|
|
|
The Pratt Greenbacks survived the Pioneers of Wichita West on Thursday night as Micah Swank and Skylar Dean came up with two much needed plays to secure the win.
Swank hit the front half of a one-and-one to put Pratt up by three with 11 seconds left and Skylar Dean blocked a 3-point shot attempt with three seconds left. The game ended with both teams watching as West was able to fire up another shot that hit the backboard and rolled around the rim before finally falling out and the Greenbacks move into the semi-finals of the St. John Lions Club Mid-Winter Classic with a heart-stopping 54-51 win.
The Pioneers, out of the Wichita City League, the tallest team that the Greenbacks had faced so far this year and also the most athletic, scored the first points of the game before Swank would get an old fashioned 3-point play a minute into the game. After a West basket Payson Maydew got fouled going to the basket and made both free throws, giving Pratt the lead that they would never give up.
Swank hit a three but West came right back with two quick scores and the game was tied at 8’s with barely 3 minutes gone. Swank made another three before Dylan Besser sandwiched a West basket with a pair of driving scores and Pratt led 15-10 after the first quarter.
Maydew would get Pratt up by seven early in the second quarter before West hit a three to cut the lead to four. B.J. Dean got a basket and a 3-pointer within a 30-second span followed by another Maydew score and Swank 3-pointer and the Greenbacks were rolling as they were up 37-13 with 3:38 before half. After the teams traded points the Pioneers scored six of the last seven points to get the lead back in single digits at 30-21.
West would make a 3-pointer to open the third quarter but a bucket by Skylar Dean and a pair of free throws by Swank and the lead was back to 10. The Pioneers would get a 6-2 run during the middle of the quarter but every time West looked to get back into the game the Greenbacks would have an answer. This time Maydew got a basket with about 90 seconds left and then Swank nailed another 3-point shot before the end of the quarter and Pratt was up 41-30.
Maydew would get the Greenbacks up by 13 points 30 seconds into the fourth quarter but West was not about to quit. A basket, two free throws, and a 3-point shot all within a minute would get West back in the game as Pratt would hold a 43-37 lead with six minutes to play.
The Pratt Greenbacks survived the Pioneers of Wichita West on Thursday night as Micah Swank and Skylar Dean came up with two much needed plays to secure the win.
Swank hit the front half of a one-and-one to put Pratt up by three with 11 seconds left and Skylar Dean blocked a 3-point shot attempt with three seconds left. The game ended with both teams watching as West was able to fire up another shot that hit the backboard and rolled around the rim before finally falling out and the Greenbacks move into the semi-finals of the St. John Lions Club Mid-Winter Classic with a heart-stopping 54-51 win.
The Pioneers, out of the Wichita City League, the tallest team that the Greenbacks had faced so far this year and also the most athletic, scored the first points of the game before Swank would get an old fashioned 3-point play a minute into the game. After a West basket Payson Maydew got fouled going to the basket and made both free throws, giving Pratt the lead that they would never give up.
Swank hit a three but West came right back with two quick scores and the game was tied at 8’s with barely 3 minutes gone. Swank made another three before Dylan Besser sandwiched a West basket with a pair of driving scores and Pratt led 15-10 after the first quarter.
Maydew would get Pratt up by seven early in the second quarter before West hit a three to cut the lead to four. B.J. Dean got a basket and a 3-pointer within a 30-second span followed by another Maydew score and Swank 3-pointer and the Greenbacks were rolling as they were up 37-13 with 3:38 before half. After the teams traded points the Pioneers scored six of the last seven points to get the lead back in single digits at 30-21.
West would make a 3-pointer to open the third quarter but a bucket by Skylar Dean and a pair of free throws by Swank and the lead was back to 10. The Pioneers would get a 6-2 run during the middle of the quarter but every time West looked to get back into the game the Greenbacks would have an answer. This time Maydew got a basket with about 90 seconds left and then Swank nailed another 3-point shot before the end of the quarter and Pratt was up 41-30.
Maydew would get the Greenbacks up by 13 points 30 seconds into the fourth quarter but West was not about to quit. A basket, two free throws, and a 3-point shot all within a minute would get West back in the game as Pratt would hold a 43-37 lead with six minutes to play.
Swank would make a pair of free throws 15 seconds later but the fun and 3-point shots were just about to get started. West would make the first of four straight 3-point shots with 5:28 left but eight seconds later Swank again countered. West cut the lead back down to five at the 3:49 mark but B.J. Dean hit a shot from the corner with 1:55 left and the lead was back to eight.
The Pioneers got a lay-up with 1:26 left and then forced a Pratt turnover. West again hit a three with a minute left and the Greenback lead was down to three points. Swank would sink two free throws but again West would sink a 3-point shot and with 44 seconds left Pratt was only up two. The two teams would trade possessions before the final frantic last few seconds would take place.
Friday the 4th ranked Greenbacks will play the 8-1 Macksville Mustangs for a game that is schedule to tip-off at 8:15. If they win they will meet the winner of the game between Medicine Lodge and Nickerson on Saturday at 8:15 but if Pratt loses they will play at 6:30.
Wichita West 10 11 9 21 51
Pratt Greenbacks 15 15 11 13 54
Swank 26, B.J. Dean 10, Maydew 10, Besser 6, S. Dean 2
