PLAY MACKSVILLE FOR TRIP TO STATE
By Staff
LITTLE RIVER – On Friday, the Little River boys sputtered for one quarter before building a sizable lead and then hanging on to score a 17-point, 60-43 win over Pratt/Skyline in their Sub-State Semi-Finals.
The win pushes the Redskins season mark to 16-5 as they now have a short turnaround to play on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. against Macksville (18-2) in the sub-state championship game where the winner gets a trip to the Class 1A Division I state tournament in Dodge City.
“Very proud of our guys effort tonight,” noted Redskin head coach Erik Base. “Coach Turner’s kids (Pratt/Skyline) played extremely well and are a tough nosed team.”
After the two teams tied at 9-9 at the end of the first quarter, Little River’s offense poured 26 points on the scoreboard in the second quarter while the defense held Pratt/Skyline to just eight, giving the Redskins a commanding 18-point, 35-17 lead heading to the halftime break. Pratt/Skyline managed to nibble three points off the lead in the third quarter before Little River got two of them back in the fourth to earn the final 17-point victory.
Little River connected on 41% of their shots from the field and sank 18-of-25 free throws in the game. The defense made 16 steals which offset Little River turning it over 11 times and committing 18 fouls in the game.
Braxton Lafferty led Little River in scoring with 25, steals with six, and assists with four. Andrew Smith just missed double digits scoring with nine while topping the team in rebounds with six.
Coach Base concluded his game reflections by noting the work ahead and saying, “We will enjoy this win and get ready for the quick turnaround tomorrow to prepare for a very good Macksville team.”
LITTLE RIVER REDSKINS vs. Pratt/Skyline in Class 1A Division I Sub-State Semi-Finals
SCORING: LITTLE RIVER > 9-26-12-13 = 60; Pratt/Skyline > 9-8-15-11 = 43.
LITTLE RIVER TEAM STATS: 2-FGs – 15/28; 3-PTs – 4/18; FTs – 18/25; AST – 9; REBs – 22; TO – 11; STLs – 16; BLKs – 1; FLs – 18.
LITTLE RIVER REDSKIN INDIVIDUAL STATS: Scoring > Braxton Lafferty – 25; Andrew Smith – 9; Dalton Mantz – 6; Treyton Olander – 6; Rylan Konen – 6; Logan Renken – 5; Kayston Cox – 3. 3-Pointers Made > Olander, Cox, Renken, Konen – 1. Assists > Lafferty – 4; Konen – 2; Mantz, Smith, Cox – 1. Rebounds > Smith – 6; Lafferty – 5; Konen – 4; Olander, Cox, Renken – 2; Mantz – 1. Steals > Lafferty – 6; Mantz, Smith, Olander, Cox – 2; Renken, Konen – 1. Blocked Shots > Smith – 1.
(The Staff covering events for the MAC AREA SPORTS NEW can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)