The Salina South girls and boys basketball teams split with the Derby Panthers Tuesday night at the South gymnasium. The Derby Girls defeated South 55-20, while the South boys defeated the Panthers 53-48.

In the girl’s game, South came out strong and trailed just by 5, 12 -7, at the end of the first quarter. After that, Derby took over. With three players standing 6′ 03″, the Panthers were too much for the Cougars, who were playing short-handed without point guard Acacia Weis.

Kylie Arnold led the way for South, scoring 9 points.

The boy’s game was entertaining, with neither team building a lead larger than 7. South led at the half 25 – 24, while Derby rebounded to lead 35 – 33 at the end of the third quarter.

The Cougars struggled from the free-thrown line for mostt of the night, until the final minutes when they needed them the most.  After missing 9 of their first 10 free throws, the team sank 6 of their last 7 down the stretch to seal the victory.

Josh Jordan led South with 16 points, while AJ Johnson had a double – double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. 

The South Boys are now 2 – 0 on the season while the girls are 0 -2.

South plays at Salina Central Friday night.