Greyhounds make game of it for a while

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

HUTCHINSON -- A few minutes into the first half of a Region VI Tournament first-round game here Friday night, Fort Scott Community College's men were in a position to stun the junior college world.

The Greyhounds, who finished in ninth place in the Jayhawk Conference-Eastern Division, were leading Western Division runner-up Hutchinson 43-39 with 17:27 remaining in the second half.

Yes, they were leading Hutchinson.

In Hutchinson.

But at that point, the Blue Dragons suddenly turned things on and outscored Fort Scott 46-18 the rest of the game, going on to an 85-61 victory.

Although there were a few ties, Hutchinson (23-8) didn't get its first lead of the game until nearly two minutes before halftime. Meanwhile, Fort Scott (8-23) was slowly building a lead that would get to eight points, 12-4, after Brandon Kinnie made two free throws with 14:58 to go.

Hutchinson began to catch up, tying the game twice in the next five minutes. But a 14-6 run capped by an Arsenio Williams field goal, gave Fort Scott its biggest lead, 30-20, with 5:57 remaining.

The Blue Dragons came back again, taking their first lead, 33-32, after Ken Bowman's dunk with 2:09 remaining.

The score was tied at 35-35 at halftime. The 'Hounds outscored the Dragons 8-4 in the first 2 1/2 minutes, going up 43-39 when Brandon Kinnie made a field goal.

But Hutch scored 18 of the next 23 points, making it 57-48 on Sam Edwards' three-point shot with 13:15 remaining.

Hutchinson's lead continued to grow from that point, going over 20 points at 80-59 when Derek Burgan hit a three-pointer with 3:46 to go.

The Blue Dragons made only 34 percent of their shots from the field in the first half. In the second, they went 19 of 32 and finished the game at 46 percent on 32 of 70.

The Greyhounds shot 39 percent for the game, making 23 of 59 field-goal attempts. They also outrebounded Hutchinson, 46-35.

The killer blows for Fort Scott were their 20 turnovers and three-point defense. They allowed Hutch to hit eight of 11 from triple territory in the second half.

Williams led Fort Scott with 21 points and 11 rebounds. Kinnie added 17 and Kyle Grant chipped in with 10.

Bowman, a 6' 9" sophomore, scored 17 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked six shots for the Blue Dragons. Bobby Maze also had 17 points while Lamar Falley scored 12 and Edwards finished with 11.

(7E) FORT SCOTT: Kinnie 6-10 5-8 17, Je.Sutton 0-0 0-0 0, Dougherty 3-5 0-0 6, Grant 5-13 0-2 0, Hopkins 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 6-22 8-14 21, Jo.Sutton 2-2 0-2 4, Bland 1-6 1-2 3, Curry 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 23-59 14-28 61.

(2W) HUTCHINSON: Maze 7-19 1-2 17, Edwards 4-8 0-0 11, Mavrak 0-0 0-0 0, Rogers 1-3 3-4 5, Bowman 8-16 0-0 17, Bales 0-3 0-0 0, Weary 2-8 3-3 7, Burgan 3-4 0-0 9, Falley 5-7 0-0 12, Bond 1-1 0-0 3, Herrera 1-1 2-2 4, Douvier 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 32-70 9-11 85.

Halftime: Tied, 35-35.

Three-point field goals: Fort Scott 1-5 (Williams 1-3, Grant 0-2), Hutchinson 12-25 (Burgan 3-4, Edwards 3-6, Falley 2-3, Maze 2-7, Bowman 1-1, Bond 1-1, Weary 0-1, Bales 0-2).

Total fouls: Fort Scott 13, Hutchinson 20. Fouled out: Rogers. Technical fouls: Kinnie, Rogers.

Rebounds: Fort Scott 46 (Williams 11), Hutchinson 35 (Bowman 9). Assists: Fort Scott 7 (Dougherty 4), Hutchinson 19 (Maze 9). Turnovers: Fort Scott 20, Hutchinson 11. Steals: Fort Scott 5 (Williams 2), Hutchinson 9 (Edwards 3). Blocked shots: Fort Scott 4 (Grant 3), Hutchinson 10 (Bowman 6).