Beavers stampede Bison in Orange and Black finals

Scott City junior Joey Meyer pulls down a rebound during Saturday's tournament championship game against McCook.

By Rod Haxton, editor

Austin Habiger knows his role on the Scott Community High School basketball team.

He’s a zone breaker.

Give the junior guard a little bit of space and he’s capable of knocking down shots all night from beyond the three-point line.

McCook got a first-hand glimpse of Habiger’s shooting skills in Saturday’s championship finals of the Orange and Black Classic in Colby. Coming off the bench, Habiger hit his first three treys of the night to open up a 23-12 lead.

The Beavers went on to stampede the Bison, 63-39, for their first O&B title since 2006.

Both teams exchanged baskets through the first five minutes until Brett O’Neil’s jumper with just under three minutes left in the opening period gave Scott City a 9-8 lead. That’s when Habiger entered the game, quickly knocking down a treys in the first quarter and added another at the 5:17 mark of the second period that put the Beavers on top, 23-12.

Habiger’s treys were part of a 24-8 scoring run that saw them blowing the game wide open. B. O’Neil added a three-point basket and tournament MVP Drew Kite followed with a three-point play, getting the assist from O’Neil, that put the Beavers in control, 31-14. Senior guard Braeden Robinson finished off a 14-4 scoring run in the half with a three-pointer and then, with the clock winding down, he added an off-balance jumper at the buzzer for a 47-24 advantage.

Scott City finished the first half hitting an impressive 7-of-12 from beyond the three-point arc.

As if to put an exclamation point on Scott City’s strong performance, they finished off a 21-4 blitz with seven more unanswered points. Freshman guard Trey O’Neil’s three-point basket with 4:44 remaining in the third period extended the lead to 54-24.

While Scott City’s offensive performance was impressive, it was set up by their second straight standout defensive night in the tournament. A frustrated Bison squad hit just 31 percent (9-of-29) in the first half and saw that slide to just 21 percent (5-of-24) in the second half. McCook was just 1-of-18 from three-point range.

Even though the night was over for the SCHS starters by the end of the third quarter, B. O’Neil still finished with a game high 16 points, followed by Kite who had a double-double with 15 points (5-of-8 FG) and 10 rebounds.