wiltz seized the opportunity. He buried a 3-pointer to open the second half to give the Vikings a 23-22 lead. Two minutes later, he knocked down another to put Seaman up 28-25. The Vikings never trailed again.
“My final comment before we took the floor was we’d been a really good second-half team this year,” said Seaman coach Craig Cox. “We were 0-6 (on 3-pointers) in the first half. The only one we actually made, we stepped out of bounds. So, we were a little bit frustrated. So, for (Wiltz) to step up and make them was very huge momentum-wise.”
“We play defense to offense,” said Bonner. “So, when we get stops and just run down the court, I feel like we’re a good running team, so that starts our momentum. When Landon started (the second half) with those threes, yeah it was a big momentum change for us for sure.”
The Vikings outscored the Mavericks 18-8 in the third period and closed the quarter leading 38-30 on a rim-rocking fast break dunk by Bonner. Cox said the dunks and 3-pointers were not the only highlights.
“You know, those are big momentum plays, but also like Matthew McConnaughey stepping up and taking a charge. That’s a huge momentum play,” Cox said. “We made a lot of big, big plays that allowed us to build that lead.”
Once the Vikings were in the lead, they didn’t surrender to a late run by the Mavericks. The Vikings knocked down 11-12 free throws in the final period, including 8-8 from Bonner, to close out the game.
Facing a variety of defensive looks, Bonner was just 3-6 from the field in the first half for eight points. He focused on breaking down the Maverick defense and distributing the ball. In the second half, he found his scoring touch. The senior finished with 24 points. Wiltz scored 11 of his 13 points after halftime. Griffin Zuniga added 10.
Now the Vikings will return to Wichita Thursday for a 6 p.m. date with Kapaun Mt. Carmel.
“I’m excited for it and know that we’ve got a tremendous challenge,” Cox said. “But we get a day to prepare, so we’ll try to regroup and be ready to do the best we can on Thursday.”
“I know they had a really good season, but I feel like if they look down on us, we can beat them,” Bonner said of the Crusaders. “I feel like we didn’t have the best game today. We feel like there are a lot more shots we could have made.
“So, if we come down Thursday and be ready to play against them… We know they’re an all-around team. They don’t have like one main guy. They all play together, so they’re going to be a good, tough team. I feel like it should be a really good game.”
SEAMAN BOYS 57, MAIZE SOUTH 46
Maize South 10 12 8 16 – 46
Seaman 8 12 18 19 -- 57
Maize South (21-5) – Pauly 1-2 0-0 2, Ebers 1-4 0-0 2, Batiste 7-15 1-2 19, Haynes 2-3 0-0 4, Stucky 4-8 2-4 10, Scott 3-6 0-0 6, Clinton 0-1 0-0 0, Lowe 1-2 0-0 3. Totals 19-41 3-6 46.
Seaman (22-4) – Wiltz 3-4 4-4 13, McConnaughey 2-3 1-3 5, Zuniga 5-7 0-2 10, Brian 1-5 0-0 3, Bonner 7-15 10-10 24, Esser 0-1 0-0 0, Scholes 1-1 0-0 2, Becker 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 19-36 15-19 57.
3-point goals – Maize South 5 (Batiste 4, Lowe 1), Seaman 4 (Wiltz 3, Brian 1). Total fouls – Maize South 18, Seaman 9. Fouled out – none. Technical fouls – none.
