Beavers pull away from Hoisington to reach sub-state final
Hoisington, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Hoisington would outscore Scott City 45-31 in the second half in the season opener to win in Scott City 62-55. Three months later, the Beavers looked to avenge their season-opening loss on the road in sub-state play on Tuesday night at the Hoisington Activity Center in hopes of reaching Friday’s sub-state championship game. It was a night where Scott City dominated defensively, and domintated the boards en route to a 51-35 win over the Cardinals.
Scott City started out 9-2 with 4:33 left in the opening quarter, and led 13-7 after the first eight minutes of play. The Cardinals responded with seven straight to pull to within 13-12 with 5:48 left before the break. Hoisington tied the game up twice, with the last coming at 16 all at the 3:04 mark of the second period. Scott City (13-9) closed out the final 2:09 with seven straight, and got a corner three from Avery Radke to take a 23-16 lead at the break. Another Beaver three pushed the lead to 26-16 with 6:41 left in the third stanza. Hoisington (14-11) scored the next seven points to pull to within 26-23 with 5:04 left in the third quarter. They would get no closer the rest of the way. A 12-2 run over the final 4:31 of the third quarter pushed the Scott City lead to 38-25. In the fourth quarter, a 9-2 run in a two-minute stretch would deliver the dagger, giving the Beavers a 50-31 lead with 99 seconds left. The Cardinals scored four of the final six points of the game to make the final 51-35 Beavers.
Junior Meza drained four three’s in the game to lead the Beavers with a game-high 20 points, while Avery Radke added 14. The Beavers shot 11-19 at the foul line and finished with nine turnovers. Hoisington was led by Mason Martin’s 13 points, as they went 8-11 from the free throw line and had nine turnovers as well.
Scott City has won nine of 10 in the series, and now holds a 16-5 advantage in the series. It was the first meeting in sub-state play since March 1, 1983, when Hoisington defeated the Beavers 67-50 in the Russell Sub-State quarterfinal game in Hoisington. Scott City will be playing in their third straight sub-state championship game for the first time since 2015-17.
Coach Brian Gentry Postgame
Box Score
Scott City 13 10 15 13–51
Hoisington 7 9 9 10–35
Scott City (13-9): Tarango 0 0-0 0; Radke 4 4-6 14; Faurot 1 0-1 2; Metzger 0 2-2 2; Irvin 2 3-7 7; Meza 7 2-2 20; Culp 0 0-0 0; Wren 0 0-0 0; Felker 2 0-0 4; Berry 0 0-0 0; Cook 0 0-0 0; Gossman 1 0-1 2; Team: 17 11-19 51
Hoisington (14-11): Mason 1 1-2 3; Ingram 1 2-2 4; Cossel 0 0-0 0; Martin 4 3-3 13; Crawford 1 0-0 3; Eubanks 0 0-0 0; Pfannenstiel 1 1-2 3; Chambers 0 0-0 0; Gruce 3 0-0 6; Merleau 1 1-2 3; Team: 12 8-11 35
Three-Point Goals: Scott City 6 (Meza 4, Radke 2), Hoisington: 3 (Martin 2, Crawford 1); Fouls: Scott City 12, Hoisington 15; Fouled Out: Hoisington (Pfannenstiel).
As the No. 5 seed, Scott City will face the top seed Beloit on Friday at 6 pm at Larned Middle school. The Trojans are 18-4 on the season after their 63-31 win at home against Phillipsburg on Tuesday. This is the first meeting between the two schools since 2015, when Scott City defeated Beloit in the sub-state championship game at Beloit. The 7:30 pm game will feature two teams 17 miles apart, as the No. 2 seed Holcomb faces No. 3 seed Lakin. Friday’s winners will play in the 3A state quarterfinals on Tuesday, March 10. The Longhorns defeated Colby 73-56, while Lakin held off Southwestern Heights 73-63.
