Immaculata entered a Jan. 28 contest against Tonganoxie with an 8-3 record and a title in their own tournament the week before. The Chieftains, meanwhile, were 4-7 after another tough overtime loss to Lansing.

Against the Raiders, Tonganoxie was clicking as the Chieftains carried a 27-23 lead into the half and had a 34-27 lead midway through the third quarter.

As the game progressed into the fourth, however, Tonganoxie began slipping. THS couldn’t score in the first half of the final quarter, and the Chieftains found themselves smarting again after a 58-48 loss in Leavenworth. Immaculata also made 20 of 33 free-throw shots compared to Tonganoxie’s 3-for-9 performance.

“We can’t play 16 minutes of basketball,” Chieftain coach David Walker said.

With the loss, Tonganoxie dropped to 4-8 overall and 2-4 in the KVL. The Chieftains lost four of their last five games before Tuesday’s game at Basehor-Linwood. Results from that game will be published in next week’s edition of The Mirror.

The Bobcats were 2-9 going into that game, but Tonganoxie again will be on the road Friday for the long trek to Santa Fe Trail. The Chargers are 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the KVL.

As for the Immaculata game, Tonganoxie didn’t have quite the balanced scoring it’s used to. Shane Howard had a team-high 16, while Jacob Walker added 15. Billy Baska had 5, Chad Turner 3 and Brad Reischman and Luke McCarty each pitched in with 2.

Tonganoxie went with fewer substitutions against the Raiders, but Walker said using an extended rotation isn’t a requirement for his team.

“After games I don’t have a clue who plays a lot,” Walker said. “It’s just the way it goes.

Tonganoxie was tied for fourth with Basehor-Linwood in the KVL large school division before Tuesday’s contest with identical 2-4 conference records.

Immaculata is now 9-4 on the year after losing to Bishop Ward, 65-59, Friday.

THS (4-8, 2-4) 10 17 13 8 — 48

Immac (9-3, 5-3) 11 12 20 15 — 58

Tonganoxie — Shane Howard 16, Chad Turner 3, Jacob Walker 15, Luke McCarty 2, Joe Calovich 5, Brad Reischman 2, Billy Baska 5.

Immaculata — Danny McEvoy 18, Tim Supplee 8, Robert Todd 3, Matt Scanlon 2, Scott Elliott 22, Chase Day 5.