Guymon boys nip Garden City; girls win thriller in OT
Photos by Adam Shrimplin
Garden City, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-Throughout their second-half run, the Garden City boys had been clutch down the stretch.
On Friday night against their rivals from the Oklahoma Panhandle, the Buffaloes faltered in an area that they’ve become so accustomed to succeeding in.
Jacob Watson drilled four 3-pointers in the second half and finished with a game-high 14 points, Jovan Ochoa added 11, and Guymon edged the Buffaloes 44-42 at the Garden.
“There were times during the game where we didn’t play like we’ve been playing,” Head Coach Jacy Holloway said. “That’s disappointing.”
Garden City (7-9, 3-1) seemed prime for their eighth win in their last 10 games after erasing an early five-point deficit and holding Guymon (11-6) scoreless for the first 3:13 of the second quarter. Jayden Crook and Tye Davis hit back-to-back 3-pointers that gave the Buffaloes a 15-13 lead. Then Zac Karlin knocked down a jumper from the elbow, and Garden City had their largest lead of the first half. After Hugo Hinojos connected on two straight shots to tie the game, Griff Brunson splashed home a jumper from the free throw line at the buzzer to give the brown and white a 19-17 lead at the break.
“We played well in stretches,” Holloway said. “But then we went away from what was working.”
The third quarter was defined by missed opportunities and by Watson, who broke Garden City’s backs.
The senior hit three treys in the third quarter, his last of those came with 16 seconds left in the period that helped the Tigers cut a seven-point deficit down to one heading into the fourth.
“Our guys saw the film; they knew he (Watson) could shoot it,” Holloway explained. “But we never reacted, and he was wide open.”
Watson hit one more 3-pointer in the final period coupled with Dylan Portillo’s two free throws that gave the Tigers a 44-42 edge with 52 seconds to play.
“We still had a chance at that point,” Holloway said.
The Buffaloes had two chances in fact to tie or take the lead in the final minute—both failed. Garrett Doll missed a triple from the top of the key before Karlin’s fallaway jumper from the elbow was too strong. Then after an offensive rebound and a timeout, Jarrod Springston’s inbounds pass to Demarcus Elliott skipped out of bounds, giving the ball back to the Tigers with five seconds to go.
Garden City then fouled Ochoa, who obliged by missing the front end of a 1-and-1. But with no timeouts, Davis grabbed the rebound, sprinted towards half court before letting go a prayer that sailed just wide of the rim.
“We didn’t execute in crunch time,” Holloway said. “But we made other mistakes that cost us this game.”
Doll scored 10 points for Garden City, who dropped their second straight game to Guymon. Karlin added nine and Davis chipped in seven.
Riley Kokaly paced Guymon with nine points while Hinojos added eight.
“We have to become more consistent,” Holloway added.
After taking a 3-2 lead on Karlin’s early 3-pointer, the Tigers scored five straight points to take a 10-5 edge. They led 11-7 after one.
Next up: Garden City at Great Bend-Friday, Feb. 10-7:30 p.m. on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and mobile app: KWKR
Girls
Garden City, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-It’s hard to quantify just how important one player can be. But Josie Calzonetti’s ascension to Garden City’s number-one option is quickly becoming evident.
Calzonetti scored 15 of her game-high 18 points in the fourth quarter and overtime, Abbie Dart added 16 points, and Garden City topped Guymon 64-61 Friday night at the Garden.
“We scored 60 points, so our offense is getting much better,” Buffaloes Head Coach Matt Pfeifer said. “But Josie played her tail off. She was very good tonight.”
Calzonetti’s performance had the Tigers in a state of shock, especially considering she had three points and was 0-for-7 from the field entering the fourth quarter.
“She turned it on,” Pfeifer said. “That’s all I can say.”
Even with Calzonetti quiet for a good portion of the game, the rest of the Buffaloes picked her up after falling down by as many as nine in the first half. Dart netted 10 points over the first 16 minutes and pulled Garden City to within two 32-30 at the half. They were down one going into the fourth.
Cue the Calzonetti takeover.
The junior scored the first five points of the fourth, added two free throws with 3:46 remaining and then, with her team down three, drilled a 3-pointer to tie the game at 51 with 17 seconds to play.
“She (Calzonetti) was clutch,” Pfeifer said. “We needed every bit of what she did down the stretch.”
Trailing by two in overtime, Pfeifer again put the ball in Calzonetti’s hands. She delivered with a three-point play that gave the Buffaloes a one-point edge. Dart added two free throws with 1:29 to go, and Garden City never trailed again.
“We are learning as we go,” Pfeifer said. “It’s a process, but the girls are starting to figure some things out.”
Garden City won despite shooting just 32 percent (19-of-60) from the field. They outrebounded Guymon 34-29 and had 15 offensive boards.
Jazmin Nash led the Tigers with 18 points before fouling out in overtime. Megan Bellar also fouled out with 13 and Macy LeGrange had 10.
Next up: Garden City at Great Bend-Friday, Feb. 10-5:45 p.m. pregame; 6 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr and KWKR mobile app
