Topeka Cornerstone’s Kevin Kramer (11) jumps up for a basket past Veritas Christian defenders Elijah Penny (54) and Jordan Rebman (2). Cornerstone won, 55-45, on Tuesday at the Eudora Community Center.

Eudora ? With the Veritas Christian boys basketball team trailing Topeka Cornerstone for the majority of the evening, Ethan Kay did his best to get the home crowd back into the action.

Kay converted a layup, plus the foul, and enthusiastically screamed, while the Eudora Community Center home crowd joined him in the loudest moment of the night.

Unfortunately for Veritas, the decibel level of the home crowd reached a peak on Kay’s putback. The Eagles failed to make late stops and saw their rally fall short in a 55-45 loss to undefeated Cornerstone (6-0) on Tuesday.

Veritas, which found itself down 11 points after the third quarter, had a chance to take Cornerstone to the wire after Kay’s conversion. The Eagles were down only four with three minutes left.

“I thought we could win, definitely,” said Kay, a junior who led Veritas with 15 points. “It gave us a boost. The crowd got going. Unfortunately, I didn’t hit the free throw.”

And the Saints took advantage.

After grabbing Kay’s missed free throw, Cornerstone outscored Veritas, 7-2, the rest of the way.

That late surge, combined with a 20-10 Saints advantage in the third quarter, was too much for Veritas to make up.

The Eagles fell to 2-4.

Veritas and Cornerstone were relatively even through two quarters. The Saints held a slim 25-24 lead at halftime.

After the break, Veritas dug itself in a hole offensively. The Saints immediately switched their defensive scheme to a halfcourt zone that emphasized heavy doses of trapping.

“It kind of took us out of our rhythm,” Veritas coach Gary Hammer said. “We didn’t get as many good shots as we did in the first half because of the trapping. Trapping kind of hurries you up and makes you maybe press the issue and force up shots. We didn’t shoot very well, and the trap probably had something to do with it.”

Against the trap, the Eagles’ passes weren’t as crisp, and their shots weren’t as smooth.

“When they switched it up (to zone), that got us moving too fast,” Kay said. “We didn’t take enough time to look for open people. Our team has always had trouble breaking halfcourt traps. We need to improve there.”

Sophomore Elijah Penny pitched in 13 points for Veritas, while Ethan Scott had eight and Nate Scott seven.

Veritas will travel to Topeka Heritage Christian at 8 p.m. Friday.

Cornerstone girls 52, Veritas 30

It’s fair to say Veritas girls coach Kevin Shelton has a young basketball team. The Eagles don’t have any seniors on their roster. They have only two juniors.

In time, Shelton said, Veritas will learn to be the aggressor. In the meantime, it’s a work in progress.

Like Tuesday, for instance, when Topeka Cornerstone used a decisive 17-8 third-quarter advantage to break the game open. The Saints (2-4) simply overpowered the less-experienced Eagles.

“The difference was their aggressiveness,” Shelton said of Cornerstone. “They caught the ball and went to the rim with it. With our young age, we caught the ball, and we’re still looking before we attack the rim. I’m not saying we didn’t play hard or the girls didn’t fight. I’m just saying (Cornerstone) was the aggressor on the floor. We have to become a more aggressive team.”

The Eagles, who fell to 1-5, had their moments on offense. Freshman Madison Bennett showed flashes of range, frequently utilizing a pump fake and one dribble to find her shot. Bennett had a team-high 11 points.

“She’s really coming along,” Shelton said of Bennett. “Every practice and every game, we see better development from her.”

Bennett didn’t start to open the season, but has worked her way into the starting rotation.

“She’s learning to become confident with her shot, and we like that,” Shelton said. “We like her defensive pressure, and we think that’s something we can build on.”

Sophomore Ellen Phillips added seven points, while junior Shereen Fattaahi had five.

Veritas will travel to Topeka Heritage Christian for a 6:30 p.m. tipoff Friday.