BY BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
KISMET—It took the Larned boys a half to adjust without two starters Friday before they delivered a 67-51 basketball victory over Southwestern Heights.
Starters Brock Skelton and Trent Fletcher missed the game due to illness.
The Indians outscored SW Heights 28-14 in the final stanza, leading to the 16-point victory.
“Juan Garcia was giving us fits on the inside in the first half. We made adjustments and did a better job,” said Larned coach Jerrod Smith. “Our increased intensity on defense allowed us to score some easy baskets and get things rolling. It was a nice win for us, especially being short-handed.”
Larned’s Brayden Rupp scored 24 points and Chance Sanger scored 20. Mason Perez added 14. Larned trailed by 11 points, but converted 25 of 48 from the field and 10 of 13 from the line.
No. 1 seed Larned (14-6) plays Goodland (1-18) Tuesday in the 3A Kismet substate. The Indians will return to Southwestern Heights Friday and Saturday.
The Indians trailed at halftime 31-23. The Indians forced shots and converted 10 of 26 field goals.
Things changed in a hurry in the third quarter as Larned hit their its three shots.
“We played confused that first half,” said Smith. “We took poor shots and hurried possessions. We talked about toughening on defense and we did that.”
Behind key baskets by Brayden Rupp and Chance Sanger and the defensive prowess of Mason Perez, Larned outscored the Mustangs 16-6 for a 39-37 lead.
Juan Garcia with 25 while Ruben Torres added 16. The Mustangs made 19 of 33 field goal attempts and 9 of 14 free throws. SW Heights (8-12) travels to Scott City Tuesday for a 3A substate game.
Larned 12 11 16 28 – 67
SW Hts 12 19 6 14 – 51
LARNED (14-6)—Rupp 24, Sanger 20, Perez 14, Smith 5, Thomas 4
SW HEIGHTS (8-12)—Garcia 25, Torres 16, Arellano 6, Flores 2, Efren Mercado 2BY
BUDDY TABLER
Special to the Tribune
KISMET—The Larned Lady Indians won their final regular-season game overpowering the SW Heights Mustangs 43-24 Friday evening.
Larned regained their shooting eye in the third quarter. Larned converted 4 of 7 shots for a 26-14 lead. A 10 of 22 second half shooting mark enabled the Indians to pull away.
Larned’s Katelyn Sanger led the scoring parade with 16 while Monica Clark added eight and Ivory Muldrow and Katie Fischer six apiece.
Monica Clark came off the bench to pour in eight fourth-quarter points.
“I was pleased for Monica,” said Larned coach Ashley Crosby. “She’s a senior who’s worked hard. Our second half was much better offensively. This is a good win for us moving into substate play.”
Larned (9-11) plays Hugoton Monday at home. The Indians shot 16 of 51 from the field and 8 of 16 from the charity stripe. SW Heights committed 22 turnovers.
Larned led 15-7 at halftime as the Mustangs made one first-half field goal. The Mustangs were scoreless in the second quarter.
“We struggled shooting the ball, but there are other things to win ball games,” said Crosby. “Rebounding, defense and being aggressive. We did that tonight.”
SW Heights (2-18) has lost 18 straight games and travels to Scott City Monday. The Mustangs were only 7 of 30 from the field but countered with 10 of 12 free throws. Shelby Sutherland led the Mustangs in scoring with 13 points while Anaee Gutierrez added five and Michelle Alvidrez four.
