Scott City, Holcomb pull away to set up third meeting in sub-state final

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It is always tough to beat a team three times in a season. That’s what the top two teams in the Scott City sub-state were dealing with Thursday night to start off postseason play. After the night ended, the top two teams advanced to Saturday’s 7:30 sub-state championship game, as Holcomb cruised to the 59-32 victory, while Scott City shook off poor shooting early on to take a 58-47 win over Goodland.

Scott City 58, Goodland 47
It was a return to the scene were nine days ago Scott City defeated Goodland 66-31. The Cowboys made it interesting early, putting a scare into the Beavers through the first nine-plus minutes of the game. Both teams didn’t score for the first four-plus minutes of the game, before Goodland hit four of their next five shots to take an 8-2 lead with 1:14 remaining in the first quarter. In fact, Scott City, ranked No. 9 in Class 4A, Division II, did not have a field goal until the 1:06 mark of the first quarter, as they scored five straight to tie the game at eight late in the first quarter, before the Cowboys led 10-8 after one period. The Beavers trailed 11-8 early in the second, before scoring the next five points. After Goodland (9-12) tied the game at 13 with 6:10 left in the half, it was all Scott City for the rest of the half. The Beavers closed out on a 17-9 run over the final 5:51 of the second quarter to take a 30-22 lead at the break. They led by as many as 10 points in the first half. While the Cowboys hit two straight shots to begin the second half to pull to within 30-27, Scott City (13-8) used a big run to pretty much put the game in doubt. The Beavers went the final 3:44 of the third quarter on a 14-1 run and took a 48-31 lead heading into the fourth quarter. They scored the first two points of the period to give themselves the biggest lead at 50-31, only to see Goodland make one final push. The Cowboys went on a 16-6 run to get it to 56-47 with 26.3 seconds left, before the Beavers hit a pair of free throws late to make it 58-47. Three players reached double figures for Scott City, led by Drew Duff with 14, while Jordan Horn added 11 and Kyle Cure had 1o. The Beavers finished with nine turnovers, and were 12-21 at the foul line. Goodland was led by Levi Archer with 11 points and Dawson Raymer added 10, all in the second half. The Cowboys committed 16 turnovers and were just 5-12 at the free throw line. With the win, Scott City has now won eight straight vs Goodland in sub-state play, and their 10th consecutive vs the Cowboys in Scott City. It is also their ninth straight victory in the series, as they improve to 27-2 vs Goodland since 2000. Scott City also clinched their ninth consecutive sub-state finals appearance. 

Brian Gentry Postgame

Holcomb 59, Colby 32
In the first Sub-State semi-final game of the night, it took about five-and-a-half minutes to get things rolling for the No. 1 team in Class 4A, Division II. Colby and Holcomb were tied at six early on, before the Longhorns took control. They closed out the first quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 19-8 lead after a period, and extended their lead to 32-15 at the half. Holcomb (20-1) cruised in the second half to their 20th straight win. They started the second half on a 15-5 run to lead by as many as 47-20 late in the third quarter, before forcing a running clock in the first minute of the fourth quarter. Colby (4-17) was never able to get a run going all night, as they dropped their ninth consecutive game. Conner VanCleave led all scorers with 10 points, while Kobe Dickson and Brandon Stegman each had 10. The Longhorns won the rebounding advantage 32-14. Brooks Curry led the Eagles with 15 points, as they were 5-10 at the foul line. 

Holcomb and Scott City will battle for the third time this year on Saturday at 7:30 pm. The Longhorns won in Holcomb 57-45 on January 10, and in Scott City 51-44 on February 14. This is the first time since 2013 that the teams will play in the sub-state championship game, and the fifth time in the last 10 seasons they will face off in sub-state play. The Beavers won the matchups in 2011, 2012 and 2013 in sub-state championship play, while Holcomb won in the sub-state semi-finals in 2008. All of those games were in Class 3A play. The game in 2012 was played in Scott City.