Hays doubles up Garden City
Listen to the complete game in our archives section
Hays, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-For a good portion of Friday night’s game at Indians Field House, Garden City went toe-to-toe with the fifth-ranked team in 4A-1.
But in a puff of smoke after halftime, the game, which featured a playoff-like atmosphere, got away from the Buffaloes. In the blink of an eye, Garden City had lost their fourth straight game.
Isaiah Nunnery scored a game-high 20 points, Drew Young netted 16, and Hays used a 17-2 third-quarter run to blast the Buffaloes 74-50.
“We did a good job hanging with them early,” Garden City Coach Jacy Holloway said. “But in the second half, they took over. We didn’t make shots that were going in in the first half. And we turned the ball over.”
The Indians built their lead to 10 early on, thanks to back-to-back triples by Shane Berens, and a 3-pointer by Maddux Winter to begin the second quarter to make it 19-9. Garden City (5-14, 0-7) responded with consecutive treys by Zac Karlin, Garrett Doll hit one from long range, and the Buffaloes pulled to within four.
“We hit a lot of big shots in that first half,” Holloway explained. I was proud of the way we hung in there.”
Erwin Leal and Jared Koster weathered an early storm with back-to-back 3’s to end the half, and Garden City was within five. Koster’s triple would be the Buffaloes last field goal until the 7:10 mark of the fourth quarter.
Hays (15-3, 5-1) scored 16 straight points to begin the second half, and Ethan Nunnery’s steal and layup put the Indians up 50-29 with 36 ticks left in the period.
“Once the floodgates opened, we couldn’t do anything,” Holloway said. “We began passing up shots again, which has been a problem for us all season long.”
If the third quarter wasn’t enough, (Isaiah) Nunnery’s antics in the final period sent the Buffaloes packing with their seventh straight Western Athletic Conference loss.
Nunnery hit three straight 3-pointers and scored 13 straight points, stretching Hays’ lead to 65-36 with 4:30 to go. The senior finished 4-for-9 from beyond the arc.
Berens chipped in 14 points and eight rebounds. Five different Indian players drilled treys.
Leal paced Garden City with 14 points. Doll added 12 and Karlin 11. Koster scored eight points on just 3-for-12 shooting. The senior has scored just 13 points combined in three games vs. the Indians this season.
Tip ins: Even with the loss, Garden City is still fourth in the substate standings-if the playoffs started today, Garden City would host Haysville-Campus
Next up: Garden City at Liberal-Tuesday, February 23-7:30 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr; mobile app: KWKR and tuneinradio app: KWKR
Girls
Listen to the complete game in our archives section
Hays, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-At times this season, the first quarter has been a nightmare for David Upton’s team.
Friday night at Indians Field House was no different.
Haley George recorded her first double-double of the season with 16 points and 10 rebounds, and the Indians held Garden City to just one basket in the first quarter en route to a 40-25 win.
Untimely turnovers were the story again.
“We did a better job of cutting those numbers down,” Upton said afterwards. “But when we did turn it over, they scored in transition. That’s been a real problem.”
Garden City (6-13, 0-7) gave it away 15 times. They were 10-for-48 from the field (21 percent).
“We couldn’t hit shots again,” Upton said. “We had our chances but just couldn’t knock them down.”
Early on, Hays (7-11, 2-4) couldn’t miss. George scored 10 of the Indians 14 points in the first quarter. She hit her first six shots from the floor, and Hays had a 14-2 lead after one.
“These slow starts are killing us,” Upton said.
The Buffaloes managed only three buckets in the second and trailed by 11 at the half. They went the final 2:10 of the first half without scoring.
Hays stretched their lead to 16 in the third quarter when Nicole Dinkel split a pair of free throws.
Garden City finally answered early in the fourth when Abbie Dart’s free throw made it an eight-point game. But the Buffaloes managed just one field goal the rest of the way as Hays swept the season series from Garden for the first time since 2012.
Tip ins: The loss all but assures that Garden City will play on the road for the substate semifinals
Next up: Garden City at Liberal-Tuesday, February 23-5:45 p.m. pregame; 6 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com/kwkr; mobile app: KWKR and tuneinradio app: KWKR
