A Tiger sweep; GCHS heads off Guymon
Garden City, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-All ends well when you shoot well. Garden City has lived and died by that trend all year. Friday was no different.
Jared Koster and Caleb Tramp combined for 27 points, and the Buffaloes shot 43 percent from the floor (58 percent in the first half) on their way to a 60-51 victory over Guymon at the Garden.
“We’re still not where I want us,” Buffaloes Head Coach Jacy Holloway said after the game. “We need to improve our defense. It’s still not where it needs to be.”
The 1996 Chicago Bulls defense wouldn’t have had an answer in the early going as both teams came out red hot. Guymon (13-6) hit 8-of-their-first-10 shots while Garden City (10-6, 4-0) was 10-of-14 in the first eight minutes.
“We came out and shot it well,” Holloway said. “For the most part, we got we wanted offensively.”
Still, the Buffaloes suffered through the same scoring lulls that have burned them on more than one occasion this season. On Friday, the drought almost came back to bite them.
Leading 40-29 with 7:20 left in the third, the Buffaloes had a chance to put an early dagger in the upstart Tigers. But over the next nine minutes, Guymon’s defense stiffened, sparking a 14-4 run to close the gap to one.
“It’s happened to us a lot,” Holloway said when asked about the scoring drought. “It all goes back to energy and consistency.”
Lifeless for more than a quarter and half, Holloway finally got the surge he’d been looking for. Tramp injected life back into the Garden crowd with a rim-rocking jam. Koster followed that with a triple from the right corner-spearheading a 9-0 run. Then Miguel Olivas, who was the one bright spot in an otherwise spotty defensive performance, dove on the floor for a crucial steal in the final minute, putting the game away.
“We faced a lot of adversity in this game,” Holloway said. “Guymon is a really solid team. They do so many things well. Defensively, I’ll say it again: we have to get better.”
It didn’t help matters that Holloway’s rim protector Luis Rodriguez was lost for the season last week after tearing his ACL against Ulysses. Junior Jesus Reyes promptly stepped up in his absence.
“I though Jesus played well,” Holloway said. “He’ll get there.”
Reyes finished with six points and two rebounds. Koster scored 14 and Tramp tallied 13, despite shooting just 4-of-15 from the floor. Olivas and Akil Love each added 12 points apiece.
Angel Vega led the Tigers with 14 points and nine boards. Carter Nash scored 13 points, but was 0-for-4 in the second half.
Tip ins: Garden City has now won 14 of the last 16 meetings with the Tigers…Garden City shot 21 free throws; it’s the sixth time this season they’ve shot 20 or more free throws; they’re 3-3 in those games…It’s the seventh time in the last eight games that Garden City shot better than 40 percent…There were four lead changes and two ties…Guymon’s largest lead was one-point in the first quarter
Next up: at Great Bend-Friday, February 13-7:30 p.m. on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com; mobile app: KWKR and tuneinradio app: KWKR
Streaky Buffs tame Tigers
Garden City, KS (westernkansasnews.com)-Garden City girls’ coach David Upton acknowledged how Guymon was a much improved team from years past. But in a page out of Rex Ryan’s gospel, the veteran coach quickly provided the bravado that his team needed:
“Our post players are better than Guymon’s,” Upton said before the tip. “We should dominate.”
And they did. The Buffaloes followed their coach’s statement by demolishing the Tigers on the glass 38-25 in a 65-45 annihilation of Guymon Friday night at the Garden.
“We know we can rebound that way every night,” Upton said. “I’m proud of the way the girls responded to the challenge.”
And the game was never in doubt. After sophomore Sydney Hein gave Guymon (12-7) a 5-4 lead with a 3-pointer from the corner, the Buffaloes put the clamps down-scoring the next 15 points and putting the game out of reach.
And while the defense held Guymon to 32 percent shotting, the offense found its range from long distance-connecting on a season-high seven triples. They finished the night 7-of-19 from downtown.
Abbie Dart scored a team-high 11 points for Garden City (9-7, 2-2), and Cassie Ashlock tallied a season-high eight. Jessica Carrillo fell two points shy (eight) of a double-double with a game-best 13 rebounds. In all, 12 different Buffalo players found their way into the scorebook.
Hein notched a game-high 19 points for Guymon. Brooke Arledge netted 11.
Next up: at Great Bend-Friday, February 13 5:45 p.m. pregame; 6 p.m. tip on 99.9 FM; westernkansasnews.com; mobile app: KWKR and tuneinradio app: KWKR
