GILS: Liberal 47, Salina Central 42 (OT)
In the first round of the Salina Invitational Tournament at Salina Central High School, the Lady Mustangs lost to the Liberal Redskins 47-42 in overtime.
Salina Central led most of the way in the first half led by 3- point shots by Tyler Vidricksen, Saniya Triplett and Azbey Peckham. It was a physical game through out but some big shots from Liberal players Kamilah Delgado and Shamari Lewis kept them in the game early.
The Mustangs led 20-14 at half time, but the Redskins roared back in the second half. Liberal starter Hailey Contreras scored all her points in the 2nd half and ended with 11. Seven of the 11 points from Contreras came from the free throw line. Shamari Lewis for Liberal ended with 18 points with 13 coming in the 2nd half.
The three-point shot was falling for the Mustangs early but for the 2nd and 3rd quarters, many of the shots were not falling. The 4th quarter was a different story. Salina Central was able to make some shots and were able to climb back into the game, led by Azbey Peckham, and her 13 points. The biggest shot of the night came from Tyler Vidricksen, where she connected with a 3-point shot with 1.8 seconds left to tie the ballgame.
In overtime, however, some costly turnovers from the Mustangs led to some open buckets for Liberal that sealed the game. Salina Central dropped to 4-4 overall, while the Liberal Redskins improved to 7-3.
Salina Central will play at 6 PM on Friday night, taking on Junction City at Salina South HS. Liberal will battle Andover at 3 PM at Kansas Wesleyan.
Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game: Azbey Peckham
H&R Block of the Game: Saniya Triplett
Scoring:
Liberal 6 / 8 / 15 / 10 / 8
Salina Central 11 / 9 / 4 / 15 / 3
BOYS: Andover 69, Salina Central 53
The Andover Trojans got off to a hot start scoring their first 18 points on six 3-pointers. Andover would end the game with a total of 12 3-point shots in a win against the Salina Central Mustangs 69-53 in the first round of the Salina Invitational Tournament.
Josh Kim, Blake Rucker and Quenci Bradford did most of the damage for Andover from 3-point range. Salina Central did not have an answer, as Andover controlled the game from start to finish.
Impressive performances from Dezmyn Gibson, Kamryn Jones and Thomas McClendon kept the Mustangs within striking distance but were never fully able to close the gap. Salina Central was able to make the game interesting in the 4th quarter but Andover, with a few timelier 3’s ended the Mustang’s chances.
Thomas McClendon led the scoring for the Mustangs with 16 points and was a force, down underneath the basket. He scored a 3 pointer early in the game and scored multiple times from the free throw line. On the defensive side of the ball, Kamryn Jones showed a lot of energy and effort defending Trojans point guard, Josh Kim.
Salina Central did well at driving in the lane, drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line, however it wasn’t enough to overcome the 3 pointers from Andover. With the loss, Salina Central dropped to 3-5 overall and the Andover Trojans improved to 6-3.
Salina Central will play at 4:30 PM Friday at Salina South, taking on Buhler. Andover will play at 4:30 PM at Kansas Wesleyan against Great Bend.
Nex-Tech Wireless Player of the Game: Thomas McClendon
H&R Block of the Game: Kamryn Jones
Scoring:
Andover Trojans 22 / 11 / 22 / 14
Salina Central 9 / 11 / 15 / 18
