Second half rally pushes Scott City to sub-state title
Larned, Kan. (westernkansasnews.com)–Defense travels. An often used phrase in basketball. For Scott City, it has traveled in to central Kansas over the past 72 hours. Allowing 35 points at Hoisington on Tuesday night, and in Friday’s Class 3A Sub-State Championship game in Larned, it was on display, primarily in the second half. The Beavers would trail 23-20 at halftime, and outscore the Trojans 34-15 in the second half, en route to their first state tournament appearance in 10 years with a 54-38 victory at Larned Middle School.
Beloit jumped out to an 8-1 lead in the first three and a half minutes of the first quarter. Scott City would get their offense going and pull to within 10-9 late in the period, beofre trailing 12-9 after a quarter. The Trojans maintained their lead ,a nd led 22-16 with 3:11 left before the break. It would be Scott City’s defense that truly took over from that moment on, despite trailing 23-20 at intermission.
In the second half, Scott City (14-9) took the lead for good at 6:24 remaining in the third third quarter 25-23 on a trio of Junior Meza free throws. The Trojans hit a free throw moments later, and then the Beavers closed the quarter on a 9-1 run to lead 34-25 heading into the fourth.
Scott City didn’t let up anas, they built their lead to 45-28 with 2:15 left. Beloit (18-5) got four straight, hitting their first field goal at the 2:06 mark of the fourth quarter, which ended a 17:05 field goal drought. The Beavers closed out the game on a 9-6 run in less than two minutes, as they qualified for state with a 54-38 win.
Junior Meza led the charge with 17 points, as Scott City went 16-25 at the foul line and had 13 turnovers, only four in the second half. Beloit was led by freshman Truitt King’s 14 points as they were 12-19 at the charity line and had eight turnovers.
It was the first meeting since Scott City’s 61-60 win at Beloit in the 2015 sub-state final, and the Beavers have won five in a row in the series, and now lead it 6-2. They’re 4-0 against the Trojans in postseason play. Scott City has qualified for their 20th state tournament appearance in school history, their first since 2016.
Coach Brian Gentry Postgame
Box Score
Scott City 9 11 14 20–54
Beloit 12 11 2 13–38
Scott City (14-9): Tarango 0 0-0 0; Radke 2 5-6 9; Faurot 1 0-0 3; Metzger 2 2-5 7; Irvin 2 2-4 6; Meza 4 7-7 17; Wren 1 0-0 2; Felker 1 0-0 2; Cook 3 0-3 6; Gossman 1 0-0 2; Team: 17 16-25 54
Beloit (18-5): Fuller 0 1-2 1; Leners 0 3-4 3; Burke 0 0-0 0; Cheney 0 0-0 0; Rexroat 3 2-2 8; Remus 3 0-0 7; King 4 5-8 14; Nicholson 0 1-2 1; Litton 2 0-0 4; Team: 12 12-19 38
Three-Point Baskets: Scott City 4 (Meza 2, Faurot 1, Metzer 1); Beloit 2 (Remus 1, King 1); Turnovers: Scott City 13, Beloit 8; Fouls: Scott City 13, Beloit 18; Fouled Out: None.
Scott City will compete in the Class 3A State quarterfinals on Tuesday, with a time and location to be determined. They’ll likely be the seven seed.