The Salina Central Mustangs closed the December portion of their schedule against the Andover Central Jaguars, earning a split outcome on a rare Thursday night of high school hoops.
GIRLS: Salina Central 70, Andover Central 51
Perhaps the most highly-anticipated matchup of the season so far pitted the #3 ranked team in Class 5A according to the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association, Salina Central, against the #2 ranked team in 5A in Andover Central. A back-and-forth affair in the first quarter saw the Mustangs holding a one-point lead after the first eight minutes.
In the second quarter, Salina Central would outscore the Jaguars 19-12 to take an eight-point lead into the locker room, and from there the Mustangs would take complete control.
Behind 22 second-half points from Aubrie Kierscht, the Mustangs would outscore Andover Central 39-28 in the second half and cruise to a 70-51 victory. The win avenges three losses to Andover Central from a season ago, including a season-ending loss in the state semifinal round.
Aubrie Kierscht’s 28 points in the contest led all scorers, but she was joined in double-figures by Chaliscia Samilton with 16 points and Hampton Williams with 14. MyKayla Cunningham had five points and 10 assists unofficially.
The Mustangs head into winter break with a 5-0 record. Andover Central falls to 3-1.
TEAM – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 / FINAL
Andover Central – 11 – 12 – 15 – 13 / 51
Salina Central – 12 – 19 – 22 – 17 / 70
BOYS: Andover Central 61, Salina Central 31
On the boys side, Salina Central was plagued by a slow start and never recovered. The Mustangs fell behind early 7-0 and the Jaguars built on that lead throughout the entire game.
Andover Central leading scorer Kobe Smith put up a stellar performance with 20 points, 15 of which came in the first half. Chance Gulley added 11 points as well for Andover Central, and they would be the only two players to reach double-figures in the game.
The Jaguars led 31-17 at the half and 45-30 after three, but the Mustangs failed to generate any offense at all in the final quarter and Andover Central ran away with the game late, outscoring SC 16-1 in the 4th period to win 61-31.
Hayden Vidrickson led the Mustangs in scoring with eight points. Micah Moore and Freddy Ruffin, Jr. each scored seven points, and Nolan Puckett tallied six.
The loss drops Salina Central to 3-2 on the year, while Andover Central improves to 4-0 on the young season.
TEAM – 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 / FINAL
Andover Central – 19 – 12 – 14 – 16 / 61
Salina Central – 8 – 9 – 13 – 1 / 31
The Salina Central basketball teams will now head into the winter break and get back to action on Friday, January 7th at Andover with tip-offs at 6 and 7:30p.m.. Both games will air on 1150 KSAL and 106.7 FM.
