Scott City and Hugoton split doubleheader

Hugoton, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It was the Great West Activities Opener for Scott City and Hugoton on Friday night at Hugoton High School. Both sets of teams entered with 2-2 records. In both games, a second half rally would take place, as the Lady Beavers rallied for a 42-40 win, while the Eagle boys rallied for a 66-55 win.

Scott City girls 42, Hugoton 40
Friday night’s girls game would come down to free throws. Scott City was able to hit them, while Hugoton struggled at the line. The Lady Beavers jumped out early to an 8-2 lead, only to see the Lady Eagles rally to pull to within 10-8 after the first quarter. Scott City would see their field goal shooting struggles carry into the second quarter. Hugoton (2-3, 0-1 GWAC) went on a 19-6 run to take a 27-16 halftime lead. The Lady Beavers hit only one field goal in the second period. In the third, they would finally start hitting their shots. An 11-5 Scott City (3-2, 1-0 GWAC) run pulled them to within 32-27 after three quarters. The Lady Beavers scored the last four points of the third period and the first four in the fourth frame to get to within one with 6:26 left at 32-31. Hugoton would hold off Scott City for a while, but the Lady Beavers would cash in on free throws down the stretch. Scott City would retake the lead at the line three times in the final four minutes of the game, and took the lead for good with 1:11 left at 41-40. A late free throw with 19 seconds left gave the Lady Beavers a two-point edge. The Lady Eagles had one more shot, and actually had an open three in the corner, but missed. Scott City got the rebound and ran out the clock on a game that had six ties and six lead changes. The Lady Beavers have won in Hugoton for the second straight year, and have opened up conference play 1-0 for the third straight year.

Emily Weathers led Scott City with 10 points and Lyndi Rumford added nine. They were 21-30 at the free throw line and finished with 21 turnovers. Hugoton got 19 points from Jordyn Beard. The Lady Eagles were just 7-22 from the line and had 30 turnovers. Hugoton won the rebounding edge 42-18.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Hugoton Boys 66, Scott City 55
Just like the girls game, the Scott City boys jumped out early on, and led 7-2 with three minutes remaining in the opening period. They led 14-9 after the opening quarter and built their lead to 23-16 with 3:37 left in the first half. Hugoton would use a 9-2 run to tie the game at 25 with 2:17 left in the first half, only to see the Beavers end the half on a 6-2 run to lead 31-27 at the break. In the second half, the Eagles used a 10-0 run to lead 37-21 with 4:39 left in the third quarter. They would not surrender the lead the rest of the night. Scott City (2-3, 0-1 GWAC) rallied with a 7-2 run to get to within 39-38 with two minutes left in the third quarter. That’s when Hugoton (3-2, 1-0) started up their second 1-0 run of the second half. The Eagles led 43-38 after three quarters, and grew it to 49-38 with 6:17 left. Scott City made one final surge with an 8-2 run to pull to within 51-46 with 4:59 left, and the closest they got was at 54-51 with 3:31 left. Hugoton closed the game out on an 8-3 run to win 66-55. It was their third straight win in the series, and the fourth in the last five games.

Carlos Montiel led Hugoton with 26 points, while Michael Mirabal added 11. The Eagles had only 12 turnovers and shot just 9-21 from the foul line. Scott City was led by Hunter Yager’s 18 points and Jackson Lewis’ 12 points. They were 6-11 from the line and had 12 turnovers. Hugoton won the rebounding battle 31-21.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Scott City will head to Goodland to wrap up their pre-Christmas schedule on Tuesday, while Hugoton has three weeks off before they host Goodland on January 4, 2019.