Scott City sweep!; Beavers pick up doubleheader win over Mustangs

Kismet, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–The biggest concern for both Scott City teams entering Tuesday’s games at Southwestern Heights was that they had no school, and would be out of their routine. While it did possibly show early on, it didn’t when it mattered the most. The Beavers boys and girls basketball teams pick up wins to start the 2017 portion of their schedule, as the girls blew the game open in the second half, with a 57-39 win, while the boys survived every Mustang surge in a 57-44 win. Tuesday’s games start a stretch of 10 games in the month of January.

Girls
Southwestern Heights led 4-0 and 8-4 before Scott City got things going. Trailing 8-4 with 4:26 in the opening frame, the Lady Beavers scored seven unanswered to take the 11-8 lead. Both teams would trade leads late, before Scott City (3-3) led 14-13 after the first quarter. In the second period, both teams had issues hitting a field goal. The Mustangs would hit the lone field goal in the quarter, which came late in the first half. Despite that, the Lady Beavers were able to extend their lead to 22-19 at the break. Scott City would take over the second half. They hit three three-pointers, and explode for 19 third quarter points to take a 41-31 lead after three quarters. Southwestern Heights (2-4) struggled in the fourth quarter, as they score only three points. The Lady Beavers blew the game wide open, when they used a 13-0 run over a three-minute, 20-second stretch to lead 50-31 with 5:04 remaining. While Scott City settled down, the Lady Mustangs went cold from the field, hitting only one field goal over the final 9:23 of the game. The Lady Beavers led by 23 points on a pair of occasions, including the final score. Macie Price had a career-high 12 points to lead Scott City, while Emily Smith had a career-high nine points off the bench. The Lady Beavers committed only 14 turnovers, and were 16-29 from the free throw line. Southwestern Heights was led by Jennifer Chavez and Brittany Jennings with nine points apiece. The Lady Mustangs were 13-20 from the foul line, and committed 20 turnovers. With the win, Scott City won their third consecutive road game for the first time since 2009-10, and are 3-3 in their first six games for the first time since the 2011-12 season.

Coach Sarah McCormick Postgame

Boys
For a second straight game, Scott City got off to a hot start. While it took a little longer this time around, the Beavers used a 14-0 run to end the final 3:29 of the first quarter to take a 17-3 lead after the first quarter. They also held Southwestern Heights without a field goal for the first 8:30 of the game. While it was a good first quarter for Scott City, it wasn’t nearly as good in the second, as they played more into the Mustangs’ game plan. Southwestern Heights (3-3) would chip away in the second quarter, using a 9-2 run to pull to within 22-16 with 3:31 remaining in the half. The Beavers were also scoreless for just over four minutes, and eventually scored the half’s final four points to take a 28-18 lead at the break. Scott City (5-1) would build their lead to 35-23 with 1:28 remaining in the third period, only to see Southwestern Heights pull to within 35-28 with a minute left in the quarter. That’s the closest the Mustangs got the rest of the way. Leading 39-28 going into the final eight minutes, the Beavers used an 11-4 run to push their lead to their biggest of the night at 50-32 with 3:26 left. From there, they withstood one final Southwestern Heights surge, en route to their fourth consecutive win over the Mustangs since 2013. Three players finished in double figures for Scott City, as they were led by Jordan Horn’s 18 points, while Bo Hess finished with 13 and Drew Duff added 10. Scott City was 13-17 at the free throw line, and committed 10 turnovers, all coming in the last three quarters. Southwestern Heights had only four players score, with three finishing with double figures. Raul Alvarado led the way with 15 points, while Marcos Aguirre added 13 and Juan Garcia finished with 11. The Mustangs had 14 turnovers and were 13-17 at the foul line. With the win, Scott City has now won 24 straight games over current and former Hi-Plains League teams since 2008. They also have won their first three true road games for a second consecutive season, and in six of the last seven seasons. 

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Scott City returns home for the first time since December 9, as they host the Ulysses Tigers Friday night. The Ulysses girls defeated Lakin 40-28 to improve to 4-3, while the Tiger boys won 61-42 over the Broncs to improve to 4-3. Southwestern Heights travels next Tuesday to Meade.