’Hound men’s comeback falls short, 86-80

Fort Scott’s Tanner Lackey (20) defends a Neosho County player during the second half of action at Arnold Arena Saturday night. Lackey scored 13 points and handed out 4 assists in an 86-80 loss to the Panthers.

Scott Nuzum/Tribune

In a tale of two halves at Arnold Arena Saturday night, Fort Scott Community College’s men were unable to completely overcome a first half in which they were outscored by 26 points and fell to Division I Neosho County, 86-80, in the final game of the Gladbach Classic

All of the losses for Division II Fort Scott (2-3) have come to NJCAA Division I squads. Both their wins have come to four-year school’s junior varsity teams.

The ’Hounds trailed Neosho County, 52-36, at halftime after shooting just 24 precent from the field, making 7 of 29 field-goal attempts. The Panthers (3-2) shot 68 percent on 19 of 28.

The tables turned in the second half as the Greyhounds shot 61 percent on 19 of 31, going 7 of 14 from 3-point range.

Over a four-minute stretch, the ’Hounds held the Panthers without a field goal during a 14-2 run that closed the deficit to 66-54 with 9:52 to go.

Neosho expanded the lead to 11, 82-71, with 1:49 remaining. But the ’Hounds continued to fight as Tanner Lackey scored 6 points in 13 seconds — a 3-pointer, then a converted 3-point play — to close the deficit to 84-80 with 12 seconds to go.

Labette County High School graduate Javon “Magic” Reliford made two free throws with 10 seconds left to provide the final margin.

Craig Jordan posted a double-double for Fort Scott, scoring 22 points and collecting 10 rebounds. Travis Zeno added 14 points while Andre Nelson finished with 14 and Lackey scored 13.

Brian Tolefree led Neosho County with 18 points followed by James Taylor with 13, Reliford with 13 and Jack Taliaferro with 13.

NEOSHO COUNTY: Tolefree 5-11 6-7 18, Benton 2-3 2-4 6, Bittle 1-1 0-0 2, Fisher 0-1 2-2 2, Taylor 5-5 2-2 15, Reliford 4-11 2-2 13, Adup 2-2 0-0 5, McMiller 0-0 2-5 2, Taliaferro 4-5 0-0 11, Yang 2-4 0-0 5, Ar.Williams 2-4 3-4 7. TOTALS: 27-47 19-26 86.

FORT SCOTT: Snyder 1-2 1-2 4, Nelson 6-15 1-4 14, Lawrence 0-1 0-0 0, Zeno 6-12 1-1 17, Jones 0-3 3-4 3, Aa.Williams 3-7 0-0 6, Lackey 4-8 2-2 13, Jordan 6-8 10-13 22, Mitchell 0-0 0-0 0, August 0-4 1-2 1. TOTALS: 26-60 19-28 80.

Fort Scott................................ 26 54 — 80

Three-point field goals: Neosho County 13-25 (Taylor 3-3, Taliaferro 3-4, Reliford 3-8, Tolfree 2-5, Adup 1-1, Yang 1-3, Ar.Williams 0-1), Fort Scott 9-25 (Zeno 4-10, Lackey 3-7, Snyder 1-2, Nelson 1-3, Lawrence 0-1, August 0-1).

Total fouls: Neosho County 24, Fort Scott 18. Fouled out: Taylor. Technical fouls: McMiller, Neosho County bench (player not in scorebook).

Rebounds: Neosho County 25 (Ar.Williams 5), Fort Scott 36 (Jordan 10). Assists: Neosho County 17 (Reliford 3, Adup 3), Fort Scott 15 (Nelson 5). Turnovers: Neosho County 17, Fort Scott 18. Steals: Neosho County 11 (3 with 2 each), Fort Scott 7 (Zeno 4). Blocked shots: Neosho County 4 (Ar.Williams 2), Fort Scott 3 (Aa.Williams 2).