Web posted
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Late rally falls short for Ark City boys
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Photo by Mike Beauchamp
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By DAVID WOLMAN
Traveler Sports Editor
sports@arkcity.net
For 3 1/2 quarters on Friday night, Arkansas City matched the efforts of the sixth-ranked team in Class 5A, Salina Central.
But it took just one lapse by Ark City to decide the final outcome.
After the game was tied at 36 heading into the fourth quarter, the Mustangs took advantage of sloppy play by the Bulldogs and used a 13-0 run to start the quarter before hanging on and sending Ark City to a 51-44 loss.
"We're just disappointed," Ark City coach Ben Proctor. "We felt like we played a decent game. It's kind of the same thing that we've experienced several times this year. We just couldn't get it done in the end."
And what had hurt the Bulldogs throughout the season came back to haunt them last night: careless turnovers.
By the time Ark City ended Salina Central's run to start the fourth quarter on a Jordan Fields three-pointer, it had already committed five of its 14 turnovers during that span.
One of the turnovers occurred on an odd-man rush, in which it appeared that John Miller was going to have an easy layup. But Darrell Freeman's pass went through Miller's hands.
Less than two minutes later, Tayler Rock pulled down the ball in an attempt to power his way for a short layup or jump shot. But Counts poked the ball away from Rock and came up with the steal.
"There were several things like that happened throughout the game," Proctor said. "Trying to get all of it back at once made it a bad mentality."
While Ark City was having troubles taking care of the basketball, Salina Central was busying building its lead.
After Jack Shoup opened the fourth quarter with a left-hand jumper, Taylor Counts hit a runner and finished off the conventional three-point play with a free throw for a 41-36 Salina Central lead.
Less than three minutes later, Shoup spotted Blaine Knox wide-open down low for an easy layup and a 47-36 Mustangs lead with 4:25 remaining.
Knox finished with four points, while Shoup had seven. Counts led Salina Central (12-2) with 12 points. Stephen Shaw added 10 points and six rebounds.
"They started playing better," Proctor said. "We had some breakdowns mentally."
Ark City didn't go down without one last fight.
The Bulldogs scored eight straight points to close the gap to 49-44 with 35 seconds remaining.
Jordan Fields hit a three-pointer to get the run started. Miller and Fields recorded steals shortly after, both leading to baskets.
Rock capped off the run with a free throw.
Ark City (7-7) had chances to close the gap even further, as Counts and Shaw each missed a free throw on the front end of a one-and-one in the last 32 seconds. But Fields missed a three-pointer and Rohrs had a pass go off the hands of one of his teammates with nine seconds remaining.
Shoup capped off the game with an breakaway layup on a baseball pass by Ethan Weis on an inbounds play.
Despite the loss, there were a lot of positives to take out of the game for Ark City.
First, the Bulldogs showed that they were able to put together a substantial run, using their athleticism as part of an 8-0 run to build a 17-8 lead.
After a reverse layup by Freeman, Miller recorded a steal on the ensuing possession and Kestian Harris capped off the spurt with a three-pointer.
Miller finished with seven points, while Freeman added six points and eight rebounds. Fields scored nine of his 12 points in the first half.
Late in the second quarter, Fields was trying to set himself up for a crowd-pleasing dunk, but had to settle for a layup and a conventional three-point play.
Second, Ark City wouldn't allow itself to be deflated by a Craig Knox three-pointer at the end the first half for a 27-26 Salina Central lead .
Rohrs made back-to-back three pointers late in the third quarter to give Ark City a 36-33 lead. He finished with 11.
"I thought our effort was really good," Proctor said. "If you don't get perfect possessions every time, it's going to come back and hurt you against a good team."
Salina Central's big run to start the fourth quarter proved to be too much.
"It's a little frustrating, but they're a good team," Proctor said.
Salina Central 10 17 9 15 -- 51
Ark City 17 9 10 8 -- 44
Salina Central -- Counts 12, Shaw 10, C. Knox 9, Shoup 7, Weis 7, B. Knox 4.
Ark City -- Fields 12, Rohrs 11, Miller 7, Freeman 6, Rock 5, Harris 3.
Above: Arkansas City junior Darrell Freeman drives for a layup Friday night. Freeman finished with six points in Ark City's 51-44 home loss to Salina Central.
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