Indy men snatch victory from 'Hounds

Fort Scott's Menas Stephens takes a shot during the second half of action at Arnold Arena Wednesday night. Stephens scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Greyhounds in a 62-59 loss to Independence. (FSCC photo)

Call it another lesson learned in the college basketball course of How to Win 101.

Fort Scott Community College's men did everything right during a 10-minute stretch of the second half at Arnold Arena Wednesday night and looked ready to steal a victory from Independence, one of the Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division's top teams.

But the final three minutes were a harsh lesson about composure and the Pirates rallied to take a 62-59 victory.

The Greyhounds (1-4 East, 2-14 overall) held the Pirates without a field goal during a rally that started at the 13:51 mark with Robert Mason's 3-point field goal that cut a 10-point deficit to 40-33 with 13:51 remaining.

In the next 9:06, Indy (4-1, 12-5) couldn't but a basket, missing eight consecutive shots, and the 'Hounds kept fighting back. Mason's triple from up top put Fort Scott ahead, 46-45, with 6:52 remaining.

Thomas Staton broke Indy's field-goal drought with 3:55 remaining, cutting the deficit to 52-51. But Menas Stephens, who was enjoying one of the best nights of his juco career, scored a layup with 3:38 to go to put the 'Hounds up 3 again.

Anthony Downing tied the score with a 3-point shot with 2:08 remaining. After that, Fort Scott had some tough lessons to learn.

Staton drew a foul on a successful layup with 1:51 to go. Before he converted the 3-point play, Stephens was called for a technical foul. Downing hit the technical shots before Staton went back to the line make his free throw, which put the Pirates up 59-54.

Stephens scored another layup to bring the 'Hounds within 3. Kris Gulley made one of two free throws for Indy to make it a 4-point game with 49 seconds to go.

Then came another lesson. Julian Mills, who had dished 16 assists to this point, got too fancy going for a 17th. He went behind the back with the pass, which was intercepted by John Schneider. Moments later, Downing made two more free throws to make the score 62-56.

Mason scored 25 points to lead the 'Hounds while Stephens added 21. They combined to make 17 of 32 field-goal attempts. Stephens also had 11 rebounds.

Rubles scored 17 points and hauled down 18 rebounds for Independence. Downing added 16 and Schneider finished with 10.

INDEPENDENCE: Downing 3-10 9-12 16, Rubles 6-18 5-7 17, Gulley 1-7 5-6 7, Hall 0-3 1-2 0, Schneider 3-7 2-4 10, Tate 0-2 0-0 0, Staton 3-8 1-2 8, Hinton 1-1 1-1 3, Adams 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 17-56 24-34.

FORT SCOTT: Stephens 9-17 3-6 21, Barner 0-2 0-0 0, Walton 3-7 0-0 6, Mason 8-15 4-5 25, Mills 0-1 3-6 3, King 0-2 0-0 0, Carter 0-0 0-0 0, Hayes 2-5 0-1 4. TOTALS: 22-49 10-18 59.

Halftime: Independence, 26-21.

Three-point field goals: Independence 4-17 (Schneider 2-3, Staton 1-4, Downing 1-5, Rubles 0-1, Hall 0-1, Gulley 0-3), Fort Scott 5-15 (Mason 5-10, Stephens 0-1, Barner 0-2, Walton 0-2).

Total fouls: Independence 19, Fort Scott 22. Fouled out: Schneider, Walton. Technical fouls: Schneider, Stephens.

Rebounds: Independence 42 (Rubles 18), Fort Scott 34 (Stephens 11). Assists: Independence 6 (Downing 3), Fort Scott 17 (Mason 16). Turnovers: Independence 16, Fort Scott 18. Steals: Independence 5 (Gulley 2, Schneider 2), Fort Scott 5 (Walton 2, Mills 2). Blocked shots: Independence 5 (Rubles 2, Schneider 2), Fort Scott 3 (Stephens 3).