Holcomb and Scott City split doubleheader

Holcomb, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It has been a season where it has been difficult to predict the winners and losers before the games tipoff. Friday night’s games with Scott City and Holcomb featured a pair of teams coming off tough losses Tuesday night, and for the most part, didn’t know how the teams would respond. In the end, it would be a split on Holcomb’s senior night, as the Lady Beavers led most of the way to take a 61-51 win, while the Longhorn boys used a big run in the second half to pick up a 53-46 win.

Scott City Girls 61, Holcomb 51
Other than one tie at 14, Scott City led this one most of the way. The Lady Beavers built an early four-point lead, and Holcomb responded late in the first period to tie the game at 14 with 2:26 left in the first quarter. After that, Scott City would lead and never trail the rest of the night. A 10-2 run in the final 1:38 of the quarter gave the Lady Beavers a 24-16 lead heading into the second frame. Holcomb (4-15, 2-7 GWAC) pulled to within 28-22 with 3:51 left in the half. An 8-0 run by Scott City gave them the 36-22 lead late in the first half, before a banked in three pointer at the end of the half pulled the Lady Longhorns to within 36-25 at the break.

The Lady Beavers led by 13 early in the third period before a big Holcomb rally. A run of 10-2 over a two-minute stretch got the Lady Longhorns to within 40-35 with 4:41 left in the third period. Scott City (13-6, 7-2) settled down, and went on an 8-3 run to lead 48-38 with three minutes left in the third quarter. After a 52-40 lead heading into the fourth quarter, the Lady Beavers would build their lead to 14 on two occasions, before settling for a 61-51 win.

Lyndi Rumford led Scott City with 19 points, while Brynn McCormick had 18 and Emily Weathers added 12. The Lady Beavers were 18-19 from the free throw line, and had 15 turnovers. Holcomb got 12 from McKee Blackburn and 10 from Nicole Ruda. The Lady Longhorns shot 4-8 from the foul line and had 17 turnovers. Scott City won the rebounding battle 25-24.

With the win, Scott City has now won seven straight over Holcomb, the longest for them in the series, and have won in Holcomb three consecutive years. It also guaranteed them seven wins in GWAC play for the third straight time and the top seed in the Southwestern Heights sub-state with one game remaining. They have tiebreakers over Cimarron and Colby. Holcomb sill leads the all-time series 29-24. The Lady Longhorns are tied for sixth in the sub-state standings with Goodland. They have split the season series.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Holcomb Boys 53, Scott City 46
For a majority of the game, it looked as if both teams were going to have minimal points. It was until the middle of the third quarter and most of the fourth when the offenses put up points. Scott City used a 10-0 run in the first quarter to take a 12-6 lead, before Holcomb pulled to within 12-10 after one period. The Longhorns would respond in the second quarter with a 6-0 run to take a 16-14 lead with 3:51 left in the half. The Beavers counted with a 7-2 run and led 21-18 with 1:41 left before halftime. Holcomb (8-11, 3-6 GWAC) pulled to within 21-20 at the break.

Scott City would not push their lead bigger than four in the third frame. After trailing 28-24 with 4:29 left in the third period, the Longhorns made a rally that would be too much for the Beavers to overcome. Holcomb went on a 17-3 run over a six-minute stretch of the third and fourth quarters to lead 41-31 with 5:54 left. Scott City (11-8, 4-5) scored all their points during that run from the free throw line. The Longhorns would lead by as many as 11 late, before the Beavers hit back to back three’s to pull to within 49-44 with 42.5 seconds left. Holcomb connected on 8-11 free throws in the fourth quarter to snap a three-game losing streak with a 53-46 win.

Leading the way for the Longhorns was Jackson Stoppel and Zephyn Mason with 11 points apiece, and River Amos with 10. Holcomb was 11-16 from the free throw line and had nine turnovers. Scott City got 19 points from Marshall Faurot and 14 from Hunter Yager. The Beavers went 16-21 from the line and finished with nine turnovers. Scott City had the edge on the boards 27-22.  The Beavers have lost three straight games, and four out of five.

With the win, Holcomb has now won eight out of their last nine in the series, including six straight in Holcomb. Scott City leads the all-time series 30-25. The Longhorns remain in fifth place in the sub-state standings, one-half of a game ahead of Southwestern Heights. Scott City is tied with Colby for third place in the sub-state standings, but own the tiebreaker since the Beavers won two of the three meetings.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Up next for Scott City is a home game to end the regular season on Tuesday against Goodland, while Holcomb wraps up the regular season at Colby on Tuesday.