Topeka Seaman hands Garden City second straight loss

Valley Center, KS-On Friday night, the Buffaloes were overwhelmed by Hays’ 3-point aerial assault. Nearly a week later, it wasn’t the long ball that did Garden City in, but something much more significant.

“Our effort wasn’t very good,” Head Coach Jacy Holloway said. “They beat us in all areas of the game.”

Trey Duffey had a solid all-around performance with 21 points, seven rebounds and two blocks as Topeka Seaman shot a season-best 57 percent from the floor en route to a 59-45 victory over the Buffaloes in the first round of the 2018 January Jam at Valley Center High School on Thursday.

“When you don’t give maximum effort, that’s exactly what happens,” Holloway said. “We’ve really lost our confidence the last couple of games.”

The Vikings took command right from the jump, building an 8-2 lead on back-to-back buckets by Nathan Heinen. But Garden City showed some resolve early in the game, holding the Vikings to just two points over the final five minutes of the first while Jarrod Springston scored consecutive baskets and forced a turnover that led to an uncontested layup for Tye Davis that pulled the Buffaloes to within two, 10-8 after one.

“We played in spurts, and you can’t do that,” Holloway said. “You can’t pick and choose when you’re going to give effort.”

All the second quarter proved was that the first eight minutes was a mirage. Defensive lapses dominated the frame, as Topeka Seaman (6-3) went on a 7-0 tear to push their lead to nine. After Kyler Lamb answered for Garden City (6-4, 2-1), Duffey converted a spectacular three-point play, Heinen hit a layup, and the Vikings had a 24-12 cushion with 3:33 remaining in the half.

“We’re definitely going the wrong way the last couple of games,” Holloway admitted. “We have to find things that work. We had careless turnovers and really struggled offensively.”

The Buffaloes actually trimmed it to single digits when Jayden Crook hit his only 3-pointer of the game at the 3:11 mark of the second. But Heinen and Duffey answered with baskets on the other end before Duffey broke the Buffaloes’ back by grabbing his own miss and sticking it back home at the buzzer for a 30-17 lead at the half.

Unfortunately for the Buffaloes, they got a major dose of déjà vu in the same game when Duffy stymied a Garden City run in the third when he gobbled up his own missed 3-pointer and laid the ball in softly off the glass as the buzzer sounded, giving Topeka Seaman a 46-32 lead going into the fourth. It was a crushing blow to the Buffaloes, who had a chance to cut it to single digits on the possession before after trailing by as many as 19 in the period, but committed a costly turnover.

“Our season isn’t over by any stretch,” Holloway said. “It’s one game, but we have to start doing things right.”

Heinen finished with 12 points for Topeka Seaman, who beat the Buffaloes for the fourth time in their last five meetings. Kaden Henley added nine points and four rebounds.

Springston totaled 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting for Garden City, who lost consecutive games for the first time this season. Lamb scored a season-high 10, but the rest of the Buffaloes were a combined 8-of-30 from the floor (27 percent).

Next up: Garden City vs. Field Kindley-Friday, Jan. 19-4:45 p.m. pregame; 5 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and KWKR mobile app