Tigers eventually pull away from stubborn Vikings

A few turnovers can make a world of difference in a basketball game. And a stretch late in the first quarter and early in the second where Parsons had trouble holding on to the ball allowed just enough of a cushion for Fort Scott High's boys here Monday night that the Vikings couldn't come all the way back when they rallied in the third quarter of a Southeast Kansas League make-up game at Harold C. Johnson Gymnasium.

The net result was a 60-44 win for the Tigers that puts them in the position for no worse than the No. 2 seed in next week's Sub-State tournament.

The Tigers improved to 10-5 in the SEK and 13-6 overall. They're probably the hottest team among those teams in the Sub-State after winning their fifth straight game. Ottawa is 13-5 but has lost two in a row going into tonight's game with Eudora.

"It's going to depend a little bit on what happens (tonight)," Fort Scott head coach Jeff DeLaTorre said of the Sub-State possibilities. "We could be the three seed or two seed. It's possible to be the one seed but we'd have to get some big-time help on that one. So we're just going to have to wait. The bottom of the bracket -- Ottawa, Prairie View, Paola -- they're kind of bunched together, too.

"We did what we had to do, got the extra win, and we hope that everything falls the way we want it to."

It was a tight game early on as Jeremy Kinsch's stickback with 1:03 left in the first quarter gave Parsons (3-11, 3-15) a 13-11 lead -- it's third lead of the quarter.

As it turned out, this would also be the last time Parsons led. Drew Messer tied the score moments later and Mikey Karleskint scored a free throw and a fast-break layup to put Fort Scott ahead by three going into the second.

The Tigers also scored the first nine points of the second period, with Gary Floyd scoring twice off steals, before Bryce Heenan broke the run by hitting a three-pointer from the left wing with 4:47 to go in the half.

Although the lead eventually grew to 29-16 and was 32-21 at the half, once the Vikings settled their turnover issues things started getting tougher again.

Parsons hit three of its first five fielders of the second half as it eventually chipped the lead down to 35-31 with four minutes left in the third quarter. The Viking defense also stepped up as the Tigers made only one of their first six shots of the second half.

Parsons never takes defense of its home court lightly. No matter what its record is or its opponent's, a game in Harold C. Johnson Gymnasium is always going to be a dogfight.

"We've kind of struggled here at times," DeLaTorre said. "For whatever reason, this is a tough place to play. We had moments where we struggled and they had a lot to do with that. I thought Parsons played really well, did good things. The Heenan kid came out and shot really well and kept them in the game.

"When things went bad, we found a way to get over that. We got the shot at key times. We got stops when we needed them. We found a way to work through the struggles we had. "

Guards Matt Wheeler and John Leek were the sparks the Tigers needed to begin to pull away again. Wheeler converted the "old-fashioned" three-point play with 3:37 to go to make it a 38-31 lead. A minute later, Leek hit a triple from the left win and Wheeler added a three-pointer of his own to get the lead back up to 44-35 going into the fourth quarter.

With the outside working, the Tigers were able to go back inside at the start of the fourth. Tony Karleskint converted a hoop-and-harm play, then Jeff Johnson hit a layup to make it 49-35.

The teams pretty much traded scores the rest of the way as Parsons was unable to recapture the defensive vibe it had in the early part of the third period.

Alex Barner led the Tigers with 12 points and 12 rebounds although Parsons did give him some trouble as he made only five of 15 shots from the field.

Johnson and Wheeler each scored 10 points for the Tigers, who saw nine players score.

"I like to see that balance like that," DeLaTorre noted. "When people look at our box scores, they see those different people in double figures and that makes it tough for people to prepare for us.

"Alex had a decent night but there were times when they kept him from scoring and we had other guys step up. Jeff did well inside and Matt hit a couple of big shots. Tony had a couple of good shots inside for us in the second half."

Heenan -- who scored just a lone three-point goal when the teams met on Jan. 4, a 20-point Tiger victory -- was four of seven from triple territory on his way to a 14-point night. Kinsch -- who had only two points the first time around -- had 13 points and 10 rebounds.

The Tigers shot 44 percent from the field, making 24 of 54 field-goal attempts, going seven of 13 in the fourth quarter. The Vikings shot 38 percent on 18 of 47.

Rebounds were even at 33-33. But Parsons committed twice as many turnovers, 18-9. That is the fewest number of turnovers for the Tigers since committing only six against Parsons in the first meeting.

Leek dished four of Fort Scott's 16 assists. Floyd had three of the Tigers' 12 steals.

The Tigers wrap up the regular season Thursday night when SEK leader Coffeyville pays a visit. Fort Scott defeated the Golden Tornado on the road , 64-44, on Jan. 22, knocking Coffeyville off the top of the league ladder one day after the Tigers lost to last-place Columbus at home.

If Coffeyville (12-2, 13-5) wins tonight against Iola as well as on Thursday night, it will win the league title outright. However Pittsburg (11-3, 14-4) and Chanute (10-4, 12-6) are lurking should the Golden Tornado slip.

"It's going to be a battle," DeLaTorre says. "We stole one from them on the road and they're going to be ready to play. They're going to have a chance to win the SEK outright if they beat us. They're in the lead right now by a game. We're not in the mix but it would be nice to knock them off and say we were able to sweep them. We're going to try to play better than tonight and go into Sub-State on a winning note."

JUNIOR VARSITY -- Fort Scott beat Parsons, 55-26, as Mikey Karleskint scored 11 points and Brian Gorman had 10.

FRESHMEN -- The freshmen didn't play here Monday night as they were back home hosting their annual season-ending freshman tournament.

Friday night, the Tigers routed Iola 64-17. Cody Harper led Fort Scott with 13 points.

FORT SCOTT: Leek 1-2 0-0 3, M.Karleskint 1-2 2-4 4, Gorman 0-0 0-0 0, Clements 0-0 0-0 0, T.Karleskint 3-5 1-1 7, Wheeler 3-5 3-3 10, J.Karleskint 1-2 0-0 2, Floyd 4-9 0-0 8, Messer 2-3 0-0 4, Johnson 4-9 2-5 10, Allen 0-2 0-0 0, Barner 5-15 2-7 12. TOTALS: 24-54 10-20 60.

PARSONS: Haynes 0-2 1-2 1, Heenan 5-12 0-0 14, Beachner 0-0 0-0 0, Austin 1-2 0-0 2, Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Johnson 2-5 1-2 5, Tanner 2-6 1-2 5, Thomas 2-10 0-0 4, Kinsch 6-8 1-5 13. TOTALS: 18-47 4-11 44.

Parsons.............. 13 8 14 9 -- 44

Three-point field goals: Fort Scott 2-8 (Leek 1-2, Wheeler 1-3, M.Karleskint 0-1, Floyd 0-1, Allen 0-1), Parsons 4-10 (Heenan 4-7, Haynes 0-1, Austin 0-1, Johnson 0-1).

Total fouls: Fort Scott 16, Parsons 17. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none.

Rebounds: Fort Scott 33 (Barner 12), Parsons 33 (Kinsch 10). Assists: Fort Scott 16 (Leek 4), Parsons 8 (Heenan 3, Tanner 3). Turnovers: Fort Scott 9, Parsons 18. Steals: Fort Scott 12 (Floyd 3), Parsons 2 (Johnson, Tanner). Blocked shots: Fort Scott 1 (Barner), Parsons 7 (Thomas 6).