Defense carries Scott City in a sweep of Colby

Colby, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Coming out of the Christmas break, the theme for both the boys and girls squads for Scott City was defense. And it was the defense that shined Friday night at the Colby Community Building. In the girls game, it was the Lady Beavers pulling away in the fourth quarter for a 41-26 win, while the Beaver boys had to fight off every surge from the Eagles in a 49-43 win.

Scott City girls 41, Colby 26
Scott City would start out with the early 6-0 in the first two minutes. Slowly, the Lady Eagles would respond, scoring the next nine points over the next three minutes to lead 9-6 with 2:17 left in the first quarter. The Lady Beavers tied the game on a three pointer to even the game a nine heading into the second period. After Scott City (5-2, 3-0 GWAC) lead 11-9 in the first minute of the second quarter, Colby responded with five straight, and led by three on a pair of occasions, with the last one at 19-16 with 29.7 seconds remaining before halftime. The Lady Beavers responded with a basket to pull to within 19-18 at the break. In the second half, Scott City turned up the heat on defense. They would start off with the first eight points of the half to lead 26-19 with 4:16 left in the third quarter. Colby (5-3, 10-1) could get no closer than three at 26-23 with 3:17 left in the third frame. Scott City scored the final points of the period to take a 33-26 lead into the fourth quarter. The Lady Beavers would wear down the Lady Eagles in the fourth quarter with their tight defense, denying any opening for a good look at a three point shot. Scott City scored all eight points in the final period, and held Colby scoreless for the final 8:22 to pick up the win 41-26.

Scott City had three in double figures, led by Bynn McCormick with 11 points, while Lyndi Rumford and Emily Weathers added 10. The Lady Beavers were just 4-8 from the line and had 17 turnovers, with just four in the second half. Colby got 10 points from Hallie Vaughn, all in the first half. The Lady Eagles shot 9-13 from the free throw line and also finished with 17 turnovers. Colby will be without one of their top scorers in junior Jill Stephens for the rest of the year. She was injured in December in their win over Hoxie, and had shoulder surgery on Wednesday. Both teams had 24 rebounds.

With the win, Scott City continues their longest win streak in the series at eight, and have won against the Lady Eagles in Colby for the fourth straight time. Scott City’s three road league wins clinches a third straight year they have accomplished that feat, and they have also won eight straight GWAC road games.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Scott City Boys 49, Colby 43
The finale of the night had the feel of a slug fest, and it turned out to be that. While the play wasn’t pretty at times, it was the defense that set the tone for the night. Scott City never trailed in the game, and were tied once. After a 2-2 tie, the Beavers scored eight points in a 30-second stretch to lead 10-2 with 5:35 left in the opening period. Scott City would go on a 7:19 scoring drought after that. Colby was only able to score seven straight in that time frame, with most points coming from the line. The Beavers led 10-8 after the first quarter. Following an Eagles rally that pulled them to within 17-15 with a little over three minutes left in the half, Scott City (4-3, 2-1 GWAC) closed the first half on a 10-3 run to build their largest lead of the game at 27-18. For whatever reason, the Beavers were unable to get the lead past single digits, but also kept Colby from rallying to take the lead. Both teams would trade baskets for most of the third quarter, but an Eagle 5-0 run got them to within 33-29 after three quarters. In the fourth, Scott City could push their lead past six, which kept the door open for Colby (4-4, 0-2). The Eagles found a way to get back into the game, and got to within 45-43 with 41.2 seconds left. The Beavers were able to hit their free throws down the stretch, and escape Colby with the win.

Marshall Faurot added another 20-point performance to his resume this season, with a game-high 20 points to lead the Beavers. Scott City was 17-24 at the line for the game, and were clutch in the final period, going 10-11. They committed 12 turnovers in the contest. Colby was led by Ryan Myers with three-three’s for nine points. The Eagles shot 13-22 from the free throw line, and had only eight turnovers. Scott City won the rebounding battle 28-24 unofficially.

With the win, Scott City has now won 20 consecutive games in the series since 2010, the longest stretch by either side in an all-time series that is fairly even. The Beavers have won back-to-back road league games for the first time since last year, when they won at Colby, then at Ulysses.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Up next for Scott City are a pair of home GWAC games. They’ll host Ulysses on Tuesday and Holcomb on Friday. Colby visits Goodland on Tuesday, and hosts Hugoton next Friday.