Red Demons split with Spearville

Dodge City, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–For the first time since the 1920’s Dodge City and Spearville met up on the hardwood on Saturday night inside the Dodge City Fieldhouse. The schools would split the doubleheader, as the Lady Lancers held off Dodge City 42-37, while the Red Demon boys used a strong second half to to blow past the Lancers 81-45.

Spearville Girls 42, Dodge City 37
The opening game of the night would see the teams never build a lead bigger than five points, with seven ties and seven lead changes. Spearville had the first run of the night with six straight to lead 11-7 after the first quarter. To open the second frame, Dodge City countered with six straight of their own to lead 13-11 wiht 5:20 remaining before the break. The Lancers responded with a 10-3 run over a four minute stretch of the second qurater to build a 21-16 lead at the 1:18 mark of the second quarter, before the Lady Demons put up the final three points of the half to pull to within 21-19. Dodge City (1-1) scored back to back triples to open the second half to have their largest lead at 25-21 with 5:39 left in the third frame. Spearville (1-1) responded with a 9-1 run over two inutes and led 30-26 late in the third quarter. They would never trail the rest of the way. The Lady Red Demons had pulled to within a single point three times in the final quarter, with several opportunities to reclaim the lead, only to see the Lady Lancers come up with an answer each time. Spearville led 39-37 with 47 seconds left, and would be fouled 20 seconds later to send them to the line. They hit the free throws to go up three, and in the waning seconds, a basket put the game on ice for a 42-37 win.

Aubree Ruiz led the way for Spearville with 12 points, with six big points in the final period, while Cheyenne Ackerman added 11 points and nine boards. The Lady Lancers shot 30% for the game, and despite going 5-13 from the free throw line, they hit their lone attempts in the second half. They committed 21 turnovers and outrebounded Dodge City 44-35, as their 20 offensive rebounds led to 16 second chance points.

The Lady Red Demons were paced by Emily Gutierrez wiuth 20 points, fighting foul trouble all night, before fouling out with 27.7 seconds remaining. Piper Mellinger added seven points. Dodge City shot 26% for the game, and went 9-14 from the foul line. They had 20 turnovers and scored 14 points off turnovers.

It was the first game in the series since 1921. Dodge City now leads the series 11-8.

Dodge City Boys 81, Spearville 45
Don’t let the final fool you. It was a tight game in the first half. The second half would be lopsided for the homestanding Red Demons. Even though Dodge City led for nearly the entire first half, Spearville stayed within striking distance. The Lancers tied the game in the first quarter at seven, before the Red Demons went on a 13-9 run over a four-minute strech of the first quarter to lead 23-17 after the first quarter. Spearville scored five straight to open the second stanza to get to within 23-22, but Dodge City (1-1) would answer back, before a Lancer triple gave them a 28-27 lead with 4:22 left before the break. The Red Demons responded to take the lead back, before a Spearville basket tied the game with 3:21 left in the second quarter at 30. Dodge City would score the next six points, while the Lancers responded with the final four points of the half to pull to within 36-34 at intermission. To open the second half, Dodge City used a 16-2 run to open up a 52-36 lead with a little over two minutes left in the third quarter. Spearville (1-1) pulled to within 55-41 with under a minute remaining in the period, before the Red Demons closed the quarter with the final four points of the quarter to lead 59-41. Dodge City continued their hot streak with a 22-4 fourth quarter run, en route to the 81-45 win. They outscored the Lancers 45-11 in the second half.

Isai Reyes led Dodge City with 16 points, while Ty Sheck added 15 points, as the Red Demons played 16 players and saw 11 score. They shot 54% from the field and went 13-23 from the free throw line. Dodge City scored 42 points off 27 Lancer turnovers. The Red Demons had 13 turnovers, and outrebounded Spearville 35-26.

Ian Melendez led Spearville with 24 points and nine rebounds. He scored 20 points on 8-9 shooting in the first half. The Lancers shot 40% for the game and went 6-10 from the foul line.

The teams met for the first time since 1929, and the Red Demons now lead the series 34-7.

Jeff Williamson Postgame

Dodge City will be on the road on Friday and Saturday, as they will take on Manhattan on Friday night and play at Junction City Saturday afternoon. Spearvill returns home to host the Windmill Classic, facing off against South Gray on Tuesday.