February 9, 2025

Scott City wins two over Hugoton to advance to Sterling Invitational final

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Sterling, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–It was a matchup of two GWAC schools on Thursday in Sterling, as Hugoton and Scott City battled to see who would advance to Friday’s Sterling Invitational championship games. The Beavers would be the ones on top in both games, as the girls pulled away in the second half to take a 46-34 win, while the boys won 57-40, as both teams get the last two games in the Sterling Invitational.

Scott City Girls 46, Hugoton 34
Scott City would have a hard time putting away the Lady Eagles, who were down to just seven players suited up due to injuries. A pair of three’s gave the Lady Beavers an earlly 6-0 lead, only to see Hugoton battle back with six straight to tie the game midway through the first quarter. Taking a 15-11 lead in to the second quarter, Scott City (6-5) would grow their lead to 21-15 with around 5:20 left before the half. That would be their last points of the half, as the Lady Eagles battled back to pull to within 21-19 at intermission. In the second half, the Lady Beavers were able to build a two score lead and grow it to 35-28 heading in to the fourth quarter. Hugoton (4-6) was only able to get it to six the rest of the way, as Scott City built their lead to 12 and picked up the 46-34 win.

Leading the way for Scott City was Megan Trout with 14 points, as the Lady Beavers went 9-13 from the free throw line, and committed 18 turnovers. Amiley Lewis had a game-high 17 for the Lady Eagles, who went just 3-9 from the foul line and had 23 turnovers.

With the win, Scott City has now won three straight against Hugoton, the longest since 2018-19. It was the first win on a neutral court against the Lady Eagles since 2011, when they won against Hugoton at the Orange & Black in Colby. Hugoton leads the series 29-16 since 1989. The Lady Beavers will be in their second Sterling Invitational final in three seasons.

Coach Justin Faurot Postgame

Box Score
Scott City 15 6 16 9–46
Hugoton 11 8 9 6–34

Scott City (6-5): K. Gentry 2 0-0 6; Fox 2 2-3 6; Metzger 0 0-0 0; Irvin 1 0-0 3; P. Gentry 0 1-2 1; Weathers 2 2-4 6; Lewis 3 0-0 8; Felker 1 0-0 2; Trout 5 4-4 14; Team: 16 9-13 46
Hugoton (4-6): Lewis 7 1-3 17; Armadariz 1 1-2 3; Gaskill 1 0-2 3; Villegas 1 0-0 2; Arredondo 2 0-0 4; Alfaro 2 1-2 5; Niehues 0 0-0 0; Team: 14 3-9 34

Three-Point Goals: Scott City 5 (K. Gentry 2, Lewis 2, Irvin 1), Hugoton 3 (Lewis 2, Gaskill 1); Turnovers: Scott City 18, Hugoton 23; Fouls: Scott City 11, Hugoton 12; Fouled Out: None.

Scott City Boys 57, Hugoton 40
In a rematch of what was an instant classic in the semi-finals last year that saw Hugoton getting past Scott City in double overtime, the Beavers would jump out early and never trail. Scott City hit their first three shots, plus a free throw, to go up 9-0 in the first two minutes of the game. It wouldn’t take long for the Eagles to get back in to the game, as they rallied for eight straight to pull to witihin 11-8 at the midway mark of the first frame. The Beavers would slowly build their lead back up and took a 23-15 lead after the first quarter. It was a game that Scott City (9-2) would keep Hugoton at arms length, and match every run by the Eagles. The Beavers took their largest lead of the half with 1:10 left at 31-19, before taking a 31-20 halftime lead. At the 4:29 mark of the second quarter, Jackson Rumford would score his 1,000th career point on a alley-hoop from Alex Tarango, and slam it home. Hugoton (4-6) pulled to within 31-24 early in the third quarter, before a 12-2 Beaver run gave them a 43-26 lead late in the third stanza. The Eagles would have one final push as they scored seven straight to make it a 43-33 lead with 6:34 left. Scott City would score on a three a minute later that sparked a 13-2 run to take a 56-35 lead with over two minutes left, befor picking up the 57-40 victory.

Jackson Rumford led the way with 23 points and eight rebounds, while Avery Radke had 11 points and Eloy Ruelas added 10. Scott City was 7-13 from the charity line and had just eight turnovers. Hugoton got 14 points from Jay Acosta, as the Eagles were 12-7 from the foul line and had 15 turnovers.

The win was the first on a neutral court for Scott City over Hugoton since 2002, when they defeated the Eagles in the 4A Sub-State semi-finals in Pratt. Scott City snapped a six-game losing streak to Hugoton in the process, as the Eagles hold a 23-20 series lead since 1989. The Beavers are headed to their first Sterling Invitational final and the first midseason final since 2016.

Coach Brian Gentry Postgame

Box Score
Hugoton 15 5 8 12–40
Scott City 23 8 12 14–57

Hugoton (4-6): Allen 0 0-0 0; Garza 1 0-1 2; Acosta 4 4-4 14; Slocum 0 0-0 0; Hernandez 1 2-2 5; Burrows 0 0-0 0; Delgado 0 1-2 2; Adigun 2 3-4 7; Fajardo 0 0-0 0; Niehues 2 0-0 4; Willis 0 0-0 0; Mauk 2 2-4 7; Team: 12 12-17 40
Scott City (9-2): Metzger 0 0-0 0; Ruelas 3 3-4 10; Stoecklein 0 1-4 1; Radke 4 0-0 11; Faurot 0 0-0 0; Meza 1 0-0 3; Tarango 2 0-0 4; Wren 0 0-0 0; Rumford 9 3-5 23; Bailey 2 0-0 5; Cook 0 0-0 0; Gossman 0 0-0 0; Team: 21 7-13 57

Three-Point Goals: Hugoton 4 (Acosta 1, Hernandez 1, Mauk 1), Scott City 8 (Radke 3, Rumford 2, Ruelas 1, Meza 1, Bailey 1); Turnovers: Hugoton 15, Scott City 8; Fouls: Hugoton 16, Scott City 14; Fouled Out: None.

On the girls side on Thursday, the consolation games saw Sterling defeat Lyons 49-26, and Smoky Valley knock off Hutch Trinity 55-27. Scott City girls will face Southeast of Saline in the championship game at 6 pm, after the Lady Trojans held off Kingman 42-37. Hugoton faces Kingman in the third place game at 3 pm.

The boys consolation games on Thursday saw Southeast of Saline defeat Hutch Trinity 69-48 and Smoky Valley defeat Kingman 62-45. Scott City will play Sterling for the Sterling Invitational championship at 7:30 pm Friday, as the Black Bears defeated Lyons 64-57. Hugoton faces Lyons at 4:30 pm in the third place game.