Beavers rally for road win in Russell
Russell, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–A pair of 10-10 teams met up on Monday night in the quarterfinals of the Class 3A Sub-State Tournament inside Russell’s Amos Morris Gymnasium, as the Russell Broncos played host to the Scott City Beavers. Two teams that have had pretty good win improvements from the previous year, would match up with a trip to Goodland on the line. The Beavers would bookend two good quarters, and rally from a 10-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to knock off the Broncos 49-39.
Russell would grab leads of 3-0 and 5-3, but Scott City would use three treys by Austin Thon in the first half of the period to grab a 9-5 lead. The Broncos responded with five of six to tie the game up with 2:54 left in the opening frame at 10. Early in the second quarter, the Beavers built a 14-10 lead, before a scoring drought of 6:42 that saw Russell score only six points during that time. Both teams were tied at 16 at the break.
In the second half, Scott City scored the first points, before a 9-3 run put the Broncos up 35-21 with three minutes left in the third quarter. Russell saw the Beavers tie the game in the final minute of the quarter at 25 and closed the period with back to back three’s to take a 31-25 lead into the fourth frame. The Broncos scored the first four points of the quarter to lead 35-25 with 7:22 left. When it looked gloomy for Scott City, they would rise to the occasion. A 24-4 run was sparked by two three’s from Lawson Bailey to pull to within 35-31 with 6:34 left. Following a Russell basket, Ronnie Weathers hit a left corner three, took an offensive foul in the backcourt, and hit another left corner three to tie the game at 37 with a little over five minutes left.
The Beavers took the lead for good with 3:36 left at 39-37, and the closest the Broncos got would be 41-39 with 1:57 remaining. Scott City hit five of eight free throws down the stretch to complete a 20-point swing in the fourth quarter for the 49-39 win.
Ronnie Weathers led Scott City with 14 points and unofficially 14 rebounds, while Gus Hawkins added 10 points. Russell got 16 points from Jackson Cross and 10 by Jordayn Buhrle.
With the win, Scott City won their first sub-state quarterfinal game on the road since 1995, and has now won five straight over the Broncos, all coming in postseason play. The Beavers lead the series 5-3. It was Scott City’s first sub-state quarterfinal win since 2019. It’s the first time that Russell has hit at least 10 wins since the 2009-10 season.
Scott City 12 4 9 24-49
Russell 10 6 15 8-39
Scott City (11-10): Duff 0 0-0 0; Metzger 1 2-2 5; Thomas 0 0-0 0; Noll 0 0-0 0; Rodriguez 0 0-0 0; Thon 3 0-2 9; Rumford 1 0-0 2; Hawkins 3 3-4 10; Bailey 3 1-2 9; Weathers 6 0-2 14; Tarango 0 0-0 0; Gooden 0 0-0 0; Team: 17 6-12 49
Russell (10-11): Cross 6 2-3 16; Roth 0 0-0 0; Krug 2 0-0 6; Middleton 0 0-0 0; Farmer 0 0-0 0; Peerman 0 0-0 0; Pummell 1 1-2 3; Sohm 2 0-0 4; Buhrle 3 4-4 10; Team: 14 7-9 39
Three-Pointers: Scott City 9 (Thon 3, Bailey 2, Weathers 2, Metzger 1, Hawkins 1), Russell 4 (Cross 2, Krug 2); Rebounds: Scott City 33, Russell 26; Turnovers: Scott City 13, Russell 14; Fouls: Scott City 13, Russell 13; Fouled Out: None.
Coach Brian Gentry Postgame
Scott City will face TMP-Marian Thursday night in Goodland at 7:30 pm in the sub-state semi-finals. The Monarchs defeated Goodland 71-39 Monday night in Hays. Norton and Phillipsburg will battle for a third time in the 6 pm game. They have split their season series, with both teams going to overtime. The Bluejays rallied from a 33-32 halftime deficit to defeat Colby at home on Monday 67-46, while the Panthers defeated Hoisington for a second time this year with a 52-41 victory Monday night at home.
