Scott City boys win, girls fall in tournament opener
Colby, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–The opening day of the 2014 Paul Wintz/Tom Bowen Orange & Black Classic in Colby had its share of lopsided games. Scott City ended up being in a pair of them, as the Beaver boys put away Burlington early on en route to a 62-22 victory, while the Lady Beavers couldn’t overcome a 12-0 deficit, and lost 58-21 to Palmer Ridge.
Scott City’s boys took the court first in the Colby Community Building, looking to extend their win streak to seven games. The No. 2 team in Class 4A, Division II wasted little time putting the outmatched Burlington Cougars away early on, jumping out to a 24-2 lead after the first quarter. In fact, the Cougars (3-5) had issues scoring. They went 10:56 without any points in the first and second quarters. Scott City (7-1) used a 28-0 run to put the game away, and led 38-8 at the break. In the second half, the Beavers led by as many as 46, and had a running clock in the final eight minutes. The blowout allowed many young players to take the court and get varsity experience. Leading the charge for the Beavers was Trey O’Neil with 21 points, while Brett Meyer added 13. Burlington had a balanced attack, as sophomore Brian Crouse led them with five points, all coming in the final quarter.
Things were tough for the Scott City Lady Beavers in the final game of day one in the High School gym against the No. 10 team in Class 4A in Colorado. The Lady Bears of Palmer Ridge raced out to a 12-0 lead, before Scott City (1-7) was able to get their first points. Palmer Ridge (11-2) took a 14-4 lead after the opening eight minutes. Just like the first quarter, the Lady Beavers had issues scoring, as it took them over half the second quarter to score their first points of the period. By that time, Palmer Ridge had rattled off 11 straight points before their first points of the quarter. The Bears continued their tough defense in the period, and led 31-8 at the half. It was more Palmer Ridge in the third quarter, as they expanded their lead to 48-19. Their final three points of the third quarter extended out to 13 straight, which forced a running clock in the final seven minutes of the game. Scott City was only able to score two fourth quarter points, which would be their third straight sub-30-point performance. Palmer Ridge was led by Rhyley Lane with a game-high 14 points, and Ali Meyer added 11. For they Lady Beavers, it was Bailey Nickel leading the charge with 11 points, while Kelly Wycoff chipped in eight.
Thursday’s scores in the tournament on the girls side saw Hugoton dismantle Sunrise Christian 55-12, Colby defeated Burlington 47-27, and Liberal got past McCook 49-40. For the boys games, McCook defeated Colby 54-37, Palmer Ridge rattled Liberal 66-35, and Wichita West defeated Hugoton 65-50.
Friday’s matchups on the boys side include the consolation games of Colby vs Burlington at 3 pm and Liberal vs Hugoton at 6:30 pm in the High School, and the championship semi finals include McCook and Scott City at 8:15 and Palmer Ridge facing Wichita West at the Colby Community Building at 4:45.
For the girls on Friday, the consolation semis feature Sunrise Christian vs Scott City at 4:45 and Burlington vs McCook at 8:15 in the High School, and the championship semis feature Hugoton vs Palmer Ridge at 3 pm, and Colby facing Liberal at 6:30 in the Community Building.