Scott City splits home doubleheader with Colby
Scott City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–As the arctic air cooled things off outside, the shooting was warm on Monday night inside the Scott Community Events Center, as Scott City played host to the Colby Eagles in a doubleheader that had postseason and GWAC implications. In a pair of good contest, the Lady Eagles would hold on for a 49-47 win, while the Beaver boys torched the nets from three-point range to upend Colby 76-65.
Colby Girls 49, Scott City 47
Things looked easy early on for the No. 4 ranked team in Class 3A, as they started out with a 13-2 lead with 3:14 left in the first quarter. After they took a 28-14 lead with 2:58 left before halftime, Colby (17-2, 11-0 GWAC) saw their lead diminish, as the Lady Beavers would score the final five points in the first half to lead 28-19. Scott City (10-8, 4-6) used their bench to get back in to the game, and then a balanced attack in the second half would get them back in to the game, using a 14-1 run to get to within 29-28 with 4:32 left in the third quarter. The Lady Eagles were able to get big shots to maintain the lead, and took a 36-33 lead in to the fourth quarter. To open the fourth quarter, the Lady Beavers took their first lead at 37-36, as the lead changed six times in the final frame, and was tied twice. Scott City’s biggest lead came at two on a pair of occasions. Avery Lewis gave the Lady Beavers the lead with 1:44 left at 44-42, only to see Logan Nolan drain a three in the left corner with 1:27 left to propel Colby to seven straight points. The Lady Beavers had chances to retake the lead down the strech, but a pair of costly turnovers would hinder their chances, as they fell 49-47.
Alisabeth Barton led the way for Colby with 23 points, as the Lady Eagles went 12-15 from the free throw line. They would have 12 turnovers. Avery Lewis led Scott City with a career-high 22 points. The Lady Beavers went 12-16 at the charity line and had 19 turnovers.
With the win, Colby clinched the GWAC title outright for the first time since 2012, and also clinched the top seed in the Scott City region. It was their eighth straight win in the series, as they hold a 63-18 edge since 1980. Scott City remains in position for their first sub-state first round home game since 2020, as they are in the No. 6 spot, leading by 1/2 game over Beloit, Larned and Russell. Beloit & Larned are 9-8, and Russell is 10-9.
Coach Justin Faurot Postgame
Box Score
Colby 19 9 8 13–49
Scott City 10 9 14 14–47
Colby (17-2, 11-0): Nolan 3 0-0 9; Holzmeister 1 1-2 3; Vaughn 0 0-0 0; Cheney 0 0-0 0; A. Flanagin 2 0-0 5; Barton 6 10-11 23; E. Flanagin 0 0-0 0; Stanley 4 1-2 9; Team: 16 12-15 49
Scott City (10-8, 4-6): K. Gentry 0 0-0 0; Fox 1 0-0 2; Metzger 2 0-0 5; Irvin 0 0-0 0; P. Gentry 3 1-2 8; Weathers 2 2-3 6; Lewis 6 7-7 22; Felker 0 0-0 0; Trout 1 2-4 2; Team: 15 12-16 47
Three-Point Goals: Colby 5 (Nolan 3, A. Flanagin 1, Barton 1), Scott City 5 (Lewis 3, Metzger 1, P. Gentry 1); Turnovers: Colby 12, Scott City 19; Fouls: Colby 14, Scott City 17; Fouled Out: Scott City (Fox).
Scott City Boys 76, Colby 65
For nearly three quarters, the game would be played within two possessions. A game that saw 10 lead changes and seven ties saw both teams score at a high clip, as the first quarter ended with a tie game at 19. When you thought Scott City (14-4, 6-4 GWAC) would get a run going, the Eagles would respond with a run of their own. Colby (11-8, 6-5) would trail 30-28 with 2:11 left before the break, before they scored five straight, and eventually led 35-33 at the break. The Eagles would lead by four points early in the second half at 37-33, which ended up being their largest lead of the night. Trailing 41-39 with 6:20 left in the third quarter, the Beavers used a 9-0 run to go up 48-41 at the midway mark of the third stanza. That run would see Scott City start pulling away. They led by nine late in the third period, before a late Colby basket made it 56-49 Beavers after three quarters. Scott City scored the first five points of the fourth quarter, to have their first double-digit lead at 61-49 with 6:31 left. A run of 9-2 over a nearly four-minute stretch of the fourth quarter saw the Beavers lead 70-53 with 2:12 left. Colby fought back with an 8-1 run and got no closer than nine in the final minute, as Scott City takes the win 76-65.
Alex Tarango poured in a career-high 22 points, with 15 coming after halftime, while Eloy Ruelas had a season-high 16 points, Jackson Rumford added 15 points, and Junior Meza added 11. Scott City was 7-13 from the foul line and had nine turnovers. They hit a season-high 13 three’s. Colby was led by Jordan Jones with 28 points, Guy Tubbs with 20 and Brayden Foss finished with 10. The Eagles were 6-8 from the foul line and had 15 turnovers.
Scott City has now won back to back home games against Colby for the first time since 2017 & 2018. Their 76 points where the most against the Eagles since 2015. Colby leads the series 45-37 since 1980. The Beavers are in a tie for the four seed in the Scott City Regional standings. They are tied with Norton. Holcomb is currently in the No. 3 position by 1/2 game, and Beloit is in the sixth spot at 13-4. Colby is currently in the No. 7 spot.
Coach Brian Gentry Postgame
Box Score
Colby 19 16 14 16–65
Scott City 19 14 23 20–76
Colby (11-8, 6-5): Foss 2 4-4 10; Carroll 1 0-0 2; Kersenbrock 2 0-0 5; Tubbs 9 2-2 20; Jones 13 0-2 28; Stephens 0 0-0 0; Team: 27 6-8 65
Scott City (14-4, 6-4): Ruelas: 6 1-2 16; Radke 3 2-4 8; Faurot 0 0-0 0; Meza 4 2-3 12; Tarango 8 1-2 22; Rumford 6 1-2 15; Bailey 1 0-0 3; Cook 0 0-0 0; Team: 28 7-13 76
Three-Point Goals: Colby 5 (Foss 2, Jones 2, Kersenbrock 1), Scott City 13 (Tarango 5, Ruelas 3, Meza 2, Rumford 2, Bailey 1); Turnovers: Colby 15, Scott City 9; Fouls: Colby 14, Scott City 12; Fouled Out: None.
Scott City has two more games this week, as they will be at Hugoton on Thursday and will host Cimarron to wrap up the regular season on Friday. Colby will host Hugoton on Friday to close out the regular season.
