Scott City picks up a pair of wins against Holcomb

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Two schools that have turned in to GWAC rivals battled on Friday night at the Scott Community Events Center, as Scott City played their final regular season home games against the Holcomb Longhorns. The night would belong to the Beavers, as neither team trailed, as the girls pulled away for a 54-33 win, while the boys held off the Longhorns in a 56-48 victory.

Scott City Girls 54, Holcomb 33
It may have taken a while to get the scoring going, but Scott City put it together in a 90-second span to get off to a 10-0 lead with 4:30 remaining in the opening stanza. Holcomb would make their first push of the game, using an 8-2 run to get to within 12-8 with 46 seconds left in the first quarter. The Lady Beavers would lead 14-8 after one, and jump out to a 24-10 lead at the 5:12 mark of the first half. A 10-2 Lady Longhorn run pulled them to within 26-20 with 2:11 left before the break. Scott City would push their lead back to nine at 33-24 at the break. Holcomb scored the first points of the second half to get to within 33-26, but that was as close as it would be the rest of the night. The Lady Beavers used a 10-2 run to close the third quarter to take a 43-28 lead after three quarters. Scott City (17-2, 7-2 GWAC) would see their run be 16-0, as they took a 53-28 lead with 3:46 left. Holcomb (6-13, 3-6) would score only nine points in the second half, as they closed the game with five of the final six points to make the final 54-33.

Leading the way for Scott City was Emily Weathers with 15 points, while Brynn McCormick had 12. The Lady Beavers shot 12-15 from the free throw line, and committed 12 turnovers. Nicole Ruda led Holcomb with 15 points, as they were just 4-14 at the foul line with 23 turnovers. The Lady Longhorns won the rebounding edge 31-26.

Scott City has now won nine straight in the series, and 10 of the last 11. Holcomb still leads the all-time series 29-26. The win clinched the top seed in sub-state for Scott City, as they own the tiebreaker over Colby by winning two out of three games this year. Holcomb has the seventh seed.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Scott City Boys 56, Colby 48
For a while, it looked like it would take an act of congress for someone to score. It would be Scott City scoring the first points at the 5:18 mark of the opening frame, and they would score the first six points of the game to lead 6-0. Holcomb’s first points didn’t come until 1:30 left in the first quarter, and they would close on a 7-1 run to pull to within 8-7 after eight minutes of play. The Beavers would drain four three’s for their first points of the second to open a 20-9 lead with 4:37 left before halftime. After trailing 22-11, the Longhorns responded with a 10-4 run to close the half to get to within 26-21. Scott City (10-9, 5-4 GWAC) led 34-23 with 2:31 left in the third quarter, before an 8-1 rally put Holcomb back in the game at 35-31 after three periods. The Beavers pulled away in the fourth quarter, and took a 49-38 lead with 2:09 left, and held off every Longhorn rally attempt down the stretch to take a 56-48 win. Holcomb (12-7, 4-5) never led in the game.

Hunter Yager would lead Scott City with 18 points, while Parker Gooden added 12 and Evyan Smith had 10. The Beavers hit 12-17 free throws in the final period to finish 14-21 for the game, and had 12 turnovers. Holcomb got 21 points from Jackson Stoppel and 13 by Zephyn Mason. The Longhorns finished 11-16 at the line and had 13 turnovers. Both teams had 21 rebounds.

With the win, Scott City swept the regular season series from Holcomb for the first time since 2013, and won two straight in the series since March 2, 2013 and January 14, 2014. The Beavers lead the all-time series 31-25. The win also secured the fifth spot in sub-state seeding for Scott City, while Holcomb remains tied with Colby for the third spot.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame