When the Emporia High Spartans settled into a zone defense in the first half of Friday night’s game at EHS, the Topeka High Trojans were more than happy to bomb away from the outside.
Unfortunately for the Trojans, Emporia High solved that problem as soon as the second half rolled around.
Topeka High hit 7 of 12 three-point shots in the first half against Emporia’s zone, but the Spartans switched to a man-to-man defense and clamped down on the Trojans’ outside shooting — Topeka High went 0-for-10 from behind the arc after halftime — on their way to a 60-49 victory.
“We switched to man and we shut them down,” junior Taylor Euler said. “When we were in zone, they could shoot from deep and they were stepping outside away from where our zone reaches and kept knocking them down. In the second half, we all got up in the other guys’ faces and made it tough for them to get shots.”
Five different players hit 3-pointers in the first half for the Trojans, including a buzzer-beating trey by Eric Ray to close to first half, which put Topeka High (1-2, 1-2 Centennial League) ahead, 38-35, at the break.
“I thought they played very well in the first half, and I thought we were pretty lethargic,” EHS coach Rick Bloomquist said. “I thought standing around in a zone made us stand around the whole first half. I wasn’t very happy with how we used our zone.”
Topeka High’s fortunes quickly changed in the second half when sixth-ranked (Class 5A) Emporia (3-2, 1-0) came out in a man look, and coupled with the Spartans’ Caydrick Bloomquist finding his own touch from the outside, EHS grabbed the lead and ran with it in the third quarter. Topeka High scored just 11 points in the second half.
After not making a single 3-pointer in the first half, Caydrick Bloomquist — the top three-point shooter in school history — tied the game at 40 with the first of his four second-half threes midway through the third quarter.
A few minutes later with the score tied at 44, Caydrick hit back-to-back threes to help the Spartans grab a 50-44 lead by the end of the third period, and Topeka High would never get any closer.
“I was a lot more in rhythm in the second half,” Caydrick Bloomquist said. “We really started working the ball around, and when that happens, you get the defense moving, and they kind of lost me out there and I knocked down some shots.”
With the lead, Emporia continued to work its game plan on offense, which was to take advantage of Topeka High’s size disadvantage down low.
Troy Pierce and Greg Canales each looked strong at times against Topeka High’s weaker front line. Pierce finished with 15 points and nine rebounds and Canales chipped in six points and four boards.
“In the second half when we got in rhythm and got our feet under us and got our offensive balance, I thought we had a good inside-outside attack,” Coach Bloomquist said, “and I think that’s how we were able to cause some separation.”
Emporia’s man defense got to Topeka High’s shooters, who often settled for three-point shots because of the lack of an inside presence.
“If they get confidence, they’ll hit some shots,” Euler said. “They’re good ballhandlers, but they couldn’t create shots for themselves.”
The victory gave Emporia the Dean Smith Trophy after the Spartans lost it for a year.
Caydrick Bloomquist led all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Euler also finished in double figure with 15 points to go with six assists and five rebounds.
Emporia boys 60, Topeka High 49
Friday at EHS
Topeka High 17 21 6 5 — 49
Emporia 20 15 15 10 — 60
Topeka High (1-2, 1-2 Centennial League) — Barber 3-7 2-2 9, Ray 3-7 1-2 8, Patton 3-10 0-0 7, Kelley 3-13 5-6 14, Long 0-1 0-0 0, Anderson 1-3 0-0 3, Wakes 1-4 0-0 2, Jordan 3-4 0-0 6. Totals 17-49 8-10 49.
Emporia (3-2, 1-0) — Bloomquist 9-17 0-0 22, Canales 3-8 0-0 6, Euler 6-8 2-2 15, Torres 0-0 0-0 0, Pierce 6-8 3-4 15, Childs 1-2 0-0 2, Reimer 0-0 0-0 0, McAnarney 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-44 5-6 60.
3-point goals — TH 7-22 (Barber 1-2, Ray 1-3, Patton 1-3, Kelley 3-11, Anderson 1-2, Wakes 0-1), Emporia 5-12 (Bloomquist 4-9, Euler 1-2, McAnarney 0-1). Rebounds — TH 28 (Wakes 9), Emporia 24 (Pierce 9). Assists — TH 7 (Ray, Wakes 2), Emporia 14 (Euler 6). Turnovers — TH 13, Emporia 10. Total fouls — TH 13, Emporia 6.