Scott City boys hold off Garden City; Girls blow out Kansas City Christian

Garden City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Saturday was a good day for the Scott City Beaver boys and girls basketball teams on the final day of the Clarion Inn Roundball Classic. The final game of the weekend featuring Scott City and Garden City on the boys side would end up being an “instant classic”. In the final minutes, the Buffaloes cut the Scott City lead form six to one in a matter of 20 seconds. Following one Beaver free throw, Garden City was unable to get a shot off in time, as Scott City escaped with a 65-63 win in The Garden. As for the Lady Beavers, they were dominant in a 51-18 win over Kansas City Christian to win their first game of the year.

Scott City saw their girls team take the court first in the afternoon. It was a bit of a slow start for the Lady Beavers, as Kansas City Christian took an early 5-1 lead with 5:52 left in the first quarter. After that, it was pretty much all Scott City. The Lady Beavers would score the games next 14 points to take a 15-5 lead with under a minute left in the opening quarter. Kansas City Christian (0-4) scored the next four points to pull to within 15-9 in the first 30 seconds of the the second quarter. Scott City socred seven straight and would eventually take a 26-12 lead into the locker room. The Lady Panthers had close to a six-minute scoring drought in the second quarter. In the second half, the Lady Beavers pulled away, outscoring KC Christian 11-5 in the third quarter to lead 37-17 going into the final eight minutes of play. In face, the Lady Panthers would only score one point in the games final 9:48 of the game, as Scott City (1-2) used a 14-1 run in the final frame en route to their first win of the year. Leading the charge for the Lady Beavers was Nicole Latta with 11 points, while Kiana Yager added nine. All eight players that checked into the game for Scott City scored. Kansas City Christian was led by Callie Edred with 11 points. She scored the teams first 10 points. The win by Scott City was their biggest win since a 58-29 win over Sunrise Christian on January 24, 2014 at the Colby Orange & Black Classic. The win also snapped a 13-game losing streak dating back to January 23, 2015. It was also the first win for head coach Sarah McCormick in Scott City.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

The finale of the night and of the weekend might have had the best game of the weekend. Four lead changes and two ties occurred, all in the first half, as neither team led by double digits. In fact, Scott City’s biggest lead was at 20-11, and Garden City had a four point lead at 26-22. Both teams were definitely amped up in their first meeting in nearly four decades, as they missed a combined three shots from the field in the first quarter. The Beavers had the first big run of the game, as they used a 9-2 run in a two-minute span to lead by nine with 1:11 remaining in the first quarter. Garden City (3-3) would score 15 of the games next 17 points after that, and led 26-22 with 5:42 left before halftime. Scott City would counter with an 11-2 run over the next three minutes to lead 33-28 with 2:23 to go before intermission. The Buffaloes woud cut it to three at the break at 37-34. In the second half, neither team would score more than five points, despite the Beavers leading the whole way. In the third quarter, both teams slowed down the scoring, as Scott City (2-1) would outscore the Buffaloes 10-9 to take a 47-43 lead going into the final quarter. Garden City in that third frame would get to within 44-43 with just over a minute left in the period, and Dylan Hutchins put the Beavers up going into the final quarter. In the fourth quarter, both teams kept the fans on the edge of their seats. When it looked like Scott City would start pulling away, Garden City found ways to fight back. The biggest lead for the Beavers in the final quarter would come halfway through the fourth stanza at 56-48. That’s when the Buffaloes would start chipping away at the deficit. A 7-2 Garden City run in a one minute span got the Buffs to within 58-55 with 3:09 left. Scott City scored the next four points and led 62-58 with 2:08 remaining. After it was 64-58 with 1:16 remaining, Garden City made one big surge to get it to a one possession game in a matter of 20 seconds, as Scott Schmidt would score in the paint, and Garrett Doll’s three point basket pulled the Buffs to within 64-63 with 42.5 seconds left. The Beavers withstood the final surge, despite missing five of their last six free throws. Garden City had one more chance, but a missed layup by Jared Koster that would not have counted would give Scott City their bounceback win. Three Beavers would finish in double figures, led by senior Dylan Hutchins with 18, Bo Hess had 14 and Justin Faurot had 11. Scott City shot 58% from the field for the game. Garden City got 20 points each from Jared Koster and Garrett Doll off the bench. The Buffaloes shot 51% for the game.

Assistant Coach Alex Hutchins Postgame