Short-handed 'Hounds continue to fight

The surest sign of a team not ready to give in is when it continues to fight even under the most difficult conditions.

So when Fort Scott Community College's leading scorer, Ramell Taylor, had to leave the floor for a time after drawing his fourth foul, it wasn't a time to panic. Instead, players stepped up and the Greyhounds were able to stay in the game until the final moments.

However, visiting Kansas City Kansas went back home with a 69-64 victory in Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division play, handing Fort Scott its 14th consecutive loss.

"We have what we have right now," Fort Scott head coach Michael Cook said in reference to the Greyhounds' eight-man roster. "Nathaniel Ward is out for the season. Bryce (Kemp) is still not healed and he may not be healed by the end of the year. So what we have is the magnificent eight. And we'll got from there and we'll keep fighting."

The Greyhounds (0-9 East, 3-18 overall) held an 11-8 lead after six minutes of play as Jacob Gougler connected on a 3-point shot from the right wing. But KCK (4-5, 16-5) scored 16 of the next 22 points, holding the 'Hounds to one field goal in that span.

Fort Scott wouldn't go away and got back within 27-25 after a 6-0 run with 2:22 remaining. Alex Barner brought the 'Hounds within 33-32 at the half by hitting a 3-pointer with 33 seconds to go.

Kansas City made 5 of its first 7 field goals in the second half as it extended the lead to 46-35. Derrick Denney hit three 3-pointers in that span.

The Blue Devils connected on 11 3-pointers in the game with Denney making 6 of 9 as he led KCK with 20 points.

"Derrick Denney's a heck of a player and he's running back and forth and we're putting 3 or 4 guys on him and he's still hitting," Cook said.

Again, Fort Scott didn't show any quit. Taylor started a 8-3 run with a 3-pointer from the right win and the 'Hounds found themselves within 49-43 with 10:15 remaining.

Taylor's tip-in with 9:20 left kept the deficit at 6 points, 51-45. But that turned out to be his last score of the night.

About three minutes later, Taylor drew his fourth foul and had to take a seat for a while to avoid fouling out. The Devils led 56-47 at that point.

But Jamaal McCoy scored just a bit after that. Dennis Tinnon scored for KCK to make it 58-49 but Fort Scott went on to score 11 of the next 13.

Caleb Brown hit a 3-pointer with 418 to go to cut the deficit to 60-56. Barner hit a fadeaway shot. Then Robert Mason tied it on a jumper -- his only points of the night -- with 2:09 to go.

Scott Fruehling hit a 3-pointer for KCK to break the tie. Barner drove for a layup with 1:22 to go. Andre Metoyer scored a layup for Kansas City with 58 seconds left to make it a 65-62 game.

Metoyer hit both ends of a one-and-one with 12 seconds to go. Barner scored again with six seconds left to bring Fort Scott within 67-64. But they had to foul to save time and Denney hit both ends of a one-and-one with five seconds left.

In the final 10 minutes of play, much of it either without Taylor or his role limited due to his four fouls, the Greyhounds made 10 of 16 shots from the field.

"Ramell is the engine for our machine," Cook said. "He's going to do everything he can to help us win. Things like that happen and that's when character's made. I thought Caleb stepped up. Alex stepped up. Robert Hatcher hit some big shots. We didn't win the game but our character's being developed right now. We'll turn this around."

Taylor led the 'Hounds with 28 points and 9 rebounds. Barner followed with 14 points. Metoyer added 18 points to KCK's total.

The 'Hounds shot 45 percent overall, making 26 of 58 field-goal attempts but only 4 of 15 from behind the 3-point arc. The Devils shot 51 percent on 24 of 47, going 13 for 22 (59 percent) in the second half.

Kansas City outrebounded Fort Scott, 34-26. Metoyer had 12 boards and Tinnion brought down 10.

Hatcher dished 6 assists and had 3 steals. Fort Scott turned the ball over ust 7 times. KCK committed 14 turnovers and picked up just one steal the entire game.

The Greyhounds were set to begin the second time through the conference schedule Monday night at Neosho County. Wednesday night, they will host Coffeyville at 7:30 p.m. at Arnold Arena. And there is reason to be optimistic that good things will happen during this second time through the schedule, according to Cook.

"Out of all the teams in this conference, I know we're playing better now than in the first half," Cook said. "I think people are going to be surprised. But one thing I love about this team is that no one is going to quit. We're going to fight and it's hard for young men to see the big picture, which is the playoffs. But if we're peaking at the right time, anything can happen. (T)hey way they're playing right now, I think we'll be fine. It may not be showing in the wins and losses but these guys are playing harder than I've ever seen them play."

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KANSAS CITY KANSAS: Tinnon 4-8 0-4 8, McDonald 0-1 0-0 0, Gaston 2-5 3-4 8, Metoyer 8-13 2-2 18, Fruehling 3-6 0-0 9, Denney 6-9 2-2 20, Taylor 1-2 0-0 3, Wright 0-3 1-2 1, Payne 0-0 2-2 2. TOTALS: 24-47 10-16 69.

FORT SCOTT: Mason 1-2 0-0 2, Hatcher 2-6 0-0 4, Brown 2-6 0-0 5, Taylor 11-20 5-6 28, Barner 6-12 1-2 14, McCoy 3-5 0-0 6, Gougler 1-7 22-2 5. TOTALS: 26-58 8-10 64.

Halftime: Kansas City Kansas, 33-32.

Three-point field goals: Kansas City Kansas 11-21 (Denney 6-9, Fruehling 3-6, Taylor 1-2, Gaston 1-3, Wright 0-1), Fort Scott 4-15 (Barner 1-2, Taylor 1-3, Gougler 1-4, Brown 1-5,).

Total fouls: Kansas City Kansas 11, Fort Scott 17. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none.

Rebounds: Kansas City Kansas 34 (Metoyer 12, Tinnon 10), Fort Scott 26 (Taylor 9). Assists: Kansas City Kansas 17 (Gaston 6), Fort Scott 11 (Hatcher 6). Turnovers: Kansas City Kansas 14, Fort Scott 7. Steals: Kansas City Kansas 1 ( Fruehling), Fort Scott 9 (Hatcher 3). Blocked shots: Kansas City Kansas 4 (Tinnon 4), Fort Scott 1 (Taylor).