Brian Turrel – Page 98 – Welcome to Wyandotte Daily!

Bonner Springs defeats Turner 82-69

by Brian Turrel

The Turner Golden Bears had trouble containing Bonner Springs junior guard Keyon Thomas. The speedy Bonner junior scored 36 in an 82-69 home win on Friday night.

The Braves ran a motion offense to open driving lanes for Thomas, who usually finished his drives at the rim, but kicked back to his open teammates if the defense closed the gap in time. The Braves also used takeaways to feed Thomas, finding him outpacing the defense in transition.

The Braves held the court in the first half, limiting the Bears’ access to the lane and turning defensive disruptions into fast breaks. Bonner Springs was up 40-22 at halftime.

Turner battled back in the second half, pushing the tempo on their offense and finding more opportunities for Fred Poe and Jaylin Richardson. They cut the Braves’ lead to single digits in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t find enough defensive stops to get closer.

In addition to Thomas’s 36 points, A.J. Watson contributed 15, and Cole Oakes had 9. For Turner, Ty Gilmore led the scoring with 19, followed by Richardson with 18 and Donald Rollen with 12, including two three-pointers.

Bonner Springs remains undefeated in the Kaw Valley League at 7-0 (14-1 overall), 1 1/2 games ahead of second place Basehor-Linwood. They will play next at Piper High School at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 9. Turner drops to 3-4 in the league (5-9 overall) and will play Bishop Ward High School at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on Ward’s home court at Kansas City Kansas Community College.

Bonner Springs junior A.J. Watson (1) took a short jump shot. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Turner junior Ty Gilmore (22) split two Bonner defenders to get to the basket. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Keyon Thomas took a free throw after he was fouled on a layup attempt. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Turner senior Fred Poe (33) went got inside for a layup. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Turner sophomore Jaylin Richardson (32) pulled down a defensive rebound. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Bonner Springs senior Cole Oakes (3) surprised Fred Poe by knocking away this rebound. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Turner senior Donald Rollen (12) took a short jumper in the lane. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Turner senior Russell Reed III (24) took a three-point shot from the left wing. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Participants in the Little Dazzlers dance clinic performed at halftime. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Bobcats faster, defeat Pirates 75-68 at home

by Brian Turrel

The Piper Pirates’ hopes for consecutive Kaw Valley League championships took a hit on Tuesday evening when they lost to rival Basehor-Linwood High School, 75-68.

The Bobcats’ quick defense prevented Piper from getting shooters open outside.

Basehor was quick in the paint as well, drawing three charge calls by getting defenders in position on Piper drives. Basehor established its outside attack from the beginning, hitting 5 three-pointers in the first quarter and taking a 14-point halftime lead.

Piper made a few runs at the lead in the second half, closing within single digits multiple times before letting Basehor slip away.

Freshman Tamar Bates, recently back from an injury, came on strong with 12 second-half points. Sophomore Ty Shelley also helped the comeback effort, hitting two three-pointers and two of three foul shots in the fourth quarter.

Errant outlet passes and offensive fouls were missed opportunities that prevented the Pirates from closing the gap further. Basehor got plenty of work at the free throw line to close the game, hitting 16 of 23 chances in the fourth quarter.

Covington led the Pirates with 21 points and 5 assists, but didn’t have his usual shooting touch, going 1-for-6 from three point range. Tamar Bates ended with 13 total points, 3 assists and 5 rebounds. Gabe Eskina was the leader on the boards, picking up 7 rebounds.

The longtime rivals will play again on Feb. 13 in what may be their last meeting for some time. The teams are in separate classifications and will move to different leagues for the 2018-2019 season.

Piper is now 4-2 in the league (9-5 overall), two games behind leader Bonner Springs. Piper will play at Tonganoxie High School at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2.

Freshman Tamar Bates (12) threaded his way through the Basehor defense to the basket. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Tamar Bates concentrated on a free throw attempt. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Trey Bates tried to put up a shot over Basehor sophomore Connor Younger (30). (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Trey Bates navigated through the Basehor defense. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Senior Daviance “Doc” Covington (1) looked for an opening to drive the ball. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Junior Braijion Barnes (4) pinned a shot against the backboard for one of his two blocks in the game. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Junior Cooper Beebe (00) got defender Jacob Coleman in the air before going up for his shot and collecting a foul. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Doc Covington passed to a teammate on the left wing. Covington had 5 assists in the game. (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Junior Brandan Jackson (21) applied defensive pressure to Basehor senior Zach White (33). (Photo copyright 2018 by Brian Turrel)

Lady Pirates hold off late run from Basehor, 49-41

by Brian Turrel

The Piper Lady Pirates held on for a 49-41 win at Basehor-Linwood High School on Tuesday evening, as a spirited fourth-quarter comeback attempt from the Lady Bobcats ran out of time.

The first half looked like another cakewalk by the Lady Pirates, who held Basehor to only 5 points in each of the first two quarters. Piper smothered with trapping defense up front and tall defenders clogging the lane behind.

Piper’s Grace Banes hit two three-pointers and Ryan Cobbins scored three baskets inside, giving Piper a 28-10 lead at the half.

The second half saw a letdown in intensity from the Pirates, matched with accelerating pace from the Bobcats as they narrowed the margin and gained confidence.

Basehor scored 22 in the fourth quarter, more than the first three quarters combined, including 8 from senior Katie Yankovich. Piper hit 8 of 15 free throws in the fourth quarter as Basehor fouled to slow the clock.

Banes led the Pirates’ scoring with 13 points. Cobbins added 11 as did Ali Vigil.

For Basehor, Yankovich led the way with 12 points, while freshman Adell Gore and sophomore Lucy Lally each contributed 11. All three were key contributors to the comeback effort.

Piper remains undefeated on the season at 14-0. They improve to 6-0 in the league, two games ahead of Basehor. The Lady Pirates will play at Tonganoxie on Friday evening at 5:45 p.m.