Free throws propel Scott City boys and girls past Coronado

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–In a doubleheader that saw its fair share of fouls Friday night at Scott Community High School, the Scott City Beavers and Coronado Cougars met up for the first time ever in the Clarion Inn Roundball Classic. While both games were closely contested most of the way, it would be the homestanding Beavers pulling out a couple of wins, with the Lady Beavers winning 47-35, while the boys held off the Cougars 61-56.

Scott City girls 47, Coronado 35
After scoring just four first half points Thursday night against Garden City, and held scoreless in the first quarter, Coronado would score four points in the first 90 seconds to lead 4-0. In fact, the Lady Cougars led most of the first half, as they took a 13-10 first quarter lead. Scott City led 6-5 early, and then got their second lead of the game late in the first half to go up 19-18. They would score the final three points of the half at the line to lead 22-19 at the break. Free throws would be the story of the night for the Lady Beavers. Coronado (1-4) would stay within reach for most of the second half on three pointers, knocking down three of them in the half, but couldn’t retake the lead. Scott City (2-1) led by as many as four in the third quarter at 26-22 before leading 30-27 after three quarters. In the second half, the Lady Beavers hit only four field goals, and had just nine for the game. Out of their 17 fourth quarter points, 13, came from the charity line, as they went 13-22 in the final eight minutes of play, outscoring the Lady Cougars 17-8 in in the fourth period to win 47-35. They used a 12-1 run over five minutes to separate themselves from Coronado.

Brynn McCormick had a game-high 15 points, going 13-16 from the foul line, while Madison Shapland added eight. Scott City ended up going 27-43 from the free throw line, and had 20 turnovers. Sarah Ford had 12 points on four three’s to lead Coronado, who went just 5-17 from the free throw line. They finished with 32 turnovers in the game. Both teams combined for 52 fouls, 30 by Coronado.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Scott City boys 61, Coronado 56
Scott City never trailed in the first half, and in at the beginning of the second half, it looked like they were well on their way to a win. Coronado would stay close throughout and lead a couple of times. The Beavers jumped out early 7-0, only to see the Cougars tie the game at seven. Both teams traded four-point runs, before Scott City lead 13-11 after one quarter. There were three ties in the first half, with the last at 14 with 5:57 left before halftime. The beavers would use a 7-1 run to go up 21-15 with 4:23 left in the half. A little over 90 seconds later, they went on a 7-2 run to hit their largest lead of the half at 11 at 30-19, and eventually lead 34-23 at the break. After Scott City (2-1) opened up a 37-23 lead in the first minute of the second half, the Cougars would roar back, and that they did in a big way. It would be a 19-1 Coronado run over a five-minute, 26-second stretch, to take their first lead of the game at 42-38 with 1:05 left in the third quarter. Scott City bounced back with five straight to lead 43-42, before the Cougars led 44-43 after three periods. The Beavers would score the first 10 points of the fourth quarter to lead 53-44 with 5:49 left, before Coronado (1-4) made one final surge. They would pull to within 59-56 with 15 seconds left. The Cougars forced a turnover, but a missed three pointer would hurt them, and the Beavers hit a pair of free throws to put the game on ice.

Marshall Faurot lead the way for Scott City with 20 points, while Hunter Yager had 14. The Beavers went 9-9 in the fourth quarter at the free throw line, and finished 30-36 for the game. They attempted just 35 free throws in the first two games combined. Scott City finished with 14 turnovers. Ladarius Mays led Coronado with 17 points after having just one point in the first half, while Bryce McKee had 13 and Brycen Scherr added 12. The Cougars were 22-27 from the free throw line. Both teams combined for 53 fouls.

The win by Scott City snapped a four-game losing streak in the Clarion Inn Roundball Classic.

Assistant Coach Jordan Carter Postgame

Scott City will take on Liberal Saturday at Garden City High School. The girls game will be at 2:30, while the boys game will be at 6. Liberal’s girls knocked off Wichita Trinity 51-38, while the Wichita Trinity boys won over the Redskins 55-38. Coronado’s girls take on Dumas at 11 am and their boys face Dalhart at 12:45 on Saturday.