Tonganoxie ? Tonganoxie turned a close game into a relative run-away Tuesday night.

Tied with Perry-Lecompton, 25-all, at the half, the Chieftains bolted to a 60-48 victory.

What Tonganoxie lacked in size against the bigger Perry club, it made up with speed and accuracy.

“Our whole offense has to focus on our strengths,” Tongie coach David Walker said. “It’s kind of like ‘Rocky,’ when Rocky has to go to body shots, because we don’t have a knockout.”

The Chieftains (7-9) put the Kaws (7-10) on the ropes in the second half by outscoring the Kaws, 35-23, after intermission.

“We have a whole lot more quickness,” THS junior Kirk Rodell said. “We like to push the ball real quick.”

Rodell led Tongie with 19 points, hitting seven of eight free-throws. Three other Chieftains backed Rodell up with eight or more points.

“They were a tough match-up for us,” Kaws coach Pat Hupfauf said of Tongie’s four-guard opening lineup.

For Hupfauf, the reason for his club’s loss was quite simple.

“We just didn’t shoot it,” he said. “It doesn’t matter how big you are or how small you are. You have to make shots.”

What added frustration for the Perry coach was that a majority of his team’s misses were botched lay-ups and put-backs from point-blank range.

The Kaws made 17 of 57 shots from the field, compared to Tongie’s 23-for-53 shooting.

Ryan Guffey had a team-high 14 points for the Kaws. Spencer Kennedy and Willie Treaster chipped in 10 each.

Tonganoxie will entertain Lansing, while Perry will travel Friday Santa Fe Trail.

Tonganoxie 60,

Perry-Lecompton 48

Perry-Lecompton 11 14 12 11 –48

Tonganoxie 15 10 17 18 –60

Perry-Lecompton — Ryan Guffey 14, Spencer Kennedy 10, Wille Treaster 10, Luke Tyner 7, Drew Robbins 4, Drew Tucker 3.

Tonganoxie — Kirk Rodell 19, Shane Howard 10, Derek Sparks 9, Sam Mitchell 8, Justin Walker 8, Mike Morris 4, Levi Huseman 2.