By JIM MISUNAS
jmisunas@gbtribune.com

NICKERSON — Larned’s 58-26 Central Kansas League victory over Nickerson clinched a substate showdown with state-ranked Hugoton in the Larned Class 4A basketball substate. Larned (13-5, 6-3 CKL) will meet Hugoton (12-5) in the second game March 5 at Larned Middle School.
Top-seeded Holcomb (17-1) will meet Pratt (10-8) March 5 in the Class 4A-Division 2 Larned substate. Holcomb is top-ranked in Class 4A Division 2, but lost 75-64 to Scott City Tuesday. Hugoton and Holcomb meet Feb. 24.
Larned’s boys outscored Nickerson 21-3 in the fourth quarter. Larned clinched the victory with a typically balanced offense with Evan Skelton and Trevor Meyer scoring 12 points apiece and Derek Delgado adding 10 points.
The Panthers attacked the basket, but Larned was well prepared and drew several charging fouls.
“It was tough for us for a team that likes to drive to the basket. We weren’t getting the calls tonight,” said Nickerson coach Pete Herrera.”
LARNED 58, NICKERSON 26
Larned       9  15   3  21 — 58
Nickerson    4  13   6   3  — 26
Larned—Skelton 4-11 2-2 12, Meyer 4-10 4-5 12, Delgado 3-7 4-9 10, Perez 4-6 0-0 8, Galliart 3-4 2-3 8, O’Neill 3-6 0-0 6, Jordan Zimmerman 0-4 2-2 2; Totals 21-48 14-21 58.
NHS—Petz 2-3 1-2 5, O’Toole 1-8 2-2 5, Lehman 2-6 1-2 5, Coleman Jordan 2-9 0-0 4, Berridge 1-4 0-0 2, Cody Casey 1-4 0-0 2, Stewart 1-8 0-0 3; Totals 10-42 4-6 26.
LARNED GIRLS — Kelsey Parr fired in four 3-pointers to spark Larned’s girls past Nickerson 47-33 for the Indians’ first Central Kansas League basketball victory.
Larned (3-15, 1-8 CKL) took charge with an 18-9 edge in the third quarter for a 35-20 lead.
Larned will be seeded fourth and clinched a game with top-seeded Hugoton (15-2) in the Larned Class 4A-Division 2 substate March 6. Pratt (14-4) and Holcomb (10-8) will meet in the first semifinal game at Larned Middle School.
Nickerson (0-18, 0-9 CKL) lost its school record 46th consecutive game.
“They fought hard,” said Nickerson coach Wes Bartett. “I’m always proud of them. They got too anxious on open looks and looked for the outside shot too  much.”
Lyons visits Nickerson Friday. Nickerson’s girls have clinched the fourth seed and will play top-seeded Wichita Trinity in the Nickerson substate.
LARNED 47, NICKERSON 33
Larned      10  7   18  12 — 47
Nickerson    3  8    9  13  — 33
Larned—Parr 4-9 0-0 12, Skelton 2-6 5-6 9, Aldrich 3-13 2-2 8, Shepherd 2-9 0-1 5, Smith 1-1 3-3 5, Finger 2-5 0-0 4, Lessard 2-5 0-0 4, Totals 16-48 10-11 47.
Nickerson—Evans 0-6 9-13 9, Herrman 2-12 3-5 8, Denis Ortiz 1-8 5-8 7, Mader 2-6 2-2 6, Leslie Ortiz 0-0 2-2 2, Davis 0-4 1-2 1; Totals 5-36 22-32 33.