Ravens show fight, give 'Hounds tough game

Fort Scott Community College's men had to fight off a tough Benedictine junior varsity at Arnold Arena Wednesday night, prevailing 66-58 after the visiting Ravens got within four points with half a minute remaining in the contest.

The Greyhounds, 3-3, led 33-18 at halftime after shooting 56 percent from the field in the first 20 minutes while holding the Ravens to eight of 33 for 24 percent.

But Benedictine posted several runs in the second half, trimming that lead down to seven points a couple of times before Fort Scott went on runs to expand it again.

But Chris Bonham's stickback with 1:12 remaining brought the Ravens within 61-55 and Jonathan Knollmeyer's three-pointer with 29 seconds to go cut the deficit to 62-58.

Benedictine's Robert Williams went for a layup that would have brought the Ravens within two but missed. Fort Scott's Arsenio Williams made two free throws with 14 seconds left after he was fouled on the rebound. Kyle Grant added two more free throws with one second remaining for the final margin.

Fort Scott's 66 points were the fewest its scored against a JV team in over a decade. The Greyhounds scored just one more point in a 67-55 win over the MidAmerica Nazarene JV early in the 1996 season. However, Fort Scott did win its 45th straight game against a JV squad.

Benedictine held a 7-4 lead with 15:46 to go in the first half. But Williams sparked a 19-2 run that made it 23-9 with 8 1/2 minutes to go.

Fort Scott made seven of its first 10 shots from the field in the contest. Williams scored 12 first-half points as the Greyhounds developed their lead.

Benedictine got within nine, 39-30, early in the half after Bonham, a 6' 10" freshman from Phoenix, Ariz., scored six straight points on his own.

But then Williams scored seven of the next eight for the 'Hounds, capping things off when he took a pass from Brandon Dougherty on a fast break and tomahawk dunked over an unfortunate Raven defender, who was called for a blocking foul. Williams also made the free throw, which made it 47-40.

As one person described Williams' jam: "He dunked the ball and the kid."

But while the dunk rattled the rim, it didn't rattle the Ravens. They scored seven in a row to get back within 10 with 9:40 to go. But the 'Hounds scored seven of the next nine.

A pair of three-point shots helped bring Benedictine withing 54-47 with 5:14 to go.

Brandon Kinnie converted a three-point play to make it 61-49 with 3:25 to go.

Williams made 11 of 15 field-goal attempts on his way to leading the Greyhounds with 27 points. He also hauled down 10 rebounds. Kinnie finished with 12 points.

Bonham made 12 of 26 shots from the field on his way to leading the Ravens in just about everything. He finished with 25 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Nick Larson added 12 points for the Ravens.

Fort Scott finished the night 26 of 51 from the field for 51 percent. But the 'Hounds went without a three-point goal for the third straight game. They've gone 0 for 11 in those games and made only five of 31 shots from behind the arc this season.

Benedictine made 17 of 42 fielders in the second half, finishing 25 of 75 for 33 percent.

Rebounds were even at 40-40. William Bland hauled down 11 boards to lead the 'Hounds.

The Greyhounds won't be at home again until Jan. 12 against Neosho County. They'll begin a stretch of eight straight games away from Arnold Arena Friday night at the Jayhawk Conference Shootout in Coffeyville. There, Fort Scott will take on Garden City. Tip off is scheduled for 9 p.m.

Sunday, Fort Scott will play Hutchinson in the final men's game of the Shootout. Tip off for that one is scheduled for 7 p.m.

BENEDICTINE JV: Corless 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 1-13 0-0 2, Cook 0-1 0-0 0, Binder 0-2 0-0 0, Anderson 3-5 0-0 9, Larson 5-13 2-2 12, Bonham 12-26 1-2 25, Knollmeyer 2-6 0-0 6, Daniels 2-9 0-0 4, Hetmanek 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 25-75 3-4 58.

FORT SCOTT: Harris 3-7 1-4 7, Stokes 1-4 0-0 2, Kinnie 4-9 4-5 12, Dougherty 0-0 0-0 0, Grant 3-8 3-4 9, Hopkins 0-2 1-2 1, Williams 11-15 5-5 27, Bland 4-6 0-0 8. TOTALS: 26-51 14-20 66.

Halftime: Fort Scott, 33-18.

Three-point field goals: Benedictine JV 5-21 (Anderson 3-4, Knollmeyer 2-4, Daniels 0-3, Larson 0-4, Williams 0-6), Fort Scott 0-3 (Harris 0-1, Stokes 0-2).

Total fouls: Benedictine JV 17, Fort Sc ott 9. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none.

Rebounds: Benedictine JV 40 (Bonhan 14), Fort Scott 40 (Bland 11, Williams 10). Assists: Benedictine JV 8 (Bonham 4), Fort Scott 11 (four with 2 each) Turnovers: Benedictine JV 13, Fort Scott 17. Steals: Benedictine JV 8 (Bonham 3), Fort Scott 11 (Grant 3). Blocked shots: Benedictine JV 4 (Larson 2, Bonham 2), Fort Scott 2 (Hopkins, Bland).