S-C closes out Grems

MARSHALL — The Smith-Cotton Tigers’ strong finish Monday night stopped crosstown rival Sacred Heart in the Dairy Queen Shootout.

S-C withstood a number of runs by the Gremlins to grab a 58-50 win in the opening round of the boys  basketball tournament.

Smith-Cotton (1-0) took double-digit leads in the second, third and fourth quarters, but the Gremlins chipped away each time.

Jacob Harlan hit a free throw with 3 minutes remaining to cut the Tigers’ lead to 50-47, but Smith-Cotton responded at the free-throw line, scoring the next eight points to put the game away.

Smith-Cotton coach Kevin Schnicker was pleased with how his team finished the win.

“We’ve been working for the last couple weeks at the end of practice after we’ve been going hard, hard, hard that we’ve got to make 70 percent of our free throws or we’re running,” he said. “We knew that we had to be in condition to play the style we want to play, and we had to knock down free throws to win games.”

Sacred Heart coach Steve Goodwin watched his team battle back all night, but the Gremlins could never get over the hump.

“We were right there,” said Goodwin. “I thought Smith-Cotton played really good. They controlled the glass. Our kids made a few runs, but we’ve got to hit some shots.”

The Tigers used some early full-court pressure to push the tempo and take an 11-5 lead. Kyle Nickel, who led all scorers with 18 points, keyed the Tigers’ offense.

Schnicker knew that the Gremlins would try to take away the outside shooting of Evan Schnicker, making the inside play of Nickel and Kendal Brown important.

“Our post play was just huge for us tonight. Kyle played great, and Kendal kept his head. I was so proud of him. They were playing hard on him, and taking some shots. He never let those emotions get to him. He played the way we need him to play, and Kyle was huge,” he said.

Smith-Cotton took its 13-7 first-quarter lead and immediately began to increase it as the second quarter began. Sam Brummet nailed a 3-pointer and Brown scored inside to push the lead to 18-7.

Midway through the quarter, Smith-Cotton appeared to be taking control after Brown took a pass from Dominique Smith and slammed it home for a 20-11 advantage. Sacred Heart turned up the defensive pressure and forced a number of turnovers, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 25-20 at halftime.

“We knew they were going to keep fighting and we couldn’t put them away,”  Schnicker said. “The times we had a chance to put them away, we got sloppy with the ball. That was just the emotions of our guys really wanting to beat them.”

Smith-Cotton began the third quarter with a strong defensive push and, after a pair of steals and layups by Smith, led 35-23.

“I thought they played really good defense on us,” said Goodwin. “I just feel like tonight the team that guarded better won.”

Sacred Heart (0-1) responded with a 10-0 run capped by a 3-pointer from Lakin Kehde and suddenly S-C’s lead shrank to two.

Nickel ended the quarter with a pair of baskets, but Sacred Heart trailed just 39-35 heading into the fourth.

The teams traded baskets until the Tigers pulled the ball out front and began to work the clock with Smith, Schnicker and Andrew Byrd. The three guards handled the ball and converted on 8 of 10 free throws in the final 3 minutes to secure the win.

“The guards just took over at that point,” said Schnicker. “It’s hard for them to guard those guys. All three of those guys are pretty quick.”

Goodwin was disappointed with the loss and believes that his team has room for improvement as the season progresses.

“We had the opportunity on a shot or a free throw to take a lead in the fourth,” Goodwin said. “Great teams make a play, take the lead, and win the ballgame. That’s what we’re striving to be, but right now we’re not.”

Brown finished with 14 points for Smith-Cotton and Schnicker added nine.

Chris Pottorff led Sacred Heart with 11 points, Jared Drum had 10 off the bench, and Harlan chipped in with eight.