While Charger fans crowded around the gym floor for their king and queen of courts ceremony at halftime, a 29-23 THS advantage could be seen on the Trail scoreboards.

The Chieftains were productive out of the gates, led by junior Shane Howard, who had 18 points at the break. Tonganoxie was pushing the ball down the court successfully and appeared ready to snap a four-game losing streak.

Even in the second half, when the Chieftains gave up the lead on occasion, they came back with small runs of their own.

But, midway through the fourth quarter, Santa Fe Trail cut loose. The home team went on a 14-0 run and claimed a 56-52 win. Tonganoxie’s momentum was gone, and the Chieftains dropped to 4-10 overall and 2-6 in the Kaw Valley League.

After a strong first half, Tonganoxie slowed down like its leading scorer. Howard finished the game with a team-high 21, but only scored three of those points in the second half.

Cameron Babb led the Chargers with 23, while Shane Miles contributed 12 for Santa Fe Trail (7-7).

With another tough defeat in the loss column, THS coach David Walker kept the night in perspective.

“I’m absolutely disappointed in the loss,” Walker said. “But we found some things we’ve been digging and fighting for.”

Specifically, the Chieftains found some gold in the form of tempo. Tonganoxie pushed the ball as Walker had been hoping throughout the year.

In the second half, though, SFT tightened up on the Chieftains, and the game didn’t progress quite as Walker had hoped.

After Tuesday’s home date with Piper, the Chieftains take on Mill Valley with another home game Friday. The No. 14 Jaguars are 11-3 overall and 6-2 in the Kaw Valley League.

“The kids are still working hard,” Walker said. “Those things are going to come around for you.”

Basehor-Linwood 56, Tonganoxie 48

The Bobcats’ streak stopped as the Chieftains kept on ticking.

Basehor-Linwood pulled out to as many as 14 points in the first half against Tonganoxie on Feb. 4 at home and hung on for the Kaw Valley League win. The Bobcats snapped a 10-game skid, while Tonganoxie’s streak hit four.

Junior varsity takes three of four

Tonganoxie’s junior varsity team has had more success recently. The squad, now 6-4, won three of four games last week. The Chieftains have five games left this season.

Box score

Tonganoxie (4-10, 2-6) 16 13 6 17 — 52
Santa Fe Trail (7-7, 4-4)14 9 13 20 — 56

Tonganoxie — Shane Howard 21, Joe Calovich 6, Luke McCarty 4, Justin Walker 2, Jacob Walker 13, Chad Turner 6. Totals 19 (4) 10-17 52.

Santa Fe Trail — Jake Carter 8, Cameron Babb 23, Michael Guy 2, Rob Musgrave 3, Jay Shively 5, Shane Miles 12, Shawn Conklin 3. Totals 21 (1) 13-22 56.