Salina South’s perfect season didn’t come to an end at one of the toughest places to play in the AVCTL-I.

Despite Myles Thompson’s monster game, Salina South thwarted Hutchinson’s upset bid with timely plays in free throws, grinding out a 64-60 road victory Tuesday night. No. 2 Salina South improved to 13-0, 6-0 in league play while Hutch dipped to 5-9, 2-6 in AVCTL-I.

South opened the game with a 10-2 spurt and eventually led by nine, 12-3. Hutch only logged two field goals in the first eight minutes, but only trailed 12-5 after one.

The Salthawks battled back with an 8-0 run to start the second, capped by a three from Garrett Robertson, giving Hutch the upperhand 13-12. Robertson’s second trey handed Hutch a 19-16 cushion.

Salina South senior AJ Johnson counted with his fourth triple of the season, followed by two free throws to put South back out front. Senior Devon Junghans closed the half with a buzzer-beating three, propelling the Cougars to a 28-24 halftime advantage.

Junghans hit on three more triples in the third. His second trey ballooned the margin to seven, 40-33. Thompson countered for the Salthawks, keeping them in striking distance down 45-41 after three.

The big 6-foot-7 post didn’t stop there, powering Hutch to a brief 53-52 lead. South answered with three huge buckets by seniors Colin Schreiber and Kade Barber and sophomore Te’Jon McDaniel. Junghans, Schreiber and McDaniel made free throws down the stretch to give Salina South the victory.

Junghans paced the Cougars with 20 points. AJ Johnson added 13.

Thompson finished with a career-high 33 points for Hutchinson, scoring 13 in the final eight minutes of action.

HUTCH 42, SOUTH 32

The Salina South girls basketball team built an 11-point cushion in the third.

Then déjà vu struck again.

Hutch turned a double-digit deficit into a victory by double figures with a 25-4 spurt, dropping the Cougars to 6-9 overall, 2-6 in league play. Hutch jumped to 6-8, 4-3 in the AVCTL-I.

Both teams struggled to hang onto the ball. The two teams combined for 13 points and 14 turnovers with the edge belonging to South, leading 7-6 after one.

Salina South created the 11-point advantage with four threes in the second. Kylie Arnold, Acacia Weis, Sydney Peterson, and Kalysa Hamel all connected from deep, pushing the margin out to 28-17.

That’s when things turned South for the Cougars. Hutch turned to the post play of Ziya Simms and Miya Thompson to get things rolling en route to the win. In the first game in December, Hutch trailed by seven before a 22-4 bulge to get the win.

Simms scored 11 points. Harlie Wilson led the Salthawks with 12 points.

Arnold paced the Cougars with 12 points.

Salina South heads to Derby Friday. Pregame at 5:45 on Y93.7 and KSAL.com.