HAYS — The Otis-Bison High School boys’ basketball team went into Wednesday night’s game as the No, 5 seed.
The Cougars, who are ranked No. 9 in Class 1A Division-II in the final Kansas Basketball Coaches Association poll, had to face defending state champion No. 5-ranked Greeley County.
The Cougars left Gross Memorial Coliseum with a 63-51 win after a big third quarter and making some crucial free throws down the stretch.
“We made enough free throws to hold them off, and we got enough stops to hold them off,” Otis-Bison head coach Alan Clark said. “I think we won every quarter. When we talk about winning every quarter, I think we did that.
“I think we won the first two only by one, but if you win every quarter, you’re going to win the game. That’s what we’ve talked about.”
Trading baskets most of the third quarter, the Cougars found some steam with 2:35 remaining.
Tied at 31, Tyler Maier came off the bench for 6-foot-4 senior Brandon Pechanec, who had four fouls. Maier was fouled under the basket and made 1 of 2 free throws to begin a 10-0 run that closed the third quarter.
Trevor Keller sank a 3-pointer from the right wing, which he followed up by stealing the ball at halfcourt and getting fouled. He made both free throws.
Keller, who went 7-for-8 from the free-throw line in the final two minutes to ice the game, finished with 20 points and four steals.
Dylan Wissman drove to the basket for a layup and Patrick Piper scored two points in transition to give Otis-Bison a 41-31 lead after three quarters.
“We got some turnovers from them, and I’m not so sure that we made them turn it over as they, I don’t know,” Clark said. “I think we got a couple of breakaways, and got some baskets. Our defense turned it up in that stretch where we were able to get out and run.”
Greeley County took a quick 8-4 lead, which the Jackrabbits held until Dylan Wissman scored a layup and a pair of free throws to close the first quarter, giving the Cougars an 11-10 lead.
Otis-Bison opened the second quarter with two points before Greeley County went on an 8-0 run to take an 18-12 lead, but Wissman came to the rescue again, knotting the game at 18 with 2:27 remaining in the first half.
Wissman finished with a team-leading 22 points. He also had three steals and three assists.
“The big key was having Dylan Wissman in the lane,” Clark said. “He got into the lane and made them do some things they didn’t want to do. He scored in there and go to the free-throw line.”
Keller dropped in a jumper as time ran out to take a 20-18 lead at intermission.
Pechanec led the Cougars with eight rebounds.
With the win, Otis-Bison faces No. 1-seeded Hope, which is 20-3 overall, on Friday night at 8:15 in Hays. It will be rematch of last year’s semifinal game that ended with a 57-39 Hope victory.
“It’s a rematch of our semifinal last year that we did not compete very well,” Clark said. “Last year, I thought we seemed a little bit tired. We both had overtime games and it seemed like we spent a lot of emotion in those games. We’re both different teams this year.”

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL
Class 1A Division-II
State tournament

At Hays
Gross Memorial Coliseum

BOYS

Wednesday

Otis-Bison-Bison 63, Greeley County 51
OTIS-BISON-BISON (17-7)
     Dylan Wissman 8-13 6-7 22, Trevor Keller 3-7 12-15 20, Stejskal 0-1 0-2 0, Piper 3-4 2-4 8, Pechanec 4-7 0-1 8, Bartonek 1-1 1-2 3, Urban 0-0 1-2 1, Maier 0-0 1-4 1. Totals 19-33 23-37 63.
GREELEY COUNTY (18-6)
     Cesar Yanez 10-13 4-4 25, Arthur Govert 5-8 0-0 12, Wineinger 0-1 2-5 2, Schneider 1-7 2-3 4, Smith 1-3 2-4 4, Veleta 1-9 1-2 4. Totals 18-41 11-18 51.
Otis-Bison            11  9  21  22 — 63
Greeley County   10  8  13  20 — 51
     Three-point goals — Otis-Bison 2-7 (Keller 2-4, Wissman 0-1, Stejskal 0-1, Piper 0-1); Greeley 4-13 (Govert 2-3, Wineinger 0-1, Schneider 0-1, Yanez 1-1, Veleta 1-7). Assists — Otis-Bison 10 (Wissman 3); Greeley 11 (Govert 4). Steals — Otis-Bison 10 (Keller 4); Greeley 7 (Govert 4). Blocks — Otis-Bison 3 (Three with 1); Greeley 2 (Yanez, Trejo). Fouled out — Wissman, Otis-Bison. Rebounds — Otis-Bison 25 (Piper 8); Greeley 27 (Yanez 11). Turnovers — Otis-Bison 13, Greeley 17.