Topeka teams test their mettle in tournaments

<p>The tournament beat goes on for Topeka teams not competing in the Topeka Invitational Tournament. They ran into some stiff competition in the last few days. Here are a few items of note:</p> <p>1) Washburn Rural tries to bounce back:</p> <p>Rural finally gets back at it in the Bobcat Invitational after losing Wednesday to Ottawa. They play Holton, which has struggled to a 2-6 mark on the season. Holton is led by senior <strong>Eli Prine</strong>, who occasionally puts up some big number – 14 against Royal Valley and 15 against Perry-Lecompton.</p> <p>2) Shawnee Heights faced the best:</p> <p>Shawnee Heights survived the unenviable task of facing Campus, the top team in 6A and third-ranked overall in the state. The T-Birds were unable to match the talents of <strong>Sterling Chapman</strong> (15 points), <strong>Steele Chapman</strong> (11 points), <strong>Shawn Warrior</strong> (11 points) and <strong>Thomas King</strong> (7 points).</p> <p>3) Heights big men weren’t big enough:</p> <p>Facing the dynamic Campus club, the T-Birds’ big men came up short. <strong>Harvey Davis</strong> and <strong>Marquis Barksdale</strong> are talented paint performers, but neither is much taller than 6-foot-1. They accounted for just 7 and 3 points, respectively. 6-foot-4 <strong>Nasire Anderson</strong> hasn’t scored much since his initial breakout. 6-foot-4 sophomore <strong>Carter Olson</strong> did produce 6 points off the bench.</p> <p>4) Seaman has a shot at a win:</p> <p>Seaman plays Wichita North in the seventh place game of the McPherson Invitational. The Vikings are 0-9, but were on the cusp of a win against Junction City Friday. They tumbled 67-62 in overtime.</p> <p>5) Vikings have something to build on:</p> <p>Freshman <strong>Kaeden Bonner</strong> has developed into the Vikings best player. He scored 13 against Derby, shooting 4-9, including 4 three-pointers. Against Junction City, the 5-foot-10 freshman tossed in 18, going 6-12 from the field, including 5-8 from behind the arc.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>