Dustin Armbruster
Hays High headed to Salina South High School on Tuesday night to close out the January portion of their basketball schedule. For the Lady Indians it was their fourth game in six days. On the boys side it was just their second and final game over the course of 19 days.
Girls
Hays 39 – Salina South 27
Hays overcame a five plus minute field goal drought to grab an 8-6 lead over South after the first quarter. After scoring the final three points of the first quarter, the Indians added the first eleven of the second quarter for a 15-0 run. That run pushed Hays to their biggest lead of the first half at 19-6. That lead occurred at the 5:02 mark, but Hays would score just one more point the rest of the half. South went on a 10-1 run during that stretch to get back within four at half time, 20-16. Over their second five minute field goal drought of the first half the Indians missed seven of eight free throws.
Highlights
South expanded that 10-1 run from the first half into a 15-1 run, grabbing their only second half lead at 21-20. The Indians tied the game on a free throw then took the lead for good on a Talyn Kleweno steal and layup at 23-21. Hays turned those three points into a 11-0 run that lasted into the fourth quarter and put the Indians up 31-21. Overall Hays outscored the Cougars 19-6 after falling behind and win 39-27.
Coach Kirk Maska
Hays was led by Jaycee Dale with 12 points and Mattie Hutchison at 10. The Indians had three players each grab eight or more rebounds, 10 by Talyn Kleweno and eight each by Jaycee Dale and Kallie Leiker. The Indians move to 9-4 on the season. South drops to 5-8. The Lady Indians are on the road to Wichita to play Life Prep Academy on Friday.
Boys
Hays 57 – Salina South 49
Hays never trailed in the first half using a 10-3 run over the final three minutes of the first quarter to build their lead up to 18-9. The Indians led South by as many as 13 in the second quarter before the Cougars went on their best run of the half. A 8-0 nothing cut the Hays lead down to five at 23-18 with 3:40 left in the second quarter. The Indians closed out the half outscoring South 9-4 and led 32-22 at the break.
Highlights
Hays opened the second half with a three pointer to build their lead up to 13 once again. South though outscored Hays 22-3 over the next six minutes to match their first half point total and take a 44-38 advantage. Shane Berens and Xander Swayne scored in the final minute for Hays to cut their deficit to 44-42 after three quarters. Defensively the Indians allowed just five fourth quarter points and none over the final 5:25 after South took their final lead at 49-48. Swayne scored the next four points for the Indians and Hays finished the game on a 9-0 run to win 57-49.
Coach Rick Keltner
Hays picks up their tenth win of the year and sits at 10-3. Salina South drops to 5-9. The Indians were led by Claiborne Kyles with 17, including four three pointers. Shane Berens added 12 points and becomes the 29th player in program history to score 500 points in a career. Devin Johnson led the Cougars with 21. The Hays boys are off until February 9th when they travel back to Salina to play the Central Mustangs.