Fort Scott takes control in second half

By Scott Nuzum

Herald-Tribune

PITTSBURG, Kan. -- Fort Scott High School's defense took over in the second half Friday night as the Tigers took a 58-39 non-league victory over Pittsburg at the PHS gymnasium.

After a high-paced first half, Fort Scott held Pittsburg to 4-of-20 field goal shooting in the second half. The Tigers (3-2) also were able to get a transition game going off that defense and the Purple Dragons (2-3) had no answer.

Fort Scott head coach Jeff DeLaTorre felt conditioning was the key. The Tigers were able to keep up the frantic pace of the first half while Pittsburg couldn't.

"They don't openly complain," DeLaTorre said. "But I see them roll their eyes when we run sprints in practice. I think we were in better shape and conditioning was a factor. It looked like they wore down a little bit and we were able to continue to go."

Maybe that also contributes to ball control. Fort Scott turned it over just five times in the game while Pittsburg coughed it up 20 times.

Zach Quick led the Tigers with 23 points and seven rebounds. He made 10 of 18 shots from the field from just about any spot you could think of -- breakaways, quick moves inside or medium-range jumpers.

"ZQ did a good job of going to the basket early," DeLaTorre noted. "Then he got some shots in transition in the second half. He played tonight like he's capable of playing and we need him to continue to do that. And the kids feed off it. When he's scoring and doing all the things he was doing in the first half, I think it picks everybody else up."

Zach Smith added 19 points as he went eight of 15 from the floor. The Tigers made 12 of 28 fielders in the first half, which was respectable enough. But they hit on 13 of 24 from the floor in the second half.

"We knew that if moved the ball around, we were going to get open shots and Smith knocked down some good shots," DeLaTorre said. "He was consistent all game long. Kevin's got his confidence back and was hitting that mid-range shot quite a bit tonight. I thought we did a good job of moving the basketball around and making good passes and playing that team basketball we like to talk about."

The first quarter was back-and-forth but Quick made the last two baskets of the period to put Fort Scott up 17-15. Pittsburg's Sean Stotler tied it early in the second period as he made the Dragons' first two baskets.

Smith, then Quick scored to put the Tigers ahead again. Then Alex O'Nelio was fouled as he made a three-point shot for the Dragons and converted the free throw. That play sparked a 9-2 run that saw Pittsburg ahead 28-23 with 57 seconds to go.

But Fort Scott answered as Chris Banks drove for a layup and Tony Karleskint made a layup that brought the Tigers within one at intermission.

It looked as If the second half would bring more of the same back-and-forth action as the teams traded baskets. But then the Tigers went on a 12-3 run to end the period. Chris Banks keyed the last three baskets of the quarter as he picked up steals or rebounds and found the right teammate for the shot.

That continued into the fourth as Banks also assisted on the first two baskets of the stanza as the lead grew to 47-33.

Banks didn't have a good shooting night. But he dished six assists and picked up four steals.

Sometimes, when your shot's not falling, you kind of shut things down," DeLaTorre said. "(Banks) doesn't; he plays defense even harder. He was a big catalyst in the third quarter and early in the fourth with several steals and some transition that we didn't really get in the first half."

For the game, Fort Scott shot 48 percent from the field on 25 of 52. Pittsburg shot 38 percent on 15 of 39.

Stotler led the Dragons in scoring with 11 points. O'Nelio added nine.

Fort Scott led in the rebounding department, 28-26. The Tigers had 10 steals while Pittsburg picked up just one.

In the junior varsity contest, Drew Messer scored 12 points and Alex Barner 10 as Fort Scott took a 45-41 win over Pittsburg.

The Tigers will conclude pre-holiday play at Webb City, Mo., Tuesday night.