Piper boys outlast Hayden 74 – 61

Junior Trey Bates dribbled between his legs as he looked for an opening in the Hayden defense. Bates led Piper with 21 points. (Photo copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel)

by Brian Turrel

The Piper boys basketball team took a 74 – 61 victory over Topeka’s Hayden Catholic High School on Tuesday night, holding off a third quarter Hayden scoring run and sinking key free throws in the final minutes.

Hayden led 19 – 16 after the first quarter on strong three-point shooting. Piper trailed most of the second quarter before a series of fast breaks by Braijion Barnes and Trey Bates allowed the Pirates to pull into a 7-point lead at halftime.

With seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Hayden crept back within 2 points, but could not get any closer. As the clock ticked down to three minutes remaining, Hayden turned to fouling the ball handler in order to extend the game. Piper hit 13 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter, led by Bryce Yoder, who hit all 6 of his attempts.

Piper improved its record to 3 – 2 for the season, and will head into conference play this Friday against Tonganoxie.

Photos copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel

Sophomore Gabe Eskina (10) pulled down a defensive rebound. (Photo copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel)
Senior Daviance “Doc” Covington (1) went up for a layup. Covington scored 15 points in the game. (Photo copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel)
Junior Braijion Barnes (4) fought for a defensive rebound. (Photo copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel)
Senior Bryce Yoder (30) hit all six of his free throw attempts in the fourth quarter. (Photo copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel)
Coach Toure’ Grimes, in his first year as head coach at Piper, huddled with his team in a fourth quarter timeout. (Photo copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel)
Hayden senior Hayden Federico (10) blocked a shot by Braijion Barnes, but was whistled for a foul. (Photo copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel)
Trey Bates put up a jump shot over Hayden senior Zach Harvey (2). (Photo copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel)
Junior Cooper Beebe (00) ran the floor on a fast break. (Photo copyright 2017 by Brian Turrel)