Eudora ? One might be able to accuse Justin Jacobs of padding his stats, but it would be hard to knock the Tonganoxie High senior’s hustle.

Jacobs’ hard work inside led to a double-double and a 61-44 victory for the THS boys basketball team against K.C. East (Mo.) in the opening round of the Eudora Invitational on Monday evening.

With the game already in the balance — the Chieftains (1-0) were up 16 points with 18 second left — Jacobs missed the front end of a one-and-one at the free-throw line.

Aggravated, he dove to secure the offensive rebound, dribbled to the hoop and drew another foul to put the Bears in the double bonus.

The energetic forward was all smiles when he went back to the charity stripe with 13 ticks left and converted one of his two shots.

“I struggled at the line, going 2-for-7, but I thought if I dove for that and got some hustle points I could maybe add to my stat total and help out the team a little more,” Jacobs said.

Inspired to secure a sweet stat line, Jacobs succeeded, finishing with 16 points, 13 rebounds (both team highs) and four assists.

Tonganoxie will face Eudora at 6:45 p.m. tonight in a Cardinal Invitational semifinal.

Topeka Highland Park 57, Tonganoxie girls 45

A slow-motion start by the Tonganoxie High girls basketball team was too much to overcome Monday night at the Paola Invitational.

The Chieftains were down 21 points at halftime in their season opener and lost to Topeka Highland Park.

THS proved it was no pushover in the second half, outscoring Highland Park, 32-23.

Although Tonganoxie shot just 31 percent from the floor (14-for-45) the team was better behind the arc, cashing seven of 16 three-pointers.

Senior guard Lauren Hall led the long-range barrage, hitting four threes on the way to a team-best 17 points.

Eudora boys 53, K.C. Ward 51

Eudora — After blowing a 14-point first half lead, Eudora High rallied in the fourth and defeated Kansas City Ward in the first round of the Eudora Invitational on Monday.

The Cardinals were down seven points at one point in the fourth quarter.

Justin Ballock’s jumper from just inside the three-point line gave the Cardinals a 52-51 lead with 1:15 left, and Drew Noble added a free throw with 20 seconds left to preserve the win.

Ballock led Eudora with 18 points, Noble scored 11 and Brian Katzfey eight.