Hays High hosted the Pratt Greenbacks in their final action of 2018 on Tuesday night with both the Indian squads looking to move above the .500 mark.
Girls
Hays 49 – Pratt 40
Hays sprinted out of the gates with nine straight points in less than three minutes for a 9-0 lead. Pratt didn’t score for the first 5:40 when they banked in a three pointer for a 9-3 score. Savannah Schneider answered moments later with her own three pointer, but that would be the only points Hays scored over the final 5:10 of the first quarter. The Greenbacks rallied off six straight to end the quarter and the first two points of the second to pull within one at 12-11.
A 7-0 spurt by Hays gave the Indians their first of three eight point leads in the second quarter. Each time Pratt was able to answer the bell and get within five by halftime at 24-19.
Highlights
Hays pushed their advantage up to 11 late in the third quarter and 12 early in the four before going on a scoreless drought. The Indians would not score over the next 3:30. Pratt though missed ten shots before making four free throws and a single two point shot to get within six at 42-36. Jaycee Dale put back a miss and Mattie Hutchison buried a right corner three to put the Indians back up by eleven and finish with a 49-40 victory. Hays shot a season high in field goal and three point percentage in the victory.
Coach Alex Hutchins
Savannah Schneider scored 13 and Jaycee Dale added 10 as the Indians move to 3-2 on the year. Pratt falls to 4-3.
Boys
Hays 67 – Pratt 41
Neither Hays or Pratt brought their best offensive game to the gym in the first half of Tuesday’s game. The two combined for just 15 points over the first 9:30 of the game leading to a 9-6 lead for Pratt early in the second quarter. Then both teams scored on three straight possessions leaving before Pratt went on a 6-2 spurt for a 21-16 lead with 2:10 left before halftime. Hays scored twice in the final 45 seconds of the half on baskets from Tradgon McCrae and Cade Swayne to tie the game at 24-24 heading into the locker rooms.
Highlights
The second half looked to be more of the same. The two teams swapped the lead three different times through the first 3:45 of the half leaving Pratt with a 28-27 lead. From that point the game belonged to Hays. The Indians missed their first 21 three point attempts before Jason Krannawitter sank a left sideline shot for a 34-28 lead. Hays did not miss a three pointer for the rest of the game. Over the final 12:15 Hays went on a 40-13 run to pull away on a 67-41 victory.
Coach Rick Keltner
The Indians scored 24 fourth quarter points matching their first half total. Tradgon McCrae scored 17 points. Nobody else finished with double figures but six more players scored between five and nine points. The Indians improve to 3-2 on the year following a 73% shooting second half. After missing their first 21 three pointers, Hays made each of their final five attempts. Pratt falls to 2-5 on the season.