ELLINWOOD 66, SKYLINE 65
GREENBSURG — Ellinwood first-year coach Jaron Lane is living the dream. The Eagles overcame a 15-point deficit to rally past Pratt Skyline 66-65 to capture the Kiowa County Basketball championship.
Ellinwood's Landon Simpson scored 27 points and Mason Moore added 23 points. They were matched by Skyline's Justus Novotny with 23 points and Brayden Berens with 19 points. The Eagles outscored Skyline 33-15 from 3-point range.
The Eagles (3-1) trailed 60-45 when the Eagles scored 19 consecutive points for a 64-60 lead. Simpson scored 14 points and caught fire with four consecutive 3-pointers. Chase Gibson added three points and Moore scored a basket in the 19-0 run. The Eagles shut down the Thunderbirds on 12 consecutive possessions without a point. Simpson hit his corner 3s after shifting to the baseline.
Skyline regained the lead 65-64 when Brayden Berens scored five points. But Eagle backup point guard Alex Brack delivered the game-winning pass to Moore for a 66-65 lead seconds after Moore saved the basketball from going out of bounds. Skyline's Justus Novotny missed Skyline's final shot defended superbly by Moore.
"It was a pretty exciting finish," Lane said. "We were relentless and dug deeper in big moments. Defensively, our intensity picked up and we played harder. Once we hit a couple shots, we knew we had a chance. Moore covered Novotny superbly late in the game."
Lane believed the Eagles learned valuable lessons, especially on the defensive end.
"We learned if we don't defend, we're not good enough to compete," he said.
Moore won the tournament's 3-point contest and Brack placed third. Drew Heinz was runner-up in the free throw contest.
ELLINWOOD GIRLS 61, SKYLINE 41
GREENSBURG —Ellinwood's Reese Stickney converted six 3-pointers and scored a career high 25 points and Bennett Jacobs contributed 19 points to spark the Eagles past Skyline 61-41 for third place at the Kiowa County Tournament.
Skyline's Ashley Spease (14) and Brylie Ackerman (13) led the Thunderbirds.
Ellinwood 6 18 13 16 — 61
Skyline 8 8 15 10 — 41
ELLINWOOD (1-3)—Reese Stickney 8 3-4 25, Jacobs 7 2-2 19, Widener 3 0-0 6, Addison Stickney 2 0-0 4, Shinliver 1 0-0 2, Allison Stickney 1 3-4 5, Totals 22 8-12 61.
SKYLINE (0-4)—Spease 4 4-5 16, Ackerman 5 1-2 13, Anschutz 3 5-6 11, Eubank 1 1-3 3, Totals 13 12-17 41.
3-pointers—E 9 (R. Stickney 6, Jacobs 3); S 3 (Ackerman 2, Spease 1).
Ellinwood 19 13 13 21 — 66
Skyline 18 19 19 9 — 65
ELLINWOOD (3-1)—Simpson 8 3-4 27, Moore 9 3-4 23, Brack 2 2-3 6, Heinz 2 0-0 5, Gibson 1 1-4 3, Boyer 1 0-0 2, Lewis 0 0-2 0, Totals 23 9-18 66.
SKYLINE (2-2)—Novotny 8 8-11 24, Berens 6 4-4 19, Hemphill 5 1-2 12, Nelson 4 0-0 8, Flora 1 0-0 2, Totals 24 12-15 65.
3-pointers—E 11 (Simpson 8, Moore 2, Heinz 1); S 5 (Berens 3, Hemphill 2)
GREENSBURG BOYS
12-9—1ST—Ellinwood 66, Skyline 65; Medicine Lodge 58, Kiowa County 56
12-7—Ellinwood 66, Kiowa County 46; Medicine Lodge 72, Skyline 56
12-5—Ellinwood 63, Medicine Lodge 55; Skyline 62, Kiowa County 55
GREENSBURG GIRLS
12-9—1ST—Medicine Lodge 49, Kiowa County 30; 3RD—Ellinwood 61, Skyline 41
12-7—Kiowa County 55, Ellinwood 44; Medicine Lodge 52, Skyline 27
12-5—Medicine Lodge 51, Ellinwood 21; Kiowa County 47, Skyline 27
