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Thursday
March 28th, 2024

leehatchershothaysLee Hatcher takes a three-point shot in the firts half against Hays. Hatcher scored 10 in a 67-56 loss. L&T photo/Earl WattBy EARL WATT

Leader & Times

When the Redskins lost a two-point game to Guymon earlier in the week, it might have cost them a win against Hays.

After a game of being taunted in Guymon, the post-game handshake didn’t go without incident, and three Redskins seniors were benched for the first half of Friday’s Senior Night game against Hays.

The reserves kept the game as close as they could in the first half against the taller Indians, but the 13-point deficit at half was too big of a hill to climb when the regulars were back in the game in the second half, and despite cutting the lead to eight, the Redskins couldn’t dig out in a 67-56 loss.

Hays started the game on an 8-0 run before Alex Lopez connected on a three pointer, and a Lee hatcher basket cut the lead to 8-5.

But the Indians took advantage of height in the lane as well as the ability to kick out to the outside and ended the quarter on a 13-2 run to take a 21-7 lead.

Embry Williams and AJ Ramirez kept the Redskins close by starting the second quarter with back-to-back threes to get the Redskins within 10.

Liberal had another run in the quarter that cut the lead to eight, 27-19, but a Hays three and an inside basket gave the Indians a 32-19 halftime lead.

The Redskins attempted to rally when Braxton Hyde started the second half with a three, and another three from Hunter Hatcher and Elijah McCarter had the Redskins within eight, 36-28.

Hays pushed back to a 43-31 lead before Syris Dunlap connected on a three to cut the lead back to nine, but Hays ended the quarter with four straight points, and the two ended the third with the same difference as it was at halftime with Liberal trailing by 13.

Hunter Hatcher, Lopez and Hyde knocked down threes in the fourth and had the lead cut to 10 with 2:59 to play, but the Indians started the stall, and the Redskins had to foul.

Liberal shaved a few points of the led but couldn’t get back, and Liberal lost 67-56.

Lee Hatcher and Dunlap led the Redskins with 10 points each. Lopez had eight.

“Any time you have senior night and don’t win, it’s tough,” Liberal coach Ryan Petty said. “They played really hard. You don’t want to have regrets of not playing hard in your last home game. We got it to eight, we just couldn’t get a stop. Their size really affected us. We shot the ball better tonight, but early we got sped up, took some tough two-point shots which led to runouts, they got blocked, they got easy, uncontested looks.

Petty’s goal was get the lead under 10 at half, but a late surge form Hays mad the deficit 13.

“We weren’t able to do it,” he said. “We came out and hit shots in the second half, we just didn’t get enough stops. We tried to adjust, it seemed like every time we got it to eight or nine, they would get a shot and were able to keep that cushion.”

Liberal (7-10) will travel to Cimarron Tuesday.

EARL WATT • Leader & Times

 

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