Scott City boys three-peat at Orange & Black; Girls comeback falls short

Colby, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–The final day of a three-day tournament can be challenging both mentally and physically. Saturday’s games for Scott City vs McCook in the final day of the 31st Annual Paul Wintz/Tom Bowen Orange & Black Classic showed both the Beaver boys and girls basketball teams showed mental toughness in different ways, despite two different outcomes. The Lady Beavers were unable to overcome a slow first quarter in a 49-43 loss in the fourth place game, while the boys continued their incredible run through the tournament in a 51-22 thumping of the Bison in the championship game.

Girls
For a second straight game, it was a slow start for Scott City. The Lady Beavers saw McCook score the games first 15 points, until Paige Winderlin made a layup at the end of the first quarter to make the score 15-2 Lady Bison. Over the next eight minutes, the Lady Beavers woke up an fought hard to get back into the game thanks to their defensive pressure, forcing 10 Bison turnovers. A 20-13 second quarter run got Scott City to within 28-22 at the break, as the Lady Beavers went on a 9-3 run in the final 3:22 of the first half. Despite McCook (10-8) scoring the first basket of the third quarter, Scott City put up the games next five points to pull to within three at 30-27 with 4:53 left in the third quarter. It would be the closest they would get the rest of the way, as they missed three good looks around the perimeter to tie the game. The Lady Bison stretched their lead back out to seven at 35-28 after three quarters. In the fourth McCook pulled away, as Scott City (4-7) was unable to string together consecutive baskets. The Lady Bison eventually pulled away, as the Lady Beavers were unable to pull any closer than six in the final quarter. McCook was led by Madi Garcia with 14 points, and Holly Grigg with 10, as they won their third straight over Scott City. The Lady Beavers got 13 from Kaitlyn Roberts, 11 from Nicole Latta and 10 from Kiana Yager. Scott city has lost their fourth consecutive fourth place game.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Boys
Going into the week, the boys field seemed wide open. In a balanced field, Scott City faced McCook in a rematch of schools that played in the 2012 Orange & Black Championship game. Much like that game, it was one sided, as the Beavers controlled it from the beginning. The Beavers never trailed, and led 8-4 after the first quarter, as both teams got off to slow scoring starts. In the second quarter, the shots started falling for Scott City (8-3), as they led by as many as 13 and led 25-14 at the break. They used an 8-0 run over a two minute stretch that separated themselves from the Bison. The third quarter saw the Beavers really put the clamps down on defense, and it was perhaps one of their best defensive efforts of the season. McCook (10-7) scored only two third quarter points, as Scott City had 14 points in the third frame to open up a 39-16 lead after three quarters. The Beavers weren’t done, as they put the dagger in scoring the first four points of the final quarter, and eventually pushed their lead up to 31 late in the game at 51-20. The Bison got the final basket to make the final 51-22, giving Scott City their fourth straight win over McCook. Leading the efforts for Scott City was Bo Hess with 14 points, while Drew Duff and Drake McRae had 12 and 10 points respectively. McCook saw a three game winning streak end, as Caleb Sheets led them with 10 points. Scott City held the Bison to their season low in points, and it was season low of points allowed by the Beavers. The Beavers won the tournament for the third straight season and it was the fourth straight tournament title that they were in in Colby. Scott City has also won 14 straight Orange & Black Tournament games going back to the 2010 season, and have also won their last 20 games in the city of Colby.

Coach Glenn O’Neil Postgame

Four Beavers were named to the All-Tournament Teams, Nicole Latta was named to the girls tournament team, while Bo Hess, Dylan Hutchins and Drake McRae were on the boys tournament team. Hess was named MVP on the boys side, while Latta, Hutchins and Addie Price were on the All-Academic Team. Scott City won the Marvin B. Stark Spirit Award, and Glenn O’Neil was named the Tom Bowen Coach’s Award winner.

Up next for Scott City will be three straight home games, beginning with Lakin on Tuesday night. The Lady Broncs finished second in the High Plains League Tournament in Garden City, after a 59-33 loss to Meade to drop to 5-6, while the Bronc Boys won the title game with a 68-60 win over Southwestern Heights to improve to 8-3 on the year.