'Hounds break 17-game losing streak vs. Ravens

Fort Scott Community College's men broke a 17-game losing streak to Coffeyville as they opened Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division play with a 69-63 win over the Red Ravens at Arnold Arena Saturday afternoon.

"We wanted to make a statement that we're here to play hard," Greyhound head coach Mike Cook said. "And if we play hard, we're in every game. We did some things good tonight. We moved the ball well. We stayed disciplined at times. We got out of sync a couple of times but we stayed focused."

A 72-59 win at Coffeyville during conference play in 2000 marked the last time FSCC had beaten the Red Ravens. And that victory was, at that time, thought to be Fort Scott's first over the Coffeyville in 10 to 15 years.

Coffeyville's only lead was 2-0. The Greyhounds (1-0 East, 8-5 overall) went on an 11-1 run after the Ravens' initial basket and saw its lead dwindle to less than three points just once the rest of the game. That was when Coffeyville's Terrance Hill dunked one home to bring his team within 17-15 with 7:49 left in the first half.

But the 'Hounds responded by going on a 14-2 run that gave them control. Although the Ravens (0-1, 8-5) had a 9-3 run near the end of the half, Darrell Blanton's dunk just before the halftime buzzer gave Fort Scott a 36-26 lead.

The Greyhounds started the second half with a 9-2 spurt to make it a 45-28 game with 15 minutes to go. Coffeyville couldn't get off many shots against the Fort Scott defense and didn't hit its first field goal of the half until Antonio Jones connected with 13:25 left.

Tension built midway through the half as the Greyhounds went into a slump at the free-throw line. Coffeyville took advantage and chipped into the lead until it was just 51-48 with 5:47 remaining.

Coffeyville was still within 56-52 with 3:36 to go. But Ramell Taylor and Kurklin Bohannon hit a pair of baskets for the 'Hounds to provide some cushion and they rallied at the line to make nine of 12 charity tosses in the final 1:30.

"We have to be focused there," Cook said. "Our percentage on the year is about 61 percent. We've been working on that and we'd like to get it up to 70 percent. We're aggressive with the basketball and we'll make our free throws."

Bohannon finished with 20 points to lead the 'Hounds while Blanton added 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds. Bryce Kemp had 13 points and Kolbe Joens added 11.

Hill and Jones had 12 points each for Coffeyville.

The Greyhounds travel to No. 4 ranked Cowley Wednesday night.

COFFEYVILLE: Branch 3-7 0-0 9, Daniel 4-8 2-5 11, Hardyway 0-1 0-1 0, Johnson 2-4 0-1 4, Jones 4-10 3-3 12, Townsend-Gant 2-8 0-0 5, Stevens 0-0 0-0 0, Bransford 0-1 0-0 0, Biggers 3-3 4-4 10, Hill 5-10 0-0 12. TOTALS: 23-52 9-14 63.

FORT SCOTT: Joens 4-12 0-2 11, Bohannon 7-14 3-5 20, Kemp 3-8 7-8 13, Dougherty 0-1 5-8 5, Taylor 2-5 0-3 4, Kellogg 0-2 1-5 1, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Blanton 5-12 5-7 15. TOTALS: 21-54 21-38 69.

Halftime: Fort Scott, 36-26.

Three-point field goals: Coffeyville 8-23 (Branch 3-7, Hill 2-4, Daniel 1-1, Jones 1-4, Townsend-Gant 1-6, Johnson 0-1), Fort Scott 6-18 (Bohannon 3-5, Joens 3-11, Kemp 0-1, Dougherty 0-1).

Total fouls: Coffeyville 30, Fort Scott 17. Fouled out: Daniel, Biggers, Taylor. Technical fouls: Coffeyville bench, Branch.

Rebounds: Coffeyville 24 (Daniel 9), Fort Scott 39 (Blanton 13). Assists: Coffeyville 10 (Hill 5), Fort Scott 9 (Joens 3). Turnovers: Coffeyville 19, Fort Scott 15. Steals: Coffeyville 5 (Jones 3), Fort Scott 6 (Joens 3). Blocked shots: Coffeyville 3 (Hill 2), Fort Scott 2 (Blanton 2)