Last-second shot dooms Tiger boys

INDEPENDENCE -- Easton Julian's turnaround jumper with no time left on the clock completed an improbable rally for Independence here Tuesday night and the Bulldogs picked up a 61-59 victory over Fort Scott High in Southeast Kansas League play at Losey Gymnasium.

The Tigers (2-1 SEK, 3-3 overall) had just about everything going their way after three quarters. Gary Floyd was having a sensational night, scoring 35 points in the first 24 minutes. Fort Scott was shooting over 60 percent from the field as a team while holding Indy (3-1, 3-1) to 38-percent shooting.

All that reversed in the fourth quarter. The 'Dogs held Floyd to 2 points in the period and the Tigers to 9. Independence connected on 7 of 10 fielders in the period and scored 22 points after going into the period trailing 50-39.

But the Bulldogs scored the first 8 points of the fourth before the Tigers got on the board with 3 points from Griffin Knopp.

Indy tied it at 53-53 on back-to-back Dalton Schafer 3-point goals and took the lead on a pair of free throws from Alex Steinle.

Knopp tied the score at 55-55 moments later with two free throws and Jeremy Hull's stickback gave Fort Scott a 2-point lead.

Easton followed up by converting a 3-point play with 1:06 to go. Peyton Botts made one of two free throws to make it 59-57. Floyd tied it with two free throws with 18.4 seconds remaining.

Floyd finished with 37 points as he made 6 three-point shots. It's the most points scored by any Tiger player since 1994. Records are sketchy before then. This was Floyd's second 30-point outing of the season.

Floyd scored all of the Tigers' first 13 points but Indy took a 15-13 lead on a Garrett Webster triple. Fort Scott scored the last 5 of the first period to go up 19-15. The 'Dogs tied it at 21-21 early in the second but never led again until the fourth.

FORT SCOTT: Stark 1 0-0 2, Quick 0 0-0 0, Hull 1 0-0 2, Karleskint 0 0-0 0, Floyd 13 5-6 37, Woodring 1 0-0 2, Knopp 3 4-7 10, Harper 2 0-0 6. TOTALS: 21-38 9-13 59.

INDEPENDENCE: Schroeder 1 0-0 3, Botts 5 7-8 18, Webster 2 1-3 7, Dierks 4 0-0 8, Julian 6 1-1 14, Steinle 1 2-2 4, Reed 0 0-0 0, Schafer 2 1-2 7. TOTALS: 21-47 12-16 61.

Indepedence... 15 11 13 22 -- 61

Three-point field goals: Fort Scott 8-15 (Floyd 6, Harper 2), Independence 7-20 (Webster 2, Schafer 2, Schroeder, Botts, Julian).

Total fouls: Fort Scott 15, Independence 13. Fouled out: Hull. Technical fouls: None.

Rebounds: Fort Scott 25, Independence 23. Assists: n/a. Turnovers: Fort Scott 17, Independence 12. Steals: Fort Scott 5, Independence 7.