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Kaw Valley League basketball roundup

By Staff | Dec 14, 2008

Chris Wristen

Lansing High senior Cody Rush prepares to block a shot by Bonner Springs freshman J.J. Jackson on Saturday during the fifth-place game of the Metro Prep Classic. Lansing defeated BSHS, 74-62.

The Lansing Lions are considered one of the teams to beat for the Kaw Valley League boys basketball championship.

If anybody needs a scouting report on the Lions, however, they’d best contact Bonner Springs. Lansing and Bonner Springs now have played twice in two weeks, and both games have gone down to the wire.

Lansing held on for an 86-77 victory in the season-opener, and the teams met again Saturday in the fifth-place game of the Metro Prep Classic at BSHS. Again Lansing won, but it didn’t come easily.

At one point the Braves sank five straight 3-pointers and took a second-half lead before Lansing rallied for the 74-62 victory.

Lansing now is 3-1 this season with two victories against Bonner Springs and another against Valley Center, 66-51, on Friday.

Meanwhile, Bonner Springs is 1-3 with two losses to Lansing, another to Bishop Miege, and an 84-77 victory Friday against Atchison.

The Lansing girls also improved to 3-1 with a fifth-place finish in the girls bracket of the Metro Prep Classic. The Lions lost to tournament champion Shawnee Heights in the opener but bounced back with a 44-35 victory over Valley Center on Friday and a 47-45 thriller over Savannah (Mo.) on Saturday.

While Lansing looked strong last week, no KVL girls squad looked more impressive than Basehor-Linwood. The defending league champions debuted a new starting lineup after losing the bulk of their scoring and rebounding to graduation last year. The Bobcats’ fresh faces looked awfully experienced, however, as they rolled to the Central Heights Tournament championship. They defeated St. James Academy in the finals, 47-40, on Saturday.

The Basehor boys also made it to the tournament finals, but they were defeated by St. James, 54-45.

In other news from around the Kaw Valley League this week:

— The Tonganoxie girls finished third at the Cardinal Invitational in Eudora as they defeated Piper, 45-38.

— The Mill Valley girls fell to 0-4 as they dropped a 57-46 decision to Shawnee Mission East. All four of the Jaguars’ losses have come to Class 6A schools from the Sunflower League. They open KVL action at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Basehor-Linwood in a game that pits two teams expected to vie for the league title.

— The Bishop Ward boys suffered their first setback of the season Monday with a 48-42 loss to Paola. Ward was a Class 4A state tournament qualifier last season.

— Perry-Lecompton picked up its first victory of the year Tuesday as the Kaw boys edged Jefferson County West, 57-53.

— The Mill Valley boys fell to 1-1 with a 79-54 loss at Shawnee Mission South on Tuesday.

— The Turner boys stunned Bishop Ward, 49-36, on Friday for their second win in a row. On Tuesday the Bears edged Tonganoxie, 54-46.