Ottawa holds off Fort Scott boys in Sub-State semifinal

Fort Scott senior Griffin Knopp dunks on Ottawa's Corbin Goedert during the second quarter of a Kansas Class 4A Oswawatomie Sub-State Tournament semifinal Friday night. The Tigers fell to Ottawa, 60-42, ending their season with a 14-8 record.
(Elliot J. Sutherland/The Ottawa Herald)

[Click to enlarge]

Freshman Semi Ojeleye (pronounced "sem-ee o-jay-el-ay") scored 9 of his team-leading 17 points in the second period, including 6 in that half-ending run.

The Tigers' season ends with a 14-8 record. Second-seeded Ottawa (20-3) will face No. 5 Louisburg (14-8), which continued its upset run through Sub-State by beating top-seeded Osawatomie 70-64 in overtime.

Fort Scott's Gary Floyd scored the first basket of the game. But the Cyclones adjusted to the Tigers' zone and went on to sink eight of their first nine shots from the field in building a 20-11 lead with just under a minute to go in the period.

Jeremy Hull and Jacob Ruhl hit basket's -- Ruhl's was a 3-pointer -- to bring the Tigers within 20-16 before Adam Hasty took a score in for a layup with five seconds remaining in the period.

Hasty converted another steal into a 3-point shot to start the second period. But the Tigers scored 8 of the next 11, getting within 28-24 when Floyd hit a 3-point shot from the left wing.

Moments later, another 3-point shot looked to be good for the Tigers but the ball went partway down and spun back out. Ottawa then began its run with Hasty driving in for a basket to start it and Ojeleye capping it with a layup with two seconds to go.

Ottawa made 16 of 25 field-goal tries in the first half. And the Cyclones were doing every bit as well on defense. They forced 8 turnovers and allowed the Tigers to take just 5 field-goal tries in the second period.

Ojeleye scored again to start the third period, making it 41-24. But the Tigers fought back. Floyd converted a 3-point play and Cody Harper followed with a 3-pointer from the left wing.

Corbin Goedert interrupted the run with a basket for the Cyclones. Then Floyd hit a 3-point shot to bring the Tigers within 43-33. Shane Steelman hit a triple for Ottawa. But then Floyd scored six straight points to get the Tigers within 46-39 before James Peoples hit two free throws for Ottawa with 1:54 remaining in the period.

The Cyclones led 48-39 going into the final stanza and Ojeleye extended it with a basket to start the period. Ottawa then was able to do exactly what it needed to do to keep the Tigers down. Defensively, the Cyclones did not allow a field goal in the fourth quarter -- Fort Scott scored 3 free throws -- and did not allow another score of any kind in the game's final 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, the Cyclones were smart enough to know that the clock was their friend. Fort Scott fans who have seen the Tigers work the clock with a big lead now saw another team do it just as well.

Floyd led all scorers with 28 points as made 11 of 18 shots from the field. No other Tiger had more than 3 points or one field goal.

Hasty added 15 points for Ottawa while also dishing 5 assists and picking up 6 steals. Kevin Barber made 5 of 8 shots from the field as he contributed 13 points and 9 rebounds to the Cyclone effort.

Ottawa shot 55 percent from the field overall, making 22 of 40 field-goal attempts. They were also 9 of 10 at the free-throw line. Fort Scott shot 48 percent from the floor on 16 of 33 and made 4 of 5 free throws.

Because there were so few missed shots, there weren't a lot of rebounds. Ottawa had 21 while Fort Scott had 15. Floyd had 4 of those rebounds for the Tigers.

Knopp dished 4 assists while Gabe Quick and Mikey Karleskint had 2 steals each.