Northeast KS playoff roundup: 6A

<p>It’s not really a big surprise that two of the eight teams going to the 6A state playoffs are from Lawrence. What was sort of shocking was how Washburn Rural made no noise at all in the sub-state round.</p> <p>What also is probably a minor shock is that Manhattan righted its ship just in time. The Indians lost three in a row in late February, and picked up just one win for momentum before playoff time.</p> <p>Some players stepped up under the spotlight of sub-state action:</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="885526" first="Chandler" last="Marks"], senior, Manhattan:</strong></p> <p>After finishing the regular season on a downswing, Manhattan got it together. They edged Wichita East 69-67, then rolled Wichita West 56-39. As usual, the Indians were balanced, with no one player taking a starring role. Marks led the Indians in scoring against Wichita West with 11 points on 5-8 shooting. He had 11 in the first round as well.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="889495" first="Owen" last="Braxmeyer"], junior, Manhattan:</strong></p> <p>The lone junior making a significant impact for the senior-laden Indians, Braxmeyer followed up his 16 point outing against Wichita East with 10 against Wichita West.</p> <p><strong>Da’Vonshai Harden, senior, Topeka:</strong></p> <p>The Trojans were saddled with foul trouble and had just one player score in double figures. Harden was the only regular who shot it well 8-16 from the field. He finished the final game of his accomplished career with 21 points, despite missing a good deal of time with foul trouble.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="599759" first="Joe" last="Berry"], junior, Washburn Rural:</strong></p> <p>The Junior Blues didn’t make it out of the first round, a second-seed that fell to a 15. They fell apart in the third quarter after building a 24-13 halftime lead. Berry did his part, scoring 15 on 7-12 shooting.</p> <p><strong>Howard Johnson, sophomore, Junction City:</strong></p> <p>The Blue Jays gave Free State their best shot in the first round. Johnson dropped 17. Teammates <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="885508" first="Qua’Vez" last="Humphreys"]</strong> and <strong>Chris Dixon</strong> both tallied 12.</p>