Saints Hold on for Upset Win Over Rival Conqs

Liberal, Kansas – After a rough couple of weeks, the Seward County Saints men's basketball team snapped their cold streak with a huge win over their longtime rival in the Dodge City Conquistadors on the road where sophomore Nathan Jones led the way with a near double-double to lift his squad to an 80-75 win over their Jayhawk Conference foe.

Seward County started the game strong with some great ball movement that lead to open shots from all over the court including a pair of threes from Dave Olaniyi to give the Saints a 10-8 lead early on. Carson Bennett found a cutting Jaden Martin for a high rising big man slam to keep their lead alive 21-20 over the Conqs entering the under twelve media and Martin kept his team from going under with a big offensive rebound that was put back into the hoop for two to tie the score 31-31. A last second tip-in by Jones ended the first half with SCCC trailing by only one point 40-39 against their longtime rival.

Martin kept the highlights going to open the second half with another rim rattling dunk to lead the Saints back into a two-point lead 51-49 five minutes into the second half. A steal by Olaniyi resulted in a fast break layup plus the foul to grow the Seward County lead to eight but was quickly diminished by another Dodge City run to tie the score back up at 64-64. A long range three from Xavier Alexander at the top of the arc put the Saints back in front while Olaniyi slashed his way through the towering defenders for an up and under layup to maintain their lead 76-73 with under two minutes to go. Two big blocks on the defensive end by Lovasoa Andriatsarafara held the Conqs at bay to seal an 80-75 win for the Seward County Saints to snap a seven-game losing streak and put the green and white back in the win column.

Jones led Seward County with 15 points and 9 rebounds while Olaniyi tied the team high with 15 points as well. Big Lova recorded his second straight double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds while sending back five shots on the defensive end.

The Saints now improve to a 7-19 overall record in the 2023-24 season with a 5-15 record in the Jayhawk conference. They will now return back to the Green House to take on the #15 nationally ranked Blue Dragons in Hutchinson on Saturday in Liberal.