SCHS boys shut down Colby, 69-51, in tourney

Scott City's Ron Baker scores two of his game high 22 points during a consolation game against Colby on Friday.

By Rod Haxton, editor

When you’re playing Colby in front of their home crowd, the best strategy is to take their fans out of the game as quickly as possible.

The Scott Community High School boys were able to do just that with outstanding defense in Friday’s consolation semi-finals of the Orange and Black Tournament.

Colby didn’t score their first basket of the game until :45 left in the first quarter, after the Beavers had already built a 20-0 cushion. Despite a brief second half run by the Eagles, Scott City (6-4) was able to cruise to 69-51 win and advance to Saturday’s fourth place game.

Scott City’s full-court pressure forced the Eagles into 13 first half turnovers and a frigid 7-of-25 (28 percent) shooting from the field. At the same time, the Beavers were able to convert several turnovers into 14 points while hitting 13-of-27 from the floor in the first half.

“We aren’t going to have success with full-court pressure against everyone, but there are times when it can be pretty effective for us,” says head coach Glenn O’Neil.

Colby was able to make the game a little more interesting when they sliced what had been a 22 point deficit to just 10 points, 41-31, early in the third period. Freshman Brett O’Neil drilled a trey from the corner that began a 10-0 run for the Beavers, pushing the lead to 53-33 following junior guard Ron Baker’s basket to open the fourth quarter.

Despite Scott City’s aggressive defense, it was Colby that found itself in foul trouble early in the game. SCHS took advantage by hitting 20-of-26 free throws. Baker’s ability to drive to the basket frustrated the Colby defense which repeatedly put him on the line where he was 9-of-10 on his way to a game high 22 points to go along with five rebounds and four steals.

Senior forward Austin Davis continues to become more of a factor on offense with 11 points on 4-of-6 from the field, which contributed to Scott City’s 26-16 scoring advantage in the paint.

O’Neil added nine points while Braeden Robinson and Jorden Funk each finished with five.

The Beavers will face Wichita South in the fourth place game on Saturday at 2:00 p.m.