Both Greensburg’s girls’ and boys’ basketball teams had to settle for runner-up status in Saturday night’s Coldwater Regional when each lost in overtime, the girls falling 44-43 to Bucklin, while the Rangers came up short 60-57 in their finals match up with host South Central.
   It was also the second time in less than three weeks the Rangers took the Timber Wolves to OT, besting them by six in a protracted February 4 makeup game on the same court.
   White’s approach to defending Central’s outstanding shooter Trae Beck was the same as 19 days earlier, which was to basically make the junior’s teammates beat him offensively.  Again using a mix of box-and-one and doubling up on Beck out of a zone, the sharpshooter was held in check even more convincingly Saturday, scoring only 10 points in all five periods, and only three after the first.  Beck was held to 15 in regulation Feb 4.
   Though the result wasn’t as favorable this time around, White said later he didn’t regret again taking the shot away from number 11.
   “You just can’t play them man because Beck will light you up if you do,” White said.  “Bucklin tried that (Thursday night semi final game) and Beck goes off on them for 29.  So the fact we lost is disappointing, but not as much as if he’d beat us.  We challenged their other guys to step up and get it done, and they did.”
   Kekoa Mendenhall, in fact, had a season-high 16 points, in addition to Jeremy Flinkman dropping in 18.  “If Mendenhall doesn’t hit his first shot he usually backs off from shooting,” White said.  “But he did hit his first and he kept going.  That’s a risk you take, and tonight it didn’t pay off.”
   Greensburg, meanwhile, had only four Rangers in the scoring column, led by Eric White’s season-high 29, punctuated by eight from beyond the arc.  Dave Cesmat and Logan Waters each chipped in 10, Lane Allison ending with eight.
   “Offensively we were pretty efficient,” White said.  “We went inside early on when they played us man and used our size advantage with Cesmat to score.  Then when they went zone Eric stepped up and hit threes.  Last time (Feb 4) it was Seiler who stepped up and hit the threes when they zoned us.  I’m just a little disappointed in myself, that when we play that well offensively we can’t get it done defensively to win. I should’ve done more mixing it up on defense to force them to react more to us.”
   Though Greensburg actually led by four at the break, Central entered the final period with a three-point lead after a 17-10 advantage in the third.  The game was tied four consecutive times at 47, 49, 51 and 53 in the closing three minutes.
  Though the Wolves had the first chance to win the game in regulation after calling a timeout with 12 second remaining, an errant pass from Jeremy Flinkman to Ryan Selzer sailed out of bounds giving the Rangers their opportunity.  White called for a ball screen at the top of the key, resulting in a 12-footer by Eric White that was blocked by Justin Flinkman.  With Lane Allison unable to track down the carom before it slid out of bounds the game headed to extra innings.
   Though the game was alternately tied in overtime at both 55 and 57, Greensburg could score no more than four, though the Rangers again had their chances, as when Cesmat was called for a charge while scrambling for a loose ball on the low block with just under a minute remaining.  GHS trailed 59-57 at the time.
   Still trailing by that count, the Rangers came up with a rebound off a Central miss, only to see a pass from Andrew Seiler to Eric White sail wide out of bounds in front of the Greensburg bench.
   Desperate to get the ball back, Greensburg then fouled Justin Flinkman, the sophomore hitting only the first to push Central’s lead to three.  After rebounding the ball GHS called time only to see Beck steal the ball, but in turn get called for double dribble as he tried to tight rope walk the sideline. 
   After yet another timeout, White called again for a screen for Eric White outside the arc.  Unable to get a clean look, however, White’s shot clanged off the rim as time expired.
   At 17-5, White’s team now prepares to face 20-3 Macksville in Sub State action Thursday night in Larned, well aware they dropped a 56-37 game to the ‘Stangs February 9—a game White characterized at the time as having been brutally physical.  He expects nothing less Thursday as well.
   “First of all we have to go into this game understanding just how physical it’s going to be,” White said.  “The officials seemed to ignore how physical they get (in prior game), especially on the offensive glass, and that may happen again.  If the officiating goes this time like it did before I may end up getting a technical in the first half trying to get it stopped.”
   As for how he’ll approach defending the reigning state football champs, White said it’d be the total opposite of how he planned for South Central.
   “It’ll be man,” he said.  “The (Jeremy) Loomis kid is the toughest match up, especially going to the basket.  I’ll probably try Eric, Logan and even Adam (Haskin) on him.  But we can’t give them a lot of second shots.”
   Noting several having commented to him after Saturday night’s game how tough a first Sub State round match up Macksville will be, White stated the obvious.
   “Sure it’s a tough match up the first round, but you’ve got to beat them some time to get to State,” he said.  “It may as well be Thursday that we do it.”
Girls fall in OT also…
   Greensburg’s girls, meanwhile, saw a combined 30-point effort by seniors Kacey Fulton and Lindsey Haft go for naught as the Lady Rangers fell by a single point in overtime in the earlier game.
   After finishing regulation knotted at 40 all, neither team scored in the extra period until Bucklin’s Kaitlin Long hit a lone free throw with 2:19 remaining, on a call that sent Megan Booth packing with her fifth personal.  Jordan Eller gave GHS a short-lived 42-41 lead just seconds later on a 12-footer, only to again see Long hit one of two from the line to again tie matters at 42.
   Fouled on a drive to the rim, Eller missed both foul shots at the 1:42 mark, leaving the scored knotted at 42.  Finding herself at the line with 51 ticks left, Fulton could hit only the first of two, putting the Lady Rangers up by one.  Bucklin’s Lauren Torline, however, hit both foul shots with 39 seconds left to put the Lady Aces up for good.
    Coach Marshall Ballard called time with 12 seconds to go, designing a play to free up Fulton for a drive to the basket, which she got as time ran down.  The ball, however, scooted off the heel to seal Greensburg’s fate.
   Fulton led the Greensburg attack with 16 points, while Heft contributed 14 of her own.
    Greensburg was nothing but consistent in regulation, going six for 19 from the field in both halves, or 12-38 for 31.5 percent in regulation.  While hitting only one of four free throws in overtime, the girls were 13-24 the first four quarters from the stripe for 54.2 percent.
   The girls themselves face a tough first round opponent at the Larned Sub State when they go against 22-1 and fourth-ranked South Barber Friday night at 6 p.m.  Barber defeated Skyline in their regional final game Saturday in Pratt.