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Tiger boys crush Purple Dragons
It may have been the rivalry. It just have been the right time. But whatever the reason, Fort Scott High's boys might have played their best game of the season, rolling by Pittsburg 71-33 in a Southeast Kansas League make-up game at the FSHS gymnasium Thursday night.
After about 2 1/2 minutes, the Tigers (3-4 SEK, 6-8 overall) began clicking and turned a 5-5 tie into a 14-7 lead just two minutes later.
Three straight baskets by Jack Olin, one of which was converted for a 3-point play, extended the lead to 21-10 with 1:15 left in the quarter.
"We came right out of the chute and did some good things early," Fort Scott head coach Jeff DeLaTorre said. "That's what we wanted to do. We were solid on the defensive end and got some stops. Then we were able to get out running game going and do a lot of good things."
The Tigers scored the first 9 points of the second quarter to extend the lead to 30-12 with 5:32 left in the first half. There weren't many occasions on the evening where Fort Scott didn't score in bunches.
The Tigers finished the second half on a 12-3 run, capped when Alex Fink found Chase Brown for a 3-pointer from the left wing as the halftime buzzer went off to make it 44-20.
"I think we're at out best when we spread the floor our a little bit and keep the ball moving," DeLaTorre said. "I think we're getting better at that. We're attacking the rim a little bit better now. We're still shooting 3s and we made some 3s but we're not settling for 3s as much."
Another 9-0 run midway through the third made it 53-24 with 3:43 on the clock. Mason Knopp's transition basket to end the third made it 59-29, which meant that the 30-point running-clock rule would be in effect the entire fourth quarter.
And the Tigers scored 10 points of the final stanza. Pittsburg (1-6, 4-11) didn't get its first points of the quarter until only 53 seconds remained in the contest.
Knopp led the Tigers with 21 points -- making 10 of 12 field-goal attempts --and also had 10 rebounds. The point total matched his season high, scored against McDonald County in the Frontenac Tournament on January 24, which the Tigers won in double overtime.
Garin Sinn added 16 points as he connected on 7 of 8 field-goal tries. And Jack Olin scored 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting.
The Tigers shot 58 percent from the field on 30 of 52, outrebounded Pittsburg 34-18, handed out 15 assists and turned the ball over just 7 times.
Dillon Untereker led Pittsburg with 11 points while Kyle Smith added 10. The Dragons made only 13 of 40 field-goal tries.
This was the first of four games in six days for the Tigers. Tonight, they'll host No. 5-ranked Coffeyville for Homecoming.
JUNIOR VARSITY -- Fort Scott defeated Pittsburg in the JV tilt, 71-53. Benjamin Labbe led the way with 19 points, followed by Josh Hudiburg with 18 and Wyatt Reehl with 15.
PITTSBURG: Scroggins 0-2 1-2 1, Jajo 1-2 0-0 2, Massoth 3-9 0-0 7, Wehmeyer 0-0 0-0 0, Cunningham 1-4 0-2 2, Richardson 0-3 0-2 0, Turnbull 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 4-5 2-2 10, Untereker 4-13 3-6 11, Williams 0-1 0-0 0. TOTALS: 13-40 6-14 33.
FORT SCOTT: DeLaTorre 3-8 0-0 8, Smith 0-0 2-2 2, Horn 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 2-7 0-0 5, Hudiburg 2-2 0-0 4, Pytlowany 0-3 0-0 0, Bradbury 0-2 1-2 1. Fink 0-3 0-0 0, Sinn 7-8 2-2 16, Knopp 10-12 1-2 21, Labbe 1-2 1-2 3, Olin 5-5 1-1 11. TOTALS: 30-52 8-11 71.
Pittsburg.................. 12 8 9 4 -- 33
Fort Scott................ 21 23 15 12 -- 71
Three-point field goals: Pittsburg 1-8 (Massoth 1-5, Scroggins 0-1, Turnbull 0-1, Smith 0-1), Fort Scott 3-10 (DeLaTorre 2-4, Brown 1-2, Pytlowany 0-2, Bradbury 0-2).
Total fouls: Pittsburg 14, Fort Scott 16. Fouled out: Olin.
Rebounds: Pittsburg 18 (Richardson 5), Fort Scott 34 (Knopp 10). Assists: Pittsburg 1 (Scroggins), Fort Scott 15 (Pytlowany 4). Turnovers: Pittsburg 12, Fort Scott 7. Steals: Pittsburg 2 (Turnbull, Untereker), Fort Scott 7 (DeLaTorre 2, Knopp 2). Blocked shots: Pittsburg 1 (Jajo), Fort Scott 5 (Olin 3).