5A Tourney Day One: Upsets and Career Endings

<p>The first day of tournament action saw some big developments at the 5A gathering at Emporia.</p> <p>Here are some big moments and player updates:</p> <p>Defense, Henryleads Seaman to second round:</p> <p>The Seaman Vikings hadn’t won a state tournament game since 1946! They got a huge one by upsetting top seed Kapaun Mt. Carmel. That means the Vikings have wins this season over the top three teams in the final season rankings – Kapaun, Topeka West and Hays. Not known for their defense, the Vikings beat Kapaun by shutting them down at the defensive end, holding the Crusaders to just 43 points. [player_tooltip player_id="889508" first="Ty" last="Henry"] (pictured) demonstrated his athleticism and versatility, and showed just how efficient a scorer can be. He hit 9-10 shots and scored 21.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1075927" first="Henry" last="Thengvall"] battles to the end:</p> <p>The 6-foot-6 forward saw his career come to an end with Kapaun’s early exit. Thengvall had a great senior year, averaging 20.5 points per game in the regular season. He handled the ball and attacked the defense, and worked effectively in the lane, scoring 19 points in the loss.</p> <p>St. James closes out Topeka West:</p> <p>An 8-0 run to close the game propelled St. James over Topeka West. [player_tooltip player_id="946269" first="Sam" last="Somerhalder"] led the way with 16 points, with [player_tooltip player_id="1146272" first="Brian" last="Hawthorne"] added 15. Somerhalder is s along, versatile forward, who gets buckets in traffic and is almost impossible for teams to match up with. The Thunder entered sub-state just 13-7, primarily due to a tough schedule against 6A teams. With Kapaun, Hays, and Topeka West all out, St. James is right in the thick of the title hunt.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076260" first="Elijah" last="Brooks"] closes his career:</p> <p>The all-time leading scorer at Topeka West finally steps out of the spotlight after a brilliant four years. He’s a powerful and explosive guard who carried a heavy load this season to lead Topeka West to Emporia. His career came to an end with 13 points in the defeat.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1076400" first="Juan’Tario" last="Roberts"] hangs ‘em up:</p> <p>The Highland Park Scots couldn’t put down Maize in the second half and saw their fine season shut down. The daring slasher Roberts tossed in 17 in his final game. He averaged 22 points as a senior.</p> <p>Blue Valley SW seniors go down:</p> <p>Top guards [player_tooltip player_id="946258" first="Jinwoo" last="Kim"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1076397" first="Sebastian" last="Hamm"] also saw their careers come to an end in the late game at Emporia. They fell in a tough match with DeSoto 50-45. The backcourt pair averaged about 28 points combined this season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>