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Lack of rebounding factors in mens' loss
It's there on a sheet of paper, glaring as it indicates an area of insufficiency in Wednesday night's junior-college basketball game at Arnold Arena.
Fort Scott Community College's men had just 23 rebounds in a 68-58 loss to former division rival Independence. The Pirates had 43 rebounds, including two more defensive boards than the Greyhounds (1-6) had as a team.
Fort Scott trailed by just one point with 4 1/2 minutes remaining in the contest, 52-51, despite that number. But then Indy's David Beasley got hot, scoring 10 of his team's last 11 points.
Greyhound head coach Michael Cook said his team performed well in many areas and undefeated Independence (7-0) executed its game plan well. But when it came down to it...
"Offensive rebounds," Cook cited as a chief factor -- the Greyhounds had only 5 of them in the game. "We didn't block out tonight. We just tried to out-jump people. We didn't put a body on anyone the entire night. We gave up 18 offensive rebounds and that's 18 second-change opportunities they get. And you're gonna lose when you don't control the boards."
Fort Scott executed its defensive plan well in the first half, according to Cook. The goal was to make the Pirates beat them on the inside and Independence struggled with that. But in the second half, Indy's outside game started to take control.
Tyrone Riley converted a 3-point play for the Pirates with 4:16 to go to make it 55-51. Then Devin Ferguson took a steal in for a dunk. Beasley then hit the first of four straight Indy baskets, a 3-point shot from the right win with 3:28 remaining.
Dametrius Walker scored a layup for Fort Scott moments later. But then Beasley drove baseline for another score. Then he hit a runner in the paint to make it 64-53 with 1:52 left.
Tyler Owens made two free throws for Fort Scott with 1:28 left. But Beasley capped his personal run with another 3-pointer with 1:02 left to make it 67-55.
"They hit some open threes because we were tired on rebounding," Cook said. "Overall, I thought our defense was good and our offense was good. We didn't execute on the boards."
Independence scored nine straight points midway through the first half to take a 19-3 lead. But Fort Scott came back, going on a 12-2 run that Evan Brull capped a 3-point goal with 3:22 left in the half. That put Fort Scott head 25-21.
The Greyhounds didn't score again the rest of the half. Indy tied it at the break with a Tyrone Riley basket with 1:38 to go and Beasley's free throws 23 seconds later.
Indy also scored the first 6 points of the second half with back-to-back Ferguson baskets making it 31-25
Four of Fort Scott's first five baskets of the first half were Jeremiah Fleming 3-pointers bt it was Marcus Allen's stickback that put the Greyhounds up 36-25 with 12:32 to go.
Fleming's 3-pointer from the right wing with 11:20 remaining in the contest gave Fort Scott the lead for the last time, 39-38. Independence scored 9 of the next 10 points.
Allen scored a layup with 4:15 to go and Walker made two free throws with 4:30 remaining to bring the 'Hounds within 52-51.
Fleming led Fort Scott with 20 points as he made 6 of 14 3-point shots. Walker added 17, going 6 of 8 from the field, and Allen finished with 14.
Beasley led Independence with 17 points as he made 6 of 7 from the floor. Ferguson and De'Andre King added 11 each.
Fort Scott shot 39 percent from the floor, making 20 of 52 field-goal attempts. Independence finished at 44 percent on 24 of 55.
This was the first of four consecutive home games for the Greyhounds. They are co-hosting the Gladbach Classic today and Saturday along with the FSCC women. Tonight, the 'Hounds will face Wentworth Military at 8 p.m. Saturday, Fort Scott will take on Penn Valley at 6 p.m. Monday night, Fort Scott will host a singleheader against the Westminister College junior varsity at 7 p.m.
INDEPENDENCE: D.Turner 4-6 0-1 9, Riley 3-7 3-5 9, King 4-11 0-0 11, Beasley 6-7 2-2 17, Hunt 1-3 0-0 2, Ferguson 4-8 3-6 11, T.Turner 1-4 3-4 5, Smith 1-7 2-2 4, Ennis 0-0 0-0 0, Hart 0-0 0-0 0, Scroggins 0-2 0-0 0, Tripp 0-0 0-0 0, Adeyemo 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 24-55 13-20 68.
FORT SCOTT: Walker 6-8 3-4 17, Allen 6-10 2-2 14, Fleming 6-14 2-2 20, Oliver 0-2 0-0 0, Owens 0-6 2-2 2, Cerda 0-3 0-0 0, Brull 1-4 0-0 3, Thompson 1-5 0-0 2, Freeman 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 20-52 9-10 58.
Halftime: Tied, 25-25.
Three-point field goals: Independence 7-18 (Beasley 3-4, King 3-6, D.Turner 1-2, T.Turner 0-2, Smith 0-4), Fort Scott 9-30 (Fleming 6-14, Walker 2-3, Brull 1-4, Oliver 0-1, Thompson 0-1, Allen 0-2, Cerda 0-2, Owens 0-3).
Total fouls: Independence 17, Fort Scott 12. Fouled out: None.
Rebounds: Independence 43 (Riley 10, Ferguson 10), Fort Scott 23 (Walker 5). Assists: Independence 12 (Beasley 4), Fort Scott 13 (Walker 5). Turnovers: Independence 10, Fort Scott 18. Steals: Independence 6 (6 with 1 each), Fort Scott 9 (Walker 3). Blocked shots: Independence none, Fort Scott 2 (Brull, Thompson).