Big fourth quarter rally leads Holcomb past Scott City
Holcomb, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Entering Tuesday’s sub-state quarterfinal between Holcomb and Scott City, the consensus was that it would be a game that would come down to the wire. And while it did, the path to the dramatic ending was completely different than what was more than likely expected. The Beavers led for 31-and-a-half minutes, as the Longhorns rallied from 15 points down in the final eight minutes to stun Scott City 55-53 Tuesday night at Holcomb High School.
For the Beavers, you couldn’t have scripted a better start. They would score the first 12 points of the game, and lead 12-0 with 3:41 left in the opening period. Holcomb drilled back to back triples to cut the deficit in half at 12-6 with 2:37 left in the first quarter. Scott City battled back with six of the final eight points of the quarter to take an 18-8 lead heading into period two.
The scoring would slow down a bit for both teams, as the Longhorns used a 7-3 run over a three minute stretch of the quarter to pull to within 24-15 with 3:39 left before the break. Over the remainder of the half, the Beavers stretched their lead to 29-15 with 2:31 before the break, and a late first half triple pulled Holcomb to within 29-18 at the break.
For every Holcomb (12-9) basket in the third quarter, the Beavers would respond. Scott City stretched the lead to 43-27 with 2:33 left in the third stanza, and eventually took a 47-32 lead into the fourth quarter.
That’s when the Longhorns turned up the defensive intensity up.
The Beavers didn’t commit a turnover until the 1:38 mark of the second quarter, and had three errors through the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter alone, Scott City (9-12) had 11 turnovers and had issues getting the ball past mid court. The Beavers led 49-36 with 6:13 left, when Holcomb continued to get to the foul line. In less than three minutes, the Longhorns would cut down a 13-point deficit to three with 2:45 left at 49-46. Scott City kept answering with timely baskets, but Holcomb would get two big baskets to pull to within 51-50 with 1:26 left. Following a Beaver basket with 1:16 left to go up 53-50, the Longhorns scored with 46.9 left to get back to within 53-52.
Scott City missed the front end of a one-and-one, and Holcomb took their first lead with 24 seconds left at 54-53 on a Chris Palacios layup. The Beavers missed an open three with under 10 seconds left, and the Longhorns hit one of two free throws with 4.6 seconds remaining. A last second three was too long by Scott City, as Holcomb would take the game 55-53. The Longhorns were 11-13 from the free throw line in the final period.
Chris Palacios led Holcomb with 15 points, while Korbin Johnson and Kaden Hardy added 12 points apiece. Scott City got 25 points from Jackson Rumford and 16 from Lawson Bailey.
With the win, Holcomb is now 4-3 against Scott City in sub-state play, including a 2-0 mark in the quarterfinal round. The Longhorns have won five straight at home against the Beavers, as well as the last three games in postseason play. Scott City now leads the all-time series 33-32. Both sub-state quarterfinal games have been played in Holcomb, with the first meeting in the round coming in 2020.
Scott City 18 11 18 6–53
Holcomb 8 10 14 23–55
Scott City: Duff 0 0-0 0; Metzger 1 0-0 2; Noll 2 0-0 4; Tarango 2 0-0 6; Vulgamore 0 0-0 0; Rumford 11 0-0 25; Ruelas 0 0-1 0; Bailey 7 2-2 16; Vance 0 0-0 0; Stoecklein 0 0-0 0; Team: 23 2-3 53
Holcomb: Palacios 6 0-0 15; Deniston 2 0-0 4; Mesa 0 0-0 0; Johnson 4 3-5 12; Orosco 0 0-0 0; Hardy 4 2-2 12; Harrel 0 4-6 4; Tichenor 1 0-0 3; Knoll 0 5-6 5; Team: 17 14-19 55
Three-Pointers: Scott City 5 (Rumford 3, Tarango 2), Holcomb 7 (Palacios 3, Hardy 2, Johnson 1, Tichenor 1); Rebounds: Scott City 19, Holcomb 18; Turnovers: Scott City 14, Holcomb 9; Fouls: Scott City 15, Holcomb 13; Fouled Out: Scott City (Noll).
Coach Brian Gentry Postgame
Tuesday was the final game for two Scott City seniors in Lawson Bailey and Dylan Metzger.
Holcomb advances to Friday’s sub-state semi-final game against Colby, who pulled away in the second half for a 72-42 win over Southwestern Heights in the opening round. Tipoff between the Longhorns and Eagles will be at 6 pm at Lakin. Goodland thumped Cimarron 61-26, and will face Lakin at 7:30 pm Friday night. The Broncs defeated Larned 63-43.
