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'Hounds handle Penn Valley; NEO visits tonight
Fort Scott Community College's men won their fourth straight game Saturday afternoon as the Greyhounds evened their season record with a 91-72 win over Penn Valley (Mo.) at Arnold Arena.
It was Fort Scott's highest-scoring game of the season and the most points for the 'Hounds since beating Independence, 96-91 in double overtime, on Feb. 2 of last season. It was the first time a Fort Scott team scored 90 or more in regulation since February of 2009.
Kevin House scored 20 of his team-leading 27 points in the second half and was one of three Greyhounds with double-doubles. He made 7 of 12 shots from the field and 13 of 14 free-throw attempts. The transition game was especially efficient for the 'Hounds and House was the catalyst.
The overall effort Fort Scott (4-4) put out was more than enough to overcome a 2-of-19 afternoon from behind the 3-point line.
"I just told them that we don't have to shoot the 3 well if we defend and rebound and get out and run and let Kevin do his thing," Fort Scott head coach Michael Cook said. "For us to rebound like we did tonight and outrun them, I felt like we did a great job tonight."
Fort Scott also outrebounded Penn Valley, 65-34 -- the 'Hounds had 34 rebounds at halftime -- as Mabor Gabriel and Prince Samuels also had double-doubles. House had 10 rebounds, Samuels scored 19 and had 12 boards and Gabriel put in 12 and grabbed 11 rebounds. In addition, Dalton Rose scored 14 points for the 'Hounds, who made 31 of 37 free-throw attempts.
Samuels scored the Greyhounds' first 7 points. But Penn Valley held a 15-9 lead with 14:08 to go when Tre Wells hit a 3-point shot. That was when Fort Scott's transition enjoyed its first outburst as the 'Hounds scored 15 of the next 19, holding Penn Valley without a field goal for over 10 minutes.
Dalton Rose scored Fort Scott's last 6 points of the half, including a buzzer-beating jumper off an assist by Gabriel to make it 41-29.
Penn Valley roared back at the beginning of the second half, scoring 15 of the first 19 to get with in 45-44 with 12:45 remaining on a Terry Moore 3-pointer. The Scouts slapped on a full-court press but the 'Hounds figured out how to get around it and started drawing some fouls. The free throws they earned were a big part of a 16-4 streak that built the lead back up to 51-48 with 9:07 to go. Fort Scott made every single one of 10 free throws they were awarded in that stretch.
Some transition layups keyed a 10-3 run later in the half that increased the margin to 77-59 with 4:47 remaining. That run started with a pair of House free throws and featured four fast-break layups, each by different players with House assisting on three of them. House dished 8 assists in the game.
"We know that Kevin's probably one of the fastest guys in our conference," Cook said. "I think you hear me hollering, "Run!" because he's going to get out and go. And you can't have a one-man fast break. I thought Dontae (Johnson), Dalton (Rose) and C.J. (Hall) ran the floor very well tonight."
Maurice Mason scored 30 points for Penn Valley. He made 5 of 10 3-point attempts but only 4 of 16 inside the arc. Moore added 14 points on 4-of-16 shooting. Penn Valley shot 31 percent as a team on 23 of 74.
The Greyhounds will play host to Northeastern Oklahoma A&M tonight at 7 p.m. at Arnold Arena. The Golden Norsemen handed Fort Scott an 85-71 defeat in Miami, Okla., on Nov. 9. NEO (5-3) hosted Murray State (Okla.) Monday night.
NOTES --This was Samuels' fourth double-double at FSCC and House's first. Both are sophomores while Gabriel is a freshman and already has two double-doubles.
The last time Fort Scott had two players with double-doubles was Feb. 11 of last season against Hesston. Samuels had 15 points and 11 rebounds and former Greyhound Ray Ray Chase had 11 points and 16 boards in an overtime victory over Hesston....
Samuels' last double-double prior to Saturday was a 10-point, 12-board effort at Highland in the first round of last season's Region VI Division II Tournament. Fort Scott tok an 85-84 overtime victory that afternoon, which was its first playoff victory since 1969....
Fort Scott has won four straight games for just the second time since January of 2007. Tonight, the Greyhounds will look for their fifth straight win, something that's been done just one other time since December 2006. Last season, the 'Hounds beat Wentworth Military for their fourth straight win Nov. 17 then beat Highland three days later. A week later, the Central Methodist JV broke that streak with an 86-73 win in Fayette, Mo....
PENN VALLEY: Mason 9-26 7-9 30, Moore 4-16 5-5 14, Wells 3-7 0-0 7, Tatum 2-4 1-4 5, McCoy 0-1 0-2 0, Madden 0-0 0-0 0, D.Wilson 0-0 0-0 0, Shackelford 0-4 0-0 0, B.Wilson 2-6 3-3 8, Smith 0-2 2-2 2, Tyler Daniel 0-1 0-0 0, Tyrone Daniel 1-4 0-0 2, Mulkey 2-3 0-2 4. TOTALS: 23-74 18-27 72.
FORT SCOTT: House 7-12 13-14 27, Harrington 3-6 0-0 6, Samuels 7-17 5-9 19, Hall 1-4 3-3 5, Gabriel 3-6 6-6 12, Johnson 2-6 0-0 4, Davis 1-1 1-1 3, McCormack 0-2 0-0 0, Rose 5-15 2-2 14, Brantley 0-0 1-2 1. TOTALS: 29-69 31-37 91.
Halftime: Fort Scott, 41-29.
Three-point field goals: Penn Valley 8-28 (Mason 5-10, Wells 1-4, B.Wilson 1-4, Moore 1-8, Shackleford 0-1, Houston 0-1), Fort Scott 2-19 (Rose 2-9, Samuels 0-1, House 0-2, Harrington 0-2, Hall 0-2, Johnson 0-3).
Total fouls: Penn Valley 30, Fort Scott 20. Fouled out: Wells.
Rebounds: Penn Valley 34 (McCoy 8), Fort Scott 65 (Samuels 12, Gabriel 11, House 10). Assists: Penn Valley 9 (Moore 4), Fort Scott 15 (House 8). Turnovers: Penn Valley 8, Fort Scott 16. Steals: Penn Valley 6 (Mason 2, Moore 2), Fort Scott 3 (House 2). Blocked shots: Penn Valley 2 (McCoy, Mulkey), Fort Scott 2 (Gabriel 2).