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Buffs' boys streak past Liberal, 63-34, on Senior Night
Published 2/20/2013 in Prep-Garden City
By BRETT MARSHALLbmarshall@gctelegram.com
There were so many different reasons for the Garden City Buffaloes to play a good basketball game on Tuesday at the New Garden.
The Western Athletic Conference matchup with Liberal was the final regular season game. It was Senior Night. And, not to mention it, the Buffs were playing with a chance to still nail down the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Class 6A sub-state tournament which begins on Feb. 28.
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Brad Nading/Telegram Garden City High School's Hunter Delgado, right, goes up for a basket past Liberal's JJ Lewis, left, and Blake Stout Tuesday at GCHS.
Throw in trying to end a mini, two-game losing streak, and coach Jacy Holloway was looking for a different outcome.
And he got it in the form of a resounding 63-34 shellacking of the Redskins. It was in stark contrast to the 63-60 overtime win in Liberal on Jan. 8 for the Buffs.
The Buffs conclude the regular season with a 13-7 overall record and were 4-4 in the WAC, a likely third-place finish, but an outside chance at a tie for second after Hays lost to Dodge City, 53-36, on Tuesday night. The 13 wins represent the most by a Buffs’ team since the 2002 team went 15-9 en route to a third-place finish at the 6A state tournament.
“We had great energy and our warmup was great,” a smiling Holloway said afterward. “I usually don’t watch the kids in warmups, but I did tonight. The kids were focused, they had high energy, and the seniors did a good job.”
The four seniors who got the traditional starting nod aren’t always in the lineup at the same time, so it was important from Holloway’s standpoint that the group of Denton Keller, Austin Terpstra, Evan Riggs and Bo Banner got off to a good start.
After a few shaky moments at the game’s outset, the Buffs did just that.
With the game knotted at 8-8 with less than three minutes remaining in the opening quarter, the Buffs finished the period off on a 10-3 run, with all seniors doing the scoring.
Banner knocked down a short jumper, Terpstra hit a driving layup from the baseline, Banner drilled a 3-pointer and Keller hit a buzzer-beating bank shot trey as time expired for the 18-11 lead.
That seemed to ignite the Buffs, as they went from a 20-15 early second-period lead to a 32-17 halftime bulge, this time getting balanced scoring from five different players.
“I thought they played to their strengths during the second quarter,” Holloway said. “We’ve had our struggles in that quarter for a good part of the season. I told them not to do any crazy things, don’t force things and I think for the most part they did just that.”
Midway through the third quarter, the Buffs seemed to hit a lull, and the Redskins crawled to within 10 at 33-23 at the 4:27 mark. But Caleb Tramp hit a short bank shot right after, and then added in what can only be described as a thunder dunk on a breakaway. That seemed to electrify the crowd and the bench, and from there the Buffs rolled.
“Haven’t heard it that loud all season,” Holloway said after the dunk by Tramp, a 6-5 sophomore post player. “It’s the first time in eight years that I think we’ve had a dunk in a game, so it was really a huge deal. In most games, it’s not a big deal, but when you haven’t seen one in so long, it was only for a short minute, but I really thought it got us going.”
From that point on, the Buffs finished off the quarter with a 10-5 edge to take command at 47-28. Liberal was never closer than 18 in the final period and the 29-point final margin was the Buffs’ biggest of the night.
Eleven of the 12 players who got into the game scored, with Tristan Nanninga’s 13 leading the way. Tramp added 12 and Hunter Delgado chipped in with 10. Trenton Hammonds had 14 to lead Liberal.
The Buffs dominated the stats sheet as well. They hit 24-of-40 field goals for a sizzling 60 percent and were perfect from behind the arc at 5-of-5. They won the rebounding battle, 34-25, as Tramp pulled down a game-high nine boards. They did turn the ball over 15 times, but forced Liberal in 17 miscues.
“I thought there was a lot of pressure on us before the game,” Holloway said. “The two-game losing streak was the first time that had happened all year and you don’t want a three-game streak to end the regular season. We hadn’t played well the last two games, so we need to stop the downslide.”
Now comes the waiting game and the official bracket pairings for the 6A sub-state.
A Dodge City over Liberal result on Friday will put the Buffs into the No. 3 seed behind top-seeded Wichita North and the Red Demons.
After Tuesday night’s results, it is likely that the Buffs will play host on Feb. 28 to either Maize or Wichita Northwest, which are just a game apart for the season at 7-12 and 8-11. Dodge would have the tiebreaker with the Buffs thanks to two wins over Garden during the regular season, and they will likely host either Campus or South, both of whom have just two wins, with South’s regular season finished.
On the other side of the bracket in a separate four-team sub-state, North will face either Campus or South with Hutchinson (10-9) likely hosting either Northwest or Maize, again depending on Friday’s outcomes.
———
Liberal 11 6 11 6 — 34
Garden City 18 14 15 16 — 63
Liberal (34) — Lewis 3-8 1-2 7, Frazier 0-1 0-0 0, Stout 0-8 3-4 3, Ross 2-6 1-1 6, Fitzgerald 0-1 0-0 0, Hammonds 5-6 4-11 14, Paz 0-1 0-0 0, Abbott 2-4 0-5 4, Hasik 0-3 0-0 0, Coker 0-2 0-0 0, Begley 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 12-42 9-23 34.
Garden City (63) — Delgado 4-4 0-0 10, Riggs 0-0 0-0 0, Hernandez 1-2 0-0 3, Nanninga 4-8 5-6 13, Olivas 0-0 1-2 1, Banner 2-7 1-2 6, Keller 1-2 1-4 4, Terpstra 2-2 2-2 6, Parr 2-2 0-0 4, Love 1-2 0-0 2, Koster 0-0 0-2 0, Rodriguez 1-1 0-0 2, Tramp 6-10 0-1 12. Totals 24-40 10-19 63.
3-point goals—Liberal 1-14 (Frazier 0-, Stout 0-6, Ross 1-2, Fitzgerlad 0-1, Paz 0-1, Begley 0-3), Garden City 5-5 (Delgado 2-2, Hernandez 1-1, Banner 1-1, Keller 1-1). Rebounds—Liberal 25 (Abbott 7), Garden City 34 (Tramp 9). Turnovers—Liberal 17, Garden City 15. Fouls—Liberal 18, Garden City 20. Fouled out—none.
Found 9 comment(s)!
To "A Cop"
I think that if anyone has any questions about GCPD policies they should contact someone WITH the GCPD instead of listening to someone saying they are a "COP" online! Afterall, I don't know many Police Officers that use the slang term "WEED" as opposed to "MARIJUANA" or "CANNABIS!" Just an observation. ;)
Posted by: DexterM on 3/1/2013
@ a cop
Since the charge listed was possession of a hallucinogenic, and I didn't know the exact amount he had on him, I didn't know if it was a misdemeanor or felony. I do know GCPD used to physically arrest juveniles on ALL drug charges. Most of the time the juvenile was taken to PATH to be processed & released to a parent/guardian. Rarely would they be lodged, and if so it would be in juvenile detention center. That was why I questioned only a cite & release on a drug charge for a juvenile. I do know that when Municipal Court started prosecuting misdemeanor drug cases that it was applicable to adults only, which would not apply to Emilio since he is under 18 yrs of age. Your post answers the question that yes, indeed, juveniles are now cited & released for misdemeanor drug violations the same as adults.
Your comment about jails being overcrowded if you locked up every juvenile found with weed or paraphernalia is not a true statement since juveniles, if lodged, would be placed in juvenile detention center, not jail. Jails are for adult (e.g. those 18 & older).
Thanks for clarifying the GCPD policy on drug violations involving juveniles.
Posted by: Just an Observer on 2/25/2013
@just an observer
usually if it is a first offense an offender is cited and released to his parents. If we locked up every juvenile that is found with weed or paraphernalia out jails would be way over crowded. It is just a misdemeanor. Just like driving w/ a suspended license
Posted by: a cop on 2/23/2013
Team Play & Parr
Parr indeed is presumed innocent until found quilty. What lesson does he need to learn if he is innocent? This team is really enjoyable to watch unlike last year where the offense revolved around one player who took questionable shots each game on a losing team. Glad we have this team. By the way, Caleb Tramp is really a good player.
Posted by: Pat on 2/22/2013
To James
You are not innocent, you are presumed innocent until found guilty. Big difference, I hope the kid has learned a lesson.
Posted by: A believer in second chances on 2/21/2013
ref Parr
Emilio Parr served a one week suspension for this violation (the sanction listed in the student handbook for a first violation). He did not suit up for the Holcomb & Guymon games the week following this drug violation. He has played in the subsequent games but hasn't been in the starting lineup like he was before the suspension. Caleb Tramp started while Emilio was suspended and has remained in the starting lineup, with the exception of this game against Liberal since it was Senior Night. I hope the reason Caleb has continued in that role is because he earned it when given that opportunity.
What is more disconcerting is why GCPD only cited & released Emilio for the drug violations since he is a juvenile instead of physically arresting him. Do they no longer arrest juveniles for drug violations, or was this a special exception? A cursory check of other people charged with possession of a hallucinogenic showed the majority of those were physically arrested by GCPD.
Posted by: Just an Observer on 2/20/2013
Parr in game
He wasn't. Even if he had you are innocent until proven guilty.
Posted by: James on 2/20/2013
Team Play
Congrats to the seniors and the GCHS basketball team for a successsful season. As a fan it was truly a pleasure to watch a "team" this season. Look forward to the playoffs.
Posted by: Mike on 2/20/2013
Parr in game
Why after being arrested for possession of drugs is Emilio Parr allowed to play any sports?
Posted by: Confused on 2/20/2013