Tigers drub league champs

Fort Scott's Gary Floyd (23) works his way around Coffeyvile's Zach Mitchell for a layup in the first half of Thursday night's game at the FSHS gymnasium. Floyd finished with a game-high 17 points as the Tigers defeated the Golden Tornado 47-32.
(Captured Images/Kenny Felt)

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Was is the 10-0 run that started the game, half of those points coming from Jacob Ruhl, who got the start in his last home game as a senior?

Or was it the defense that held Coffeyville to just 3 points in the first quarter and to 28-percent field-goal shooting on the night?

"It was a great night for us," Fort Scott head coach Jeff DeLaTorre said. "We played very well from the beginning. When you get off to a good start like that, it gets you going. There were a few moments where they made a little bit of a run but we never let them chip away too much."

Gary Floyd scored the first 5 points of that opening run while Ruhl scored the last 5. Both players hit 3-point baskets. Meanwhile, Coffeyville settled for contested 3-point shots and didn't even get on the scoreboard until there were just under 3 1/2 minutes remaining in the opening period.

"And we just went from there," DeLaTorre added. "Jacob Ruhl stepped up and hit some big shots. That was what was really enjoyable about the night. We had a lot of guys play and a lot of guys contribute. Everybody who played did a great job."

The win ensured that the Tigers (11-5 SEK, 13-7 overall) were not swept by any SEK opponent this season. The Tigers lost in Coffeyville on January 26 by a 71-60 score. That night, Coffeyville's Zach Mitchell, Ethan Cordray and Cameron Craig combined to score 56 points.

On this night, those three were held to 23 points. Craig made only one field goal. Cordray was only 3 of 14 from the field. Mitchell led the Golden Tornado (14-2, 16-3) with 12 points but 8 of those were scored in the second quarter.

Floyd scored two more baskets to end the first quarter with the Tigers on top 14-3. The Nado did manage to get within 19-13 after Mitchell hit a 3-point shot with 3:47 left in the second. But the Tigers scored 8 of the last 9 going into halftime and held a 27-14 lead.

"They have guys who can make plays and what we did early on was try to limit that a little bit, force them to shoot from the outside, don't let them get around us, attack and get to the basket," DeLaTorre said. "And we did a much better job of rebounding than the first time we played them.

Defense took over in the second quarter. That was OK for the Tigers but not so for the Nado, which only scored 7 points. Two Griffin Knopp baskets, one off a rebound and a smart pass by Mikey Karleskint, helped keep Coffeyville down 33-21 going into the final stanza.

Floyd, then Jeremy Hull started the fourth with back-to-back 3-point plays. Cordray put in a couple of 3-point baskets to aid Coffeyville but it was a matter of too little, too late.

The Tigers held Coffeyville to its lowest point total in six years. Over that time, the Nado have been held under 40 points just four times but they've lost every time. This was Coffeyville's lowest output since a 41-30 loss to Blue Valley West in the semifinals of their own tournament in January 2005.

Floyd led the Tigers with 17 points while Knopp added 16 on 8-of-9 field-goal shooting and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Fort Scott shot 56 percent from the field, making 20 of 36 field-goal attempts. Coffeyville made only 12 of 43 attempts.

Fort Scott outrebounded Coffeyville 28-24.

With Parsons and Pittsburg both winning their Thursday night games, the Tigers finished in a three-way tie with those teams for second place in the SEK. With the regular season over, Fort Scott will prepare to face Paola in the first round of the Osawatomie Class 4A Sub-State Monday night at the FSHS gymnasium.

"(Second place in the SEK) is an outstanding accomplishment for the kids and I'm proud of them," DeLaTorre said. "These next three games are what you play for: A chance to win a championship. Monday is where it starts. We don't want to look too far ahead because we have to take care of Paola first."

The boys' game starts at 7:30 p.m. Monday, following the girls' game between the schools.

JUNIOR VARSITY -- Coffeyville's JV took a 70-67 victory over the Tigers. Cameron Woodring led the Tigers with 22 points. Pierce Rienbolt added 14 points and Jaret Thorpe finished with 11.

The Tiger JV ended their season with a 17-3 record.

COFFEYVILLE: Smallwood 0-0 0-0 0, Walton 1-3 0-2 2, Hobbs 1-2 1-2 3, Mitchell 5-10 1-1 12, Hershey 0-1 0-0 0, Carr 1-2 0-0 2, Kennard 0-0 0-0 0, Craig 1-6 1-1 3, Meyer 0-3 0-0 0, Cordray 3-14 0-0 8, Parker 0-2 1-2 1, Barnes 0-0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 12-43 5-10 32.

FORT SCOTT: Stark 0-1 0-0 0, Quick 0-0 0-0 0, Hull 2-3 1-1 5, Ruhil 2-3 0-0 5, Thorpe 0-0 0-0 0, Karleksint 1-2 0-0 2, Floyd 7-13 1-3 17, Woodring 0-1 2-2 2, Knopp 8-9 0-1 16, Harper 0-2 0-0 0, Fancher 0-2 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20-36 4-7 47.

Three-point field goals: Coffeyville 3-15 (Cordray 2-8, Mitchell 1-3, Walton 0-1, Carr 0-1, Craig 0-2), Fort Scott 3-10 (Floyd 2-5, Ruhl 1-2, Woodring 0-1, Harper 0-2).

Total fouls: Coffeyville 15, Fort Scott 11. Fouled out: None. Technical fouls: None.

Rebounds: Coffeyville 24 (3 with 5 each), Fort Scott 28 (Knopp 10). Assists: Coffeyville 2 (Cordray, Parker), Fort Scott 8 (Karleskint 3, Floyd 3). Turnovers: Coffeyville 12, Fort Scott 15. Steals: Coffeyville 10 (Mitchell 4), Fort Scott 3 (Fancher 2). Blocked shots: Coffeyville 1 (Meyer), Fort Scott none.