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'Hounds might need help after loss to Lions
Fort Scott Community College's men may need some help to make sure they get a first-round home game in the post-season Region VI Division II Tournament following a 91-80 loss to Brown Mackie at Arnold Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Lions (5-2 region, 16-11 overall) completed a season sweep of the series, giving them a tie-breaker advantage. That also makes the next two games key for the Greyhounds (3-4, 9-16) as they need to beat Hesston at Arnold Arena Wednesday night at Johnson County at Overland Park Saturday in order to avoid being swept by them.
Fort Scott head coach Michael Cook, knowing that the top five teams in the six-team region are separated by just two games in the standings, feels that it's still possible to grab one of the first-round byes if things work out the right way.
"We win the next three, I think we can finish second or third and we'll have a home playoff game," Cook said. "That's what we're trying to get -- a home playoff game. If we can (finish the season with a) split with Hesston, split with Johnson County and sweep KCK, I think we'll be in second or third. The other guys are going to be going after each other. Brown Mackie still has to go a couple of places, so they can help us out with that."
The regular season ends February 26. Fort Scott will be at Kansas City that night looking to complete a sweep over the Blue Devils, who have not yet won a region seeding game (0-7, 6-21).
The top two finishers in the region receive first-round byes. The third- and fourth-place teams will have first-round home games Fort Scott hasn't had a home playoff game since 1967.
Things looked like they were going to go the Greyhounds' way Saturday as, despite a 7-0 Lion run late in the first half, they went into the locker room with a 37-31 lead.
Fort Scott managed to take the 3-point shot away from Brown Mackie while holding the Lions' top scorers, Rico Spikes, Ahasureus McDonald, Jason Jordan and Bryan Hooker-Harris somewhat in check. Those four normally combine for 52 points a game but had just 43 on Saturday.
The problem was that other Lions stepped up, especially in the second half. Dionte Forney finished with 21 points on 7-of-8 field-goal shooting while Curtis Moore added 11.
The Lions took control of the game at thre free-throw line. Following a 8-0 run that gave them a 73-67 lead with 5:15 to go, they converted 16 of 20 free throws in the final four minutes and pulled away even though they didn't score another field goal following Forney's lay-in with 4:18 left.
Jaylyn McCormack brought the 'Hounds within 80-75 with 1:18 left on a 3-point shot. But Brown Mackie 11 of 14 free throws in the final 1:07.
"We did our job defensively," Cook said. "We took the 3-pointer away from them. But we didn't rebound and opportune times that we needed to. We gave up an offensive rebound, fouled them and gave them a 3-point play.
Will Harrington and Mabor Gabriel each scored 17 points for the 'Hounds while Prince Samuels added 15 before fouling out and Dalton Rose chipped in with 12.
Gabriel led Fort Scott with 7 rebounds and Kevin House handed out 10 assists.
Fort Scott turned the ball over 13 times to just 5 for Brown Mackie.
NOTES -- This was the seventh straight win in this series for Brown Mackie, three of which came last season. Fort Scott last beat the Lions in December of 1996, 74-73, at Arnold Arena....
BROWN MACKIE: Booker 2-4 7-9 11, McDonald 6-14 1-2 14, McLemore 0-3 0-0 0, Sams 0-4 1-4 1, Jordan 2-8 0-0 4, Hooker-Harris 3-7 7-8 14, Smith 1-1 2-2 4, Spikes 5-10 1-4 11, Forney 7-8 7-9 21, Moore 5-6 1-1 11. TOTALS: 31-65 2-39 91.
FORT SCOTT: House 3-11 0-2 6, Harrington 6-9 5-6 17, Samuels 6-12 3-7 15, McCormack 1-3 0-1 3, Rose 4-10 0-0 12, Rowe 1-4 0-0 3, Hall 2-7 2-2 7, Gabriel 5-7 6-9 17. TOTALS: 28-63 16-27 80.
Halftime: Fort Scott, 37-31.
Three-point field goals: Brown Mackie 2-14 (Hooker-Harris 1-3, McDonald 1-5, Booker 0-1, McLemore 0-1, Sams 0-1, Jordan 1-3), Fort Scott 8-20 (Rose 4-10, McCormack 1-1, Gabriel 1-1, Rowe 1-3, Hall 1-4, Harrington 0-1).
Total fouls: Brown Mackie 24, Fort Scott 30. Fouled out: House, Samuels.
Rebounds: Brown Mackie 43 (Forney 12), Fort Scott 39 (Gabriel 9). Assists: Brown Mackie 7 (Smith 2, Forney 2), Fort Scott 14 (House 10). Turnovers: Brown Mackie 5, Fort Scott 13. Steals: Brown Mackie 10 (Hooker-Harris 4), Fort Scott 2 (Samuels, Hall). Blocked shots: Brown Mackie 2 (Sams, Forney), Fort Scott 3 (3 with 1 each).