Holcomb girls pull away in second half, Scott City boys hold on late
Holcomb, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Friday’s GWAC doubleheader featured a pair of teams looking to take momentum in to the Christmas break, as the Holcomb Longhorns played host to Scott City. It would be a split of the doubleheader, as the Lady Longhorns used 13 triples to win 61-44, while the Beaver boys would hold on in the waning seconds for a 54-52 win.
Holcomb Girls 61, Scott City 44
The No. 10 ranked team in Class 3A would never trail in the game, and they would use the long ball to get the win. Holcomb would see Scott City come as close as 5-4 early in the first quarter, before they led 16-9 after the first quarter. Every time the Lady Beavers would look like they would get a rally, the Lady Longhorns countered with a three. Scott City pulled to within 18-15 early in the second quarter, when Holcomb (5-1, 1-1 GWAC) scored eight of the next 10 poitns to lead 26-17 with 3:07 left before the break. It would be 26-20 Longhorns with a little over a minute remaining in the half, before they hit back to back treys to lead 32-20 at the break. The Lady Beavers saw Holcomb use an 8-0 run to begin the second half to lead 40-20 with 6:02 left in the third. Scott City (2-4, 0-2) was unable to get a run going in the third, as the Lady Longhorns led by as many as 23 in the game. The Lady Beavers did pull to within 57-43 late, before falling 61-44.
Jaylee Wickwar led Holcomb with 13 points, while Halle Jones had 12 and Bella Galliart added 11 for Holcomb, who went 8-16 at the foul line and had 15 turnovers. Scott City got eight points from Kendall Gentry.
Holcomb has now won seven straight in the series, as well as eight of the last nine games, and lead the series 37-27.
Justin Faurot Postgame
Box Score
Scott City 9 11 7 17–44
Holcomb 16 16 15 14–61
Scott City (2-4, 0-2): K. Gentry 3 2-2 8; Fox 3 1-2 7; Metzger 1 3-4 6; Irvin 1 0-0 3; P. Gentry 2 1-2 6; Weathers 0 0-0 0; Lewis 3 1-2 7; Felker 1 0-0 2; Trout 2 1-2 5; Team: 16 9-14 44
Holcomb (5-1, 1-1): Magana 3 0-0 8; L. Galliart 3 0-0 7; VanPelt 0 0-0 0; Wickwar 3 4-6 13; B. Galliart 3 3-6 11; Hill 1 0-0 3; Jones 4 1-2 12; Baier 1 0-0 3; Ruda 2 0-2 4; Team: 20 8-16 61
Three-Point Goals: Scott City 3 (Metzger 1, Irvin 1, P. Gentry 1), Holcomb 13 (Wickwar 3, Jones 3, Magana 2, B. Galliart 2, L. Galliart 1, Hill 1, Baier 1); Turnovers: Scott City 19, Holcomb 15; Fouls: Scott City 14, Holcomb 16; Fouled Out: Holcomb (Ruda).
Scott City Boys 54, Holcomb 52
Two ranked teams met up in a battle that would not be decided until the final horn sounded. The Beavers led most of the way, but the No. 8 ranked team in Class 3A would take fourth quarter leads. Scott City, the No. 9 ranked team in Class 3A, jumped out to a 7-2 lead early on, only to see Holcomb rally for an 8-7 lead midway through the first qurater. The Beavers would go on a 9-0 run over a four-minute stretch of the first and second quarters to lead 6-7 with seven minutes left before the break. They grew their lead to 30-18 late in the first half, before taking a 30-21 halftime lead. Scott City (5-1, 1-1 GWAC) would push their lead to 13 early in the second half at 34-21. Trailing 42-30 with 2:19 left in the third quarter, Holcomb (5-1, 1-1) rattled off 10 consecutive points to pull to within 42-40 heading into the final quarter. The Longhorns would grab a 43-42 lead a little in to the final frame, as the teams would battle back and forth. The Beavers led 50-47 wtih three minutes left, only to see Holcomb eventually tie the game at 52 with 26 seconds left. With the shot clock off, Scott City held for the final possession. Jackson Rumford would miss a shot, but got his rebound and was fouled on the way down with 5.2 seconds remaining. He would sink both free throws to give the Beavers the lead. Holcomb would race back the other way, but miss a layup as time expired, as Scott City escaped with a 54-52 win.
Jackson Rumford had his second 30-point performance in three games, finishing with 32 points, and grabbed 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double. The Beavers shot 8-10 from the foul line and finished with 13 turnovers. Holcomb was led by Kaeden Hardy and Korbin Johnson with 14 points apiece, and Brody Deniston added 12. The Longhorns had only five turnovers and went 10-15 from the free throw line.
It was the 67th meeting between the schools, as Scott City now leads the series 34-33. The Beavers won in Holcomb for the first time since February 3, 2020.
Coach Brian Gentry Postgame
Box Score
Scott City 14 16 12 12–54
Holcomb 8 13 19 12–52
Scott City (5-1, 1-1): Ruelas 3 0-0 7; Radke 1 1-2 4; Faurot 0 0-0 0; Meza 3 0-0 7; Tarango 2 0-0 4; Wren 0 0-0 0; Rumford 12 7-8 32; Team: 21 8-10 54
Holcomb (5-1, 1-1): A. Sullivan 1 0-0 3; B. Sullivan 0 0-0 0; Deniston 3 4-4 12; Hardy 5 0-0 14; Johnson 3 6-9 14; Brown 1 0-0 2; Herrell 2 2-2 7; Leonard 0 0-0 0; Team: 15 12-15 52
Three-Point Goals: Scott City 4 (Ruelas 1, Radke 1, Meza 1, Rumford 1), Holcomb 10 (Hardy 4, Deniston 2, Johnson 2, A. Sullivan 1, Herrell 1); Turnovers: Scott City 13, Holcomb 5; Fouls: Scott City 15, Holcomb 12, Fouled Out: Holcomb (Herrell).
Scott City will return to the courts on Tuesday, January 7, 2025, when they play at Cimarron. Holcomb will also play on January 7, 2025, when they visit Goodland.
