First regular season match up sees Scott City and Collegiate split a doubleheader

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Friday night’s doubleheader between Scott City and Wichita College saw a filled up gym filled with energy. The second night of the Clarion Inn Roundball Classic matched two schools who have had plenty of success in their athletic departments over time, yet have never matched up during the regular season in basketball. While the games were competitive, the final scores ended up being by double digit margins in the end. The Lady Beavers would prevail in the first game of the night 58-45, while the Spartan boys pulled away late for a 54-42 win.

Girls
In their first-ever meeting, Scott City and Wichita Collegiate got the night started off with a energetic first half. There were five ties and eight lead changes in the first 16 minutes of play, as the Lady Beavers took a 26-22 halftime lead. In fact, that was their biggest lead, and trailed by no fewer than one point. To open up the second half, the Lady Spartans used a 5-1 run to tie the game at 27 with 5:18 left in the third quarter. After that happened, Scott City (3-0) went on a run to go up for good. The Lady Beavers used a 14-3 run to go up 41-3 with 47 seconds left in the third quarter. Wichita Collegiate would score the final five points of the period to get to within 41-35 heading in to the final period. That was the closest the Lady Spartans got the rest of the night. Scott City opened up the first half of the quarter on a 13-2 run to get their lead to 54-37 with 4:10 left. That was their biggest lead. Wichita Collegiate (1-1) pulled to within 11, but the Lady Beavers closed out the game on a 5-2 run to win 59-45.

Leading the charge for Scott City was Macie Price with a game-high 17 points, followed by Emily Weathers with 12 and Bailey Latta with a season-best 10 points. Scott City started out 0-7 at the foul line, but finished 14-23 on the night. Wichita Collegiate was led by Maddie Reed with 12 points on four three’s and Anna Caughlin finished with 10. The Lady Spartans had 21 turnovers and were just 1-5 at the foul line.

With the win, Scott City is off to their best start since the 2001-02 season, and improved to 5-12 in the Roundball Classic.

Boys
The first three meetings between Scott City and Wichita Collegiate had a lot on the line. Two of the three games were for a state championship, while the other was for a state championship game berth. While the game was a regular season battle, it had the feel of playoff basketball. The Spartans would never trail, but had to hold off several Beaver runs. There would be one tie in the game at two, but Wichita Collegiate would build an 8-2 lead, before leading 8-7 after the opening quarter. In the second quarter, the Spartans used a 9-2 run to lead 17-9 with 4:39 left in the half, and closed out the half on a 7-0 run over the final two minutes to lead 24-13 at the break. Following a Wichita Collegiate (2-0) basket to begin the second half, the Beavers would gradually chip into the lead. A 13-4 run pulled Scott City to within 35-34 with 53 seconds remaining in the third period. Unfortunately, the Beavers were unable to get over the hump, missing two chances to take their first lead of the game. The Spartans would quickly turn a one point lead to an eight point lead at 43-34 with 5:54 remaining. Scott City (1-2) had one final run in them, as they scored the next five points to get to within 43-39 with 4:31 left. The Beavers ran out of gas in the end, as Wichita Collegiate closed the game out on a 10-1 run to win 54-42, and snap a two-game losing skid in the series.

Leading the way for the Spartans was Riley Dick with 19 points, and Cody McNerney added 14. Wichita Collegiate finished 8-13 at the free throw line, and committed 17 turnovers in the game. Scott City got a career-high 14 points from sophomore Hunter Yager off the bench, while Marshal Faurot had 13 and Jordan Horn added 11. The Beavers hit their only free throw attempt, and committed 22 turnovers.

In the loss, Scott City is 1-2 for the first time since the 2003-04 season, and dropped to 12-5 in the Roundball Classic.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Scott City will face Garden City on Saturday at Garden City High School in The Garden for the final day of the Clarion Inn Roundball Classic. The girls game will start at 4:15, while the boys will tip off at 7:45. It will be the first meeting on the girls side since January 27, 1989, when the Lady Buffs won 59-56. On the boys side, it’s the second time in three years that they will meet up. The Beavers won a 68-66 thriller two years ago.