Sewardsaints.com
The Seward County Saints suffered a heart-breaking loss on a last-second shot to No. 23 Coffeyville, 51-50, Saturday at the Greenhouse.
Seward led by as many as seven late in the second half, 49-42 with 1:40 remaining, but could not grab key rebounds at the end and Coffeyville scored the next seven points to knot the game at 49 with 20 seconds remaining.
Nfaba Mane was fouled with four seconds left and made one of the two free throws to give the Saints a 50-49 advantage.
On the final possession, Coffeyville's Justin Taylor drove down the court and hit a runner at the top of the key to break Seward’s heart at the buzzer.
The Saints continued to play a slower pace game and were effective against the Red Ravens. The teams traded leads in the first half before Coffeyville held a 25-23 advantage at the break. Seward took the lead midway through the second half before relinquishing it at the end.
Benni Kazadi had 18 points, Kiku Parker added 11 points and Mane scored nine to pace the Saints.
Brian Griffith led Coffeyville with 18 points and the only Red Raven in double figures. Daniel Ntambwe scored eight points for Coffeyville, which improved to 9-1 in conference play and 13-3 overall.
The Saints fell to 1-9 in the Jayhawk Conference and 2-13 overall. The loss extended Seward’s losing streak to five games. Seward travels to Hutchinson to play the Blue Dragons Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
