BY BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
LARNED – On a night when Larned’s shooting touch deserted them the Indians relied on a tenacious defense to carry them to victory, 54-31 over Macksville team in the Gene Keady Basketball Classic.
Larned struggled to a 14-6 first quarter lead by forcing nine Macksville turnovers. But the Indians missed shots and layups off turnovers. The Indians made six of 12 free throws for a 30-20 halftime lead off 17 Macksville turnovers.
Larned coach Jerrod Smith said, “We are a good shooting team but it wasn’t there tonight. When you have one of those nights you have to win on defense and rebounding and I thought our defense was very good tonight.”
The second half wasn’t much different. A third quarter 42-28 lead pushed to 23 points behind better free throw shooting.
The tenacious defense was spearheaded by Larned’s Chance Sanger who created numerous turnovers and had a strong night rebounding.
“We got frustrated because we weren’t making shots we normally make but I was really pleased with our effort tonight,” Smith said. “Macksville is a good young ball club and they are going to continue to get better.”
Macksville had 30 turnovers with 11 of 33 shooting and 7 of 17 free throws. Cleven Huggins scored 16 points. Alexis Barron added eight points. The Mustangs (0-2) plays Kinsley at 7:15 p.m. Thursday.
"We turned it over way too much to have a chance," said Macksville coach Jeff Kuckelman. "They had a lot to do with that as they have very good quickness and athleticism. We need to shoot better to hang with teams of that caliber. We did a good job defensively and played hard, but just didn't do enough on offense to give us much of a chance."
Larned converted 20 of 56 shots for 30% and made 14 of 24 free throws. Dillan Smith and Melo Bryant scored nine apiece while Chance Sanger and Trent Fletcher had seven apiece.
Larned (2-0) plays Spearville in Friday at 7:15 p.m.
MACKSVILLE GIRLS 57, LARNED 48 – Macksville’s Lydia Mendez poured through 22 points and Kimber Duncan added 18 points as the Mustangs stunned Larned 57-48.
The Indians played without Kaylee Mead who will miss the next 4 to 6 weeks with a wrist injury, adding more problems to an already inexperienced lineup.
A nip and tuck first quarter ended with Macksville holding a 16-14 edge but the Mustangs’ Kimber Duncan nailed three consecutive three-point baskets to end the second quarter and Macksville surged out to a 36-27 lead that they would never surrender. At one time in the third quarter Macksville’s lead grew to 17 points before Larned started a slow rally that would reduce the deficit to 7 points in the fourth quarter, but the Lady Mustangs went in a ball control mode with five minutes remaining and held the rally off.
“What we couldn’t have happen did happen and that’s foul trouble,” said Larned coach Ashley Crosby. “We’re down to four players with experience. When we have to go to the bench it makes it very difficult.” Larned’s inexperience showed as they turned the ball over 25 times in the game, leading to scoring opportunities for Macksville.
Larned’s Jayme Hagerman delivered 17 points and Eden Evers added 10 and Julie Tapia nine. Larned shot 32% from the field, 15 of 46 and converted 13 of 26 free throws. Larned (0-2) plays Kinsley at 5:30 Thursday.
Macksville (1-1) plays Spearville at 5;30 p.m. Friday. The Mustangs made 16 of 42 field goals for 38% and converted 18 of 27 free throws.
LARNED 54, MACKSVILLE 31
Macksville 6 14 8 3 — 31
Larned 14 16 12 12 — 54
MACKSVILLE (0-2)—Huggins 6-11 4-6 16; Blaske 0-1 1-2 1; Kuckelman 0-4 1-6 1; Acosta 1-4 0-0 3; Bissell 0-3 0-1 0; Johnson 1-3 0-0 2; Barron 3-7 1-2 8; Totals 11-33 7-17 31.
LARNED (2-0)—Perez 3 2-2 8; Smith 3 3-4 9; Bryant 3 2-4 9; Stelter 1 1-2 3; Skelton 3 0-0 7; Sanger 3 1-3 7; Fletcher 2 2-3 6; Tucker 1 1-4 3; Crosby 0 2-2 2; Totals 19 14-24 54.
3-pointers—M 2-7 (Barron 1-5, Acosta 1-2), L 2 (Bryant 1, Skelton 1). Rebounds—M 37 (Kuckelman 8). Assists—M 8 (Blaske 4). Steals—M 3 (Bissell 1, Barron 1, Blaske 1).
Macksville 16 20 11 10 — 57
Larned 14 13 8 13 — 48
MACKSVILLE (1-1)—Mendez 6 7-11 22; Kimber Duncan 5 4-7 18; Galan 1 0-0 2; Abi Ibarra 2 0-0 4; Garcia 2 2-4 6; Kuckelman 0 5-6 5; Totals 16 18-28 57.
LARNED (0-2)—Jayme Hagerman 5 5-7 17; Eden Evers 3 4-8 10; Tapia 4 1-5 9, Grandy 1 3-7 5, Myrick 2 0-0 4, Krehbiel 1 0-0 3; Totals 16 13-27 48.
3-pointers—M 7 (Duncan 4, Mendez 3); L (Hagerman 2, Krehbiel 1)
LARNED KEADY CLASSIC
MONDAY GIRLS—Spearville 54, Kinsley 32; Macksville 57, Larned 48
TUESDAY GIRLS—2 p.m.—St. John vs. Kiowa County; 5:30 p.m.—Hoisington vs. Bucklin
MONDAY BOYS—Spearville 71, Kinsley 54; Larned 54, Macksville 31
TUESDAY BOYS—3:45 p.m.—St. John vs. Kiowa County; 7:15 p.m.—Hoisington vs. Bucklin
