Nothing has come easy for Greensburg’s basketball team this year, the latest inconvenience being an hour delay in Coldwater Monday night waiting for a pair of last-minute replacements from Medicine Lodge to make the drive after the scheduled officiating crew failed to show.
Dave White’s Rangers persevered, however, taking a 60-56 overtime win from South Central, largely on the strength of hitting 10 of 12 free throws in the extra four minutes. The win moves Greensburg to 13-2 on the year. More importantly, the late-night triumph left GHS with a perfect 8-0 league mark with only league games at Ashland and Haviland standing between them and an SPIAA League title.
The Rangers started the game with a frigid shooting touch, missing their first seven attempts from the field, and having fallen to a 25-15 deficit when Logan Waters connected for the second of two first half triples from the wing to pull GHS to within seven late in the second quarter.
“That was a big basket for us, because things weren’t going too well for us at the time,” White said later.
Greensburg came out for the third quarter trailing 25-19, and promptly went on a 10-2 run to claim a 29-27 lead at the 5:03 mark of the period.
“We moved (Andrew) Seiler down to the corner and moved some other people around against their zone in the second half and it worked well,” White said. Seiler, in fact, hit three of his game-high four treys in the third, shaking off a recent three-game scoring slump to lead the second half rally.
Having often said a team must hit at least 65 percent of its free throws to win a big game, White was pleased his squad hit 78 percent from the line for this one, making 17 of 22 attempts overall.
“You’ve got Seiler stepping up and hitting all four of his free throws in the overtime, and how big is that?” White asked rhetorically. “Jarrett Schaef hits both of his in overtime, and how many times has he stepped up late in a game this year and done that? Lane (Allison) hits both of his and Logan (Waters) and Dave (Cesmat) each hit one of two.
“That’s what you need when the other team is fouling you late to get the ball back, and that’s what we did.”
Also key to the Ranger rally was the ability to keep Timber Wolf scoring machine Trae Beck somewhat in check. After hitting for 36 in three quarters at Jetmore Friday, White’s defensive strategy held the junior to a relatively quiet 15 in regulation.
“We played him man-and-a-half and trapped him whenever we could,” White said. “The only time that hurt us was when he was in the corner and we couldn’t get another guy there in time. And when we did that left someone else open, but that didn’t hurt us too often.” Beck hit two triples from NBA-range late in the overtime once the final outcome was determined—his last coming from 25-feet at the buzzer.
Though senior guard Eric White had been doubled over the night before with the flu, he played over 20 minutes before fouling out late in the fourth. “He was about 80 percent tonight,” his dad/coach said later.
Andrew Seiler led a balanced Ranger attack with 16, while Cesmat and Waters finished with 14 and 10 apiece.
With Greensburg scheduled for the long drive to Ashland Tuesday night as The Signal went to press, White said the Blue Jays shouldn’t be taken lightly.
“They’ve been improving as a team, and besides that, it’s going to be back-to-back games for us,” White said. “So, you wonder how our legs are going to be, and hope the flu doesn’t hit anyone else right now.”
Girls fall late…
The Lady Rangers weren’t quite as fortunate Monday night, a last-minute rally falling just short to end in a 43-41 loss.
GHS had trailed by 41-34 with only 43 seconds remaining when a quick bucket by Lindsey Heft and steal by Kacey Fulton trimmed the Wolf lead to three. Heft, in fact, hit a triple at the buzzer to close the final gap at two, eventually finishing with a game-high 17 points. While fellow senior Fulton finished with 12, senior post Megan Booth was unable to make the trip because of the flu bug.
Though Marshall Ballard’s team led Central 30-29 early in the fourth, the Lady Wolves went on an 8-2 run to give the hosts a lead they never again relinquished. Prior to that neither team had led in the game by more than four.
The loss drops GHS to 9-6 on the year, identical to the mark of Haviland whom they’ll face next Tuesday.
Greensburg, KS —
