Strong second half pushes FSCC men to 18th win

For just the 14th time in 94 seasons of Fort Scott Community College men’s basketball, the Greyhounds have won at least 18 games in a season following a 100-69 rout of Hesston in Region VI play at Arnold Arena Saturday.

The ’Hounds led 41-37 at the half before outscoring the Larks by 27 points in the second half.

Fort Scott stands third in region seeding at 4-2 with a season sweep of the Larks in hand. The ’Hounds are 18-8 overall, their most victories since going 19-12 in 2006-07. They have clinched a winning season for the first time since then. This will be the first winning season for head coach 10th-year head coach Michael Cook.

Tyler Zinn scored 30 points for the Greyhounds, going 10 for 15 from the floor and hitting 6 of 10 3-point attempts. Zinn, who leads the conference in scoring and is among the top 20 in NJCAA Division II with a 21.0 per-game average, scored 30 or more for the fourth time this season. The only Fort Scott player who has done that more in recent history is Arsenio Williams, who reached 30 or more five times during the 2007-08 season.

John Montgomery, who has averaged 16 points in the 10 games since he joined the team in January, added 25 points as he went 12 of 20 from the field. It’s the second time this season that he and Zinn have combined for at least 55 points. Since 2013-14, the Greyhounds are 10-1 when teammates combine for at least 50 points.

Dontrell Sanders added 18 points and Andre Nelson chipped in with 11 for the Greyhounds. The top four scorers on the afternoon combined to make 34 of 54 field-goal attempts. As a team, Fort Scott shot 58 percent on 40 of 69.

Cal Hartley led Hesston (1-5, 13-9) with 13 points while Grant Harding and Coye Campbell each scored 11. The Larks shot 46 percent from the field, making 22 of 48 fielders.

The Greyhounds will look to complete a season sweep of Kansas City Kansas Saturday afternoon. Tip off is scheduled for 4 p.m.

HESSTON: Ladwig 3-5 0-0 8, Hartley 4-13 2-3 13, Johnson 2-5 2-2 6, Harding 3-7 4-5 11, Neely 1-4 3-4 5, Campbell 4-7 3-4 11, Handcock 2-4 1-1 6, Korf 1-1 0-0 2, Moye 0-0 0-0 0, Cordes 1-1 0-0 3, Curless 1-1 2-2 4, Almonor 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22-48 17-21 69.

FORT SCOTT: Zinn 10-15 4-6 30, Montgomery 12-20 1-4 25, Brocato 1-5 3-4 5, Nelson 5-7 0-0 11, Sanders 7-12 4-5 18, Davis 2-7 0-0 5, Flowers 3-3 0-0 6, Richardson 0-0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 40-69 12-19 100.

Fort Scott................................ 41 59 — 100

Three-point field goals: Hesston 8-27 (Hartley 3-9, Ladwig 2-4, Cordes 1-1, Handcock 1-2, Harding 1-4, Neely 0-2, Campbell 0-2, Johnson 0-3).

Total fouls: Hesston 21, Fort Scott 19. Fouled out: Flowers.

Rebounds: Hesston 27 (Johnson 4, Harding 4), Fort Scott 33 (Nelson 7, Sanders 7). Assists: Hesston 9 (3 with 2 each), Fort Scott 20 (Montgomery 7). Turnovers: Hesston 20, Fort Scott 9. Steals: Hesston 2 (Harding 2), Fort Scott 6 (3 with 2 each). Blocked shots: Hesston none, Fort Scott 1 (Zinn).