Scott City splits doubleheader with Hugoton

Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Over nearly six decades, Scott Community High School gymnasium has seen some thrillers and outstanding play. Friday night’s GWAC opener saw a curtain call that saw games decided late, as Scott City hosted Hugoton. The teams who are currently ranked No. 5 in the latest KBCA Polls would find a way to win late, as they Lady Beavers rallied for a 61-56 win, while the Eagle boys survived with a 69-67 victory.

Scott City Girls 61, Hugoton 56
Scott City Coach Sarah McCormick knew that their biggest test of the season was ahead of them with Hugoton coming to town. The Lady Eagles would push the Lady Beavers to the very end, but the more experienced Scott City squad would come out on top in a game that saw eight ties and 11 lead changes. In the opening two minutes, the Lady Beavers would jump out to a 9-4 lead, before both teams exchanged runs of eight straight. Scott City led 17-13 after the first eight minutes. Hugoton would jump out with the first five points of the second half, and used a 10-4 run to lead 23-21 with 2:41 left in the break, before settling for a 25-24 lead at intermission. The Lady Beavers would open the second half with a 6-2 run to lead 30-27, just 92 seconds into the half. Their lead would be at 37-36 with a little over two minutes left in the third frame, before Hugoton closed out with six of the final eight points of the period to lead 42-31 heading into the fourth quarter. Scott City (5-0, 1-0 GWAC) trailed 46-43 with 6:35 left. After that, the Lady Beavers went on a run and never looked back. a 10-2 run over the next four minutes gave them a 56-48 with 1:04 left. Their lead grew to nine at 59-50 with 34 seconds left. Hugoton (2-3, 0-1) hit a pair of three’s around two Scott City free throws to make the final 61-56.

Leading the charge for Scott City was Brynn McCormick, with a career-high 25 points, while Emily Weathers added 17 and Lyndi Rumford had 10. Rumford exited the game in the first quarter, and returned mid to late second quarter with an ankle injury that she would gut out. The Lady Beavers were 9-10 at the foul line in the fourth quarter and finished 17-20 unofficially for the game, and had 17 turnovers. Hugoton was led by Jordyn Beard with 16 points, Giana Vos with 13 and Summya Adigun with 12. The Lady Eagles finished 17-19 at the free throw line and had 18 turnovers. They outrebounded Scott City 28-25.

With the win, Scott City has won four straight over Hugoton, which hasn’t happened since March of 1998 to January of 2011. The Lady Eagles lead the series since 1989 21-12. The Lady Beavers are 5-0 for the first time since the 1998-99 season, and won their league opener for a fourth consecutive season.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Hugoton Boys 69, Scott City 67
For whatever reason, Scott City and Hugoton have had some outstanding games over the past five seasons at Scott Community High School gymnasium. While the Eagles have won the previous four games in the building, they all came with a slim margin. Every game including last years 79-78 double overtime thriller had been decided by four or less points in Scott City, and this one would be no exception. Hugoton looked like they would control the game in the first half, using a 9-2 run over a two-minute stretch to lead 13-8 with three minutes left in the first quarter. They would grow their lead out to 20-14 after the opening period. In the second, the Eagles led 24-14 with 6:36 left before the break, before Scott City responded to a 7-2 run to get to within 26-21 midway through the second period. Hugoton responded with a 9-2 run to take their largest lead at 35-23 with 1:32 left before the break, as the Beaver scored the final four points of the half to get within 35-27 at the break. Scott City would finally hit their three pointers in the second half. Everytime they would pull to within four or five points for a good stretch of the second half, the Eagles would answer back with a big shot. Hugoton (5-0, 1-0 GWAC) led 52-44 after three quarters, and by nine at 57-48 with 5:37 left. Scott City would begin a big surge after trailing 59-52 with 3:38 remaining. A 7-1 run got them to within 60-59 with 2:16 left. The Eagles answered with three straight to lead 63-61 with 1:41 left. That’s when it looked like the game would change in favor of the Beavers. Scott City got a bucket with 1:27 left to get to within 63-61. Then a foul on Hugoton, followed by a technical foul, put Jackson Lewis at the line with 1:18 left. Lewis hit all four free throws to give the Beavers a 65-63 lead. That lead would be short lived, as the Eagles stole the ball and tied it up with 46 seconds left at 65. The Beavers responded with two more free throws to lead 67-65 with 38.1 seconds left. Hugoton drove down and drew a foul. Their free throws by Sawyer Harper tied the game at 67 with 21.3 seconds left. After Scott City (2-3, 0-1) missed a go ahead layup, the Eagles sent Trevor Bogan to the free throw line with 3.9 seconds left, and he would hit two free throws to give Hugoton the 69-67 lead. The Beavers would throw away the inbounds, but the Eagles missed two free throws. Scott City had one more chance, but a three pointer for the win was on target, but fell short, as Hugoton takes the 69-67 win. 

Hugoton was led by Wyatt Angell with 15 points, 13 from Jayce Korf and 11 apiece by Trevor Bogan Haden Daharsh. The Eagles went 14-21 at the line and had 15 turnovers. Scott City got a career-high 21 from Jackson Lewis, 16 by Hunter Yager, and a career-high 12 from Parker Gooden. The Beavers were 11-14 at the line in the fourth period, and ended up 19-25 for the game. They had 11 turnovers, and outrebounded Hugoton 27-25.

With the win, Hugoton improves to 5-0, and have now won six straight in the series, their longest run in the last 30 years. Scott City leads the series since 1989 18-14. The Beavers drop their conference opener for the second straight season.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Scott City will remain at home, but will play in a brand new facility at the Scott Community Events Center at Scott City Middle School on Tuesday, January 7, 2020, as they host the Goodland Cowboys. Hugoton will face Goodland for their next game on the road on Friday, January 10 2020.