Seward County eliminates Greyhound men, 77-45

LIBERAL, Kan. -- Seward County took control early with a 15-2 opening run and went on to defeat Fort Scott Community College, 77-45, in the first round of the Region VI Tournament here Wednesday night.

The Greyhounds end the season at 2-29, the most losses in a single season in the history of the program, even though they had played better after the roster shrunk to five players at the end of January.

Seward County (25-6) scored the game's first 10 points before Austin Danner got Fort Scott on the board with around 13 minutes left in the first half.

Corieon Pearson made it 25-10 in the Saints' favor when he scored back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the half.

Fort Scott's Cody Harper, one of two FSHS graduates who walked on to the team after the roster was trimmed, was the Greyhounds' leading scorer at the half with 6 points on a pair of 3-point baskets. However, Seward scored the last 6 of the half to make it 35-18 at the break.

Danner made three 3-point goals on his way to leading Fort Scott with 13 points, although he could not prevent the Greyhounds from finishing the season on a 17-game losing streak. Teance Walton and Derrick Thomas added 8 points each.

Ransom finished the night with 22 points for Seward. Irvin Hollinger and Trey Stakes added 14 points each and Brice Jenkins chipped in with 10.

The Saints shot 61 percent from the floor on the night as they made 33 of 54 field-goal attempts, including 8 of 15 from behind the 3-point line. Fort Scott was held to 38 percent on 15 of 40, although the 'Hounds went 9 for 20 in the second half. FSCC converted 9 of 17 3-point attempts.

Because of the high shooting percentage for Seward, there weren't a lot of rebounds. The Saints won the battle of the boards 27-18.

Seward County will go on to face Dodge City in the quarterfinal round at Park City on Sunday. The Conquistadors (20-11), who finished fifth in the Jayhawk Conference-Western Division, upset Kansas City on the road Wednesday night, 88-84. KCK finished its season at 19-12.

(E8) FORT SCOTT: Green 2-5 0-0 5, Harper 2-3 0-0 6, Mills 0-3 2-2 2, Rienbolt 1-2 0-0 3, Danner 5-11 0-0 13, Walton 2-9 4-4 8, Thomas 3-7 0-0 8. TOTALS: 15-40 6-6 45.

(W1) SEWARD COUNTY: Avila 1-3 0-0 2, Biggs 3-6 0-0 7, Hollinger 7-11 0-2 14, Jenkins 5-8 0-0 10, Pearson 3-5 0-0 8, Ransom 8-12 3-4 22, Starks 6-8 0-0 14, White 0-1 0-0 0, Williamson 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 33-54 3-6 77.

Halftime: Seward County, 35-18.

Three-point field goals: Fort Scott 9-17 (Danner 3-4, Thomas 2-2, Harper 2-3, Rienbolt 1-2, Green 1-3), Seward County 8-15 (Ransom 3-4, Starks 2-3, Pearson 2-4, Biggs 1-2).

Total fouls: Fort Scott 6, Seward County 10. Fouled out: none. Technical fouls: none.

Rebounds: Fort Scott 18 (Walton 5), Seward County 29 (Hollinger 8). Assists: Fort Scott 8, Seward County 18. Turnovers: Fort Scott 19, Seward County 9. Steals: Fort Scott 5, Seward County 13. Blocked shots: Fort Scott none, Seward County 4.

Special thanks to Matt Newbery of KSEK-FM for assistance in gathering the box score.