Cold shooting dooms Scott City boys in Sterling
Sterling, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Scott City Coach Brian Gentry knew for his team had to be aggressive against Sterling in the paint if they had a chance against the Black Bears. The No. 5 team in Class 2A has one of the top players in Tyus Wilson, who averages just under seven blocks a game. Early on, Scott City was able to work it against him. However in the end, his length made it difficult for the Beavers to do much, as they fell 54-23 on Tuesday night inside the Gleason Center at Sterling College, spoiling Scott City’s debut in the 49th Annual Sterling Invitational.
The Beavers grabbed the early lead, only to see Sterling use a 12-2 run over five minutes to lead 12-4 with 2:47 left in the opening period. It was 21-8 in favor of the Black Bears after the first period, as they scored their first points of the second frame early on to go up 15 at 23-8. Scott City was only able to score in consecutive possessions once the entire night, before Sterling closed out the final 3:16 of the half on a 10-2 run to lead 33-13 at intermission.
Both teams struggled scoring to begin the second half. The Beavers hit a free throw a little over three minutes into the half, and trailed 35-16 with 3:28 left in the third quarter, only to see the Black Bears close the final three minutes on a 9-2 run to take a 44-18 lead into the final period. They would hit the 30-point margin in the first minute of the fourth quarter at 48-18, forcing a continuous clock the rest of the night, as Sterling would win their fourth consecutive game in a 54-23 win.
Tyus Wilson finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds, while Zach Surface had 12 points, all on three’s for Sterling. The Black Bears shot 16-18 at the free throw line, hit 16-33 shots from the field for 49% and had nine turnovers. Carter Gooden led Scott City with five points, as the Beavers shot just 21% from the field on the night at 7-34, and were 7-13 at the foul line, and had 10 turnovers.
It was the third meeting all-time between Scott City and Sterling. The Beavers won the first two, all in postseason play, including the matchup in the Class A State Championship game in 1958, and most recently in 2016 at the Lakin Sub-State championship game. It was the first time Scott City faced a team from the Heart of America Conference.
Other scores on the boys side from Tuesday, saw Hugoton defeating Smoky Valley 67-34, and Southeast of Saline advancing to Friday’s fifth place game with a 79-49 rout of Kingman. Sterling will face Hugoton in the championship semi finals Thursday night, while Scott City battles Smoky Valley at 4 pm on Thursday in the consolation semi finals. On the girls side, Southeast of Saline is 1-0 in Pool A, after defeating Hutch Trinity 57-42, and Hugoton is 1-0 in Pool B, as they knocked off Kingman 64-28. Kingman is 0-2 in Pool B, and will be in the fifth place game on Friday afternoon.
Josh Rosin is the Scott City representative in the Doug Sillin 3-Point Contest for Scott City, and had a score of 15 after round one, which puts him in second after the first round. There are two contestants that have completed two rounds.
Scott City 8-5-5-5-23
Sterling 21-12-11-10-54
Scott City (1-7): Serrano 0 0-0 0; I. Tarango 0 0-0 0; Rosin 1 1-2 4; King 1 2-3 4; Stevens 0 0-2 0; Thon 1 0-0 3; Culp 0 1-2 1; Hawkins 1 0-0 2; Bailey 1 0-0 2; Metzger 0 2-2 2; E. Tarango 0 0-0 0; Gooden 2 1-2 5; Team: 7 7-13 23
Sterling (7-2): Surface 4 0-0 12; Hopewell 1 4-4 6; Zambo 1 1-2 3; Shimer 1 0-0 3; Ochs 0 2-2 2; Wilson 6 3-4 15; Oden 1 2-2 4; Royer 1 0-0 2; Webb 0 0-0 0; Riffel 0 0-0 0; Comley 1 4-4 7; Team: 16 16-18 54
Three Pointers: Scott City 2 (Rosin 1, Thon 1), Sterling 6 (Surface 4, Shimer 1, Comley 1); Rebounds: Scott City 17, Sterling 28; Turnovers: Scott City 10, Sterling 9; Fouls: Scott City 20, Sterling 13; Fouled Out: None.
Coach Brian Gentry Postgame
