Garden City, Scott City split Saturday doubleheader

Garden City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Saturday saw two schools 35 miles apart face off on the final day of the Clarion Inn Roundball Classic. For the second time in three seasons, the girls would meet up, and it would be the third time in five years for the boys. Both games would not see a tie or a lead change, as the Lady Beavers would take a 61-52 win, while the Buffalo boys took a 54-42 victory.

Scott City Girls 61, Garden City 52
Despite having foul trouble already in the opening quarter, Scott City got off to a good start. The Lady Beavers began with the games first five points, and led 15-3 with 2:43 left in the first quarter. Garden City rallied for the last five points to pull to within 15-8 after the first period. The game would see Scott City separate themselves a little more in the second, as they went on a 12-3 run to take a 27-11 lead midway through the second quarter. Their lead would grow to as big as 34-15 with 2:07 left in the half. The Lady Buffaloes scored the final six points of the half, as they pulled to within 34-21 at the break. Scott City pushed the lead to 17 early in the second half, when Garden City started charging back. A 10-3 run got the Lady Buffaloes to within 41-31 with 3:38 left in the third frame. The Lady Beavers settled down and would take a 49-37 lead into the final period. Garden City would chip into the deficit a little more, and got to within nine in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter at 53-44. They would get as close as eight at 58-50 with 35 seconds left, before Scott City scored three of the final five points in the game to take the 61-52 win. 

Lyndi Rumford led the way with 23 points for Scott City, while Brynn McCormick added 17. The Lady Beavers were 18-24 from the line and finished with 19 turnovers. Garden City got 13 points from Keyhana Turner and 10 from Felicity Rodriguez. The Lady Buffaloes finished 15-26 from the line and had 22 turnovers. Garden City outrebouned Scott City 23-21.

With the win, Scott City finished 3-0 in the Clarion Inn Roundball Classic for the first time ever. They also improved their all-time mark in the classic to 9-15. It was their first win over Garden City since January 30, 1988, and their first 4-0 start to the season since the 1998-99 season. Garden City leads the all-time series 7-4. The Lady Buffs fell to 2-2.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Garden City Boys 54, Scott City 42
In the finale of the Clarion Inn Roundball Classic, Garden City started off hitting their shots and never looked back. On the other side, Scott City couldn’t buy a basket. The Beavers were only able to hit three field goals in the first half. In the opening period, the Buffaloes raced out to a 7-0 lead and closed the final three minutes on a 11-1 run to take an 18-7 lead into the second period. Scott City was only able to pull to within 10 early in the second quarter at 18-8 with 5:45 left before halftime. Garden City scored the next 11 points to take a 29-8 lead with 3:09 left in the first half. The Beavers would pull to within 35-16 at the break. They scored the first four points of the second half to get to within 35-20 with 5:59 left in the third frame. When it looked like Scott City was going to get even closer, the Buffaloes took over. a 10-3 run to close the third quarter gave Garden City the 45-23 lead heading into the fourth quarter. In the final period, the Beavers were finally getting their shots to fall. Unfortunately for them, it was too much of a deficit to overcome. Scott City used a 19-9 run in the fourth quarter to make the final 54-42.

Garden City had three players in double figures, led by Azavier Williams with 13 points, Isaiah Reyes with 12 and Tae Rosales added 11 points. The Buffaloes were 13-18 at the line and had 18 turnovers. Scott City got 16 points from Hunter Yager, and 13 from Jackson Lewis. The Beavers finished 11-21 from the line, and committed just nine turnovers. Garden City won the rebounding edge 33-30.

With the win, Garden City has now won two straight in the series, and lead the series 11-5 since 1964. The Beavers are now 14-10 all-time in the classic. Scott City drops to 2-2 on the season, while the Buffaloes improved to 3-1 on the year. 

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Others scores on the final day of the Clarion Inn Roundball Classic saw the Wichita Trinity girls defeat Palmer Ridge 56-46, Palmer Ridge boys defeated Wichita Trinity 62-51. Holcomb would sweep Coronado, with the girls winning 50-34, and the boys taking home a 75-50 win. 

Garden City will be at Bear Creek in Colorado on Friday, while Scott City host Hugoton on Friday. It will be the final games inside Scott Community High School, before their move to the new gymnasium at Scott City Middle School in January.