Scott City swept in final day at Sterling Invitational

Sterling, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–In the final day of the Sterling Invitational Tournament, Scott City looked to close out the week with wins. It would be a tough day for both Beaver squads, as the Lady Beavers saw Hugoton pull away in the final period 51-37 in the championship game, while the Beaver boys fell in overtime to Sterling 66-61.

Hugoton Girls 51, Scott City 37
Both teams looked different than the first matchup earlier in January. Scott City had Brinlie Stevens and Cheyenne Cramer in the lineup, while Hugoton had Mikyn Hamlin in the tournament championship game. The game would be tied five times and the lead changed five times. Scott City led 16-13 after the first quarter, as both teams traded big runs throughout. The Lady Beavers led 20-17 midway through the second frame, when the Lady Eagles used a 10-2 run to take a 27-22 lead late in the first half. Scott City closed the gap to 27-24 at the break. Hugoton (7-5) led 29-27 in the first minute of the second half, when the Beavers scored the next five points to led 33-29 with 3:32 left in the third frame. The Lady Eagles would take over the final three minutes of the third quarter and never looked back. They closed the final 11:08 on a 22-4 run, and held Scott City (6-6) without a field goal for the final 9:29 of the game, as Hugoton clinched their third Sterling Invitational title in four years with a 51-37 win.

Hugoton got 22 points from Mikyn Hamlin, while Gianna Vos added 15. Scott City was led by Erika Felker’s 13 points.

Hugoton won their fourth tournament title in the 10 years of the tournament. This was Scott City’s first finals appearance in three seasons in the tournament. Gianna Vos and Summya Adigun from Hugoton, and Erika Felker were named to the All-Tournament Team, and Felker was named Most Inspirational player of the tournament.

Hugoton 13 14 12 12–51
Scott City 16 8 11 2–37

Hugoton: Tinoco 2 0-0 5; Armendariz 0 0-0; Salazar 0 0-0 0; Vos 4 6-7 15; Adigun 3 3-5 9; Alfaro 0 0-0 0; Beesley 0 0-0 0; Green 0 0-0 0; Hamlin 8 2-2 22; Team: 17 11-14 51
Scott City: Stevens 0 0-0 0; Gentry 2 0-0 5; Strine 3 1-4 7; Felker 4 2-2 13; Metzger 1 0-0 2; Lews 1 2-4 4; Cramer 3 0-0 6; Team: 14 5-10 37

Three-Pointers: Hugoton 6 (Hamlin 4, Tinoco 1, Vos 1), Scott City 4 (Felker 3, Gentry 1); Rebounds: Hugoton 17, Scott City 22; Turnovers: Hugoton 5, Scott City 11; Fouls: Hugoton 8, Scott City 14; Fouled Out: None.

Coach Amy Felker Postgame

Sterling Boys 66, Scott City 61, OT
This game would be an instant classic, that saw nine lead changes and eight ties. It would be back and forth for the opening eight minutes, as the game was tied at 17 after the first period. Both teams would exchange the lead in the second quarter early on. After it was tied at 22, Scott City went on a 10-3 run over a two-minute stretch in the second quarter to lead 32-25 with 2:36 left before the break. Sterling was only able to close the gap to five at 37-32 in the break. The Beavers started out hot, scoring seven of the first nine points to lead 44-34 with 3:54 left in the third stanza. That’s when the Black Bears started hitting three-pointers. Sterling (9-4) used a 12-5 run to pull to within 49-46 after three quarters. Scott City (6-6) maintained a lead for most of the fourth quarter, until Sterling took the lead with 2:42 left. After it was tied at 55, the Black Bears scored off an inbounds to lead 57-55 with 10 seconds left. The Beavers would be fouled with one second left. Jackson Rumford hit both free throws to force overtime. Scott City scored the first points of overtime, only to see Sterling score the next five points to lead 62-59 with 1:44 left. The closest the Beavers got was one point, as the Black Bears iced the game with three seconds left to take the 66-61 win.

Boston Ekert led Sterling with 16 points, while Colby Beagley scored all 14 of his points after halftime, and Gabe Riffel added 10. Jackson Rumford had 26 points to lead Scott city, while Dylan Metzger scored 14 and Lawson Bailey added 13.

It was Scott City’s second straight loss to Sterling in the series, with both losses coming in the Sterling Tournament. Jackson Rumford was named to the All-Tournament Team.

Scott City 17 20 12 8 4–61
Sterling 17 15 14 11 9–66

Scott City: Duff 0 0-0 0; Metzger 6 1-2 14; Noll 1 1-2 3; Tarango 1 2-2 5; Vulgamore 0 0-0 0; Rumford 9 4-5 26; Ruelas 0 0-0 0; Bailey 5 1-1 13; Stoecklein 0 0-0 0; Team: 22 9-12 61
Sterling: Farney 2 2-2 6; Gray 2 0-0 4; Briar 3 1-1 9; Beagley 5 0-0 14; Smith 3 0-0 7; Ekart 7 1-1 16; Riffel 5 0-0 10; Team: 27 4-4 66

Three-Pointers: Scott City 8 (Rumford 4, Bailey 2, Metzger 1, Tarango 1), Sterling 8 (Beagley 4, Briar 2, Smith 1, Ekart 1); Rebounds: Scott City 19, Sterling 26; Turnovers: Scott City 3, Sterling 12; Fouls: Scott City 12, Sterling 11; Fouled Out: None.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame