Greyhound men upset No. 4 Johnson County

Fort Scott Community College's men showed a deeper bench than Johnson County Wednesday night as the Greyhounds upset the No. 4-ranked Cavaliers, 93-83, in Jayhawk Conference-Division II play at Arnold Arena.

Fort Scott's bench scored 26 points to just 9 for Johnson County. All of the Cavaliers' bench points came from one player, Chris Edwards. This proved a major issue for Johnson late in the game when three starters fouled out.

With the victory, Fort Scott is 2-0 in the conference and 8-13 overall, having won its fourth consecutive game. The current win streak is the only time this season the 'Hounds have won more than once without a loss coming next time out.

The conference's Division II schools competed separately from the Division I teams two seasons ago with Fort Scott winning the D-II title. The teams were recombined into one division last season, then separated again for this season. This means that the Greyhounds are, at least technically, the defending champions of KJCCC-Division II and have taken a major step toward defending that title.

Johnson County fell to 2-1, 18-3, with its two previous losses coming to Division I North Arkansas and Division II Penn Valley, Mo., which also currently has a losing record (9-11).

The Region VI post-season tournament is seeded based on records versus all five KJCCC Division-II teams -- Kansas City, Highland and Labette are also included -- and independents Brown Mackie and Hesston. Fort Scott -- which lost in overtime to Brown Mackie on Jan. 13 -- Johnson County, Kansas City and Hesston are tied for the best mark in post-season seeding games at 3-1.

Fort Scott led Johnson County 51-35 at halftime and 66-48 with 9:30 remaining in the game.

The Cavs got within 70-58 with 7:56 remaining but could never get enough going to fully overcome the deficit.

Jeremiah Fleming went 6 of 12 from the 3-point line to lead Fort Scott with 24 points. Marcus Allen made 8 of 12 field-goal attempts in adding 20 points and Dametrius Walker was 7 of 12 as he finished with 18.

Danzel Wright led Johnson County with 33 points, going 7 of 14 from the 3-point line and 12 of 13 from the charity stripe. Tyler Tucker chipped in with 18 points and Warren Specht had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

The Greyhounds shot 49 percent from the field, making 32 of 66 free throws and outrebounded the Cavaliers 45-27. That was enough to overcome 24 turnovers.

Johnson County made 12 of 30 3-point shots but shot just 38 percent overall after making only 13 of 36 shots inside the arc.

The Greyhounds travel to Kansas City Kansas Saturday for a 4 p.m. game. The Blue Devils (2-1, 15-7) defeated Brown Mackie 84-76 in overtime Wednesday night.

JOHNSON COUNTY: Clayter 2-10 3-3 7, Perry 1-8 1-3 4, Wright 7-19 12-13 33, Tucker 7-13 3-3 18, Specht 5-8 2-4 12, Young 0-0 0-0 0, Schrader 0-1 0-0 0, Myers 0-1 0-0 0, Edwards 3-6 0-0 9, Gatlin 0-0 0-0 . TOTALS: 25-66 21-26 83.

FORT SCOTT: Walker 7-12 4-4 18, Allen 8-12 4-4 20, Sims 2-9 3-3 7, Fleming 7-15 4-4 24, George 2-6 0-4 4, Cerda 1-2 0-1 2, Brull 0-1 0-0 0, Benbow 0-2 3-6 3, Owens 2-2 4-4 8, Thompson 3-5 1-2 7. TOTALS: 32-66 23-32 93.

Halftime: Fort Scott, 51-35.

Three-point field goals: Johnson County 12-30 (Wright 7-14, Edwards 3-6, Perry 1-4, Tucker 1-4, Specht 0-1, Myers 0-1), Fort Scott 6-17 (Fleming 6-12, Allen 0-1, Brull 0-1, Sims 0-3).

Total fouls: Johnson County 24, Fort Scott 21. Fouled out: Clayter, Perry, Specht.

Rebounds: Johnson County 27 (Specht 13), Fort Scott 45 (Allen 8, Thompson 8). Assists: Johnson County 14 (Perry 5), Fort Scott 16 (Sims 4). Turnovers: Johnson County 11, Fort Scott 24. Steals: Johnson County 3 (Clayter, Perry, Specht), Fort Scott 5 (Walker 2). Blocked shots: Johnson County 5 (Specht 2), Fort Scott 5 (George 2).