Saints Comeback Try Falls Just Short

In a rematch of one half of the 2013 Region VI Tournament semifinal bracket Wednesday night in Great Bend, the Seward County Saints found themselves in a 20 point hole in the first half which proved too much to overcome as they fell 72-66 to the Barton Cougars, suffering their first loss of the 2014 Jayhawk West Conference schedule. 

 

The Saints actually got off to a good start in the game, jumping out to a 7-2 advantage and holding Barton without a field goal for the first 5:15 of the contest.  A steal at halfcourt and an ensuing layup for Niem Stevenson had the Saints out in front and rolling, up 11-5 with 13:12 to go in the half.  Barton then began their push, scoring seven straight to take their first lead of the game 14-13 with under 10 minutes remaining in the half.   The Cougars continued their run, stretching their lead to 20-13 as Seward went ice cold from the field.  Barton took a 23-15 lead with 7:05 to go in the half and were up 30-17 and had everything going their way as the first half clock ticked under 4:00.  The Cougars incredible streak continued as they outscored the Saints 30-6 following Seward's early success and Barton took a 35-17 lead with less than two minutes left in the half.  Mercifully the halftime break hit for Seward with Barton all over the Saints 39-21

 

Seward went to the half with just 7 field goals and a bleak 29% field goal percentage.  Barton on the other hand shot 41% in the half and were on fire from three point land, hitting on 5 of 11 chances. 

 

For the first time since early on, the Saints showed some fight as the second half began.  Seward came out and scored the first six points of the period to make it a 39-27 game and a three from Malcolm Hill-Bey reduced the Barton lead to just 10 at 46-36 with 14:14 to go.  The Saints continued their slow creep back into the game, getting a three point play by Stevenson to make it a seven point game and a three later on from Tyreke Sharp made it a six point game, 52-46 with 10:26 to go.  Moments later, Barton Head Coach Craig Fletchall became incensed with a perceived no call on the Cougar end of the floor, and was docked with a technical foul, giving the Saints two free throws to get them to within two at 57-55 with 7:46 left.  The Saints managed to completely erase the Cougars 20 point lead as Stevenson connected on a three to give Seward their first lead since leading 14-12 early on as they took a 60-59 advantage with just over 6:00 to go.  The teams both paraded to the free throw line for the next couple of minutes until the game was tied at 64 with under 2:30 remaining.  A Barton score put the Cougars in front once again and Seward's inability to capitalize on their foul shots came back to haunt them as four straight missed and two more points for the Cougars had Barton in front 68-64 with less than 2:00 left. The Saints streak without a point hit three minutes and their streak without a field goal stretched past four minutes as they tried to get back in the game, but in the end they just couldn't find the bucket as Barton went on to win 72-66.

 

Seward ended the night shooting just 37% from the field, disappointing after they lit up Hutchinson for nearly 100 just three nights earlier.  Barton shot 50% in the second half and finished the game shooting 45% overall.  The Saints inability to sink foul shots didn't help them in the end as they shot just 56% from the line in the game and left 14 points at the stripe on the night.  Stevenson led all scorers with 25 points and also snatched a game high 9 rebounds for Seward.  He was joined in double figures by Hill-Bey who finished with 12 and Secean Johnson who scored 11 for the Saints. 

 

Seward has their nine game win streak come to an abrupt halt with the loss as they fall to 13-7 on the year and 3-1 in Jayhawk West play while the Cougars improve to 14-6 overall and 2-2 in Jayhawk West action. 

 

The Saints return home to the Greenhouse on Saturday when they will entertain Dodge City on Homecoming night in Liberal.  The Saints and Conquistadors will get things going shortly after 8:00 following Homecoming festivities between games.  Free tickets are available courtesy of our buyout sponsor Pizza Hut at any of their Liberal locations.