Sports

GOTTA BE THE SHOES – Saints footwear colorful

4TH & GOAL Earl Watt

After a few years of watching some rough basketball games, the Saints have got off on the right foot with a competitive style of basketball in the first year under head coach Austin Downing.

The Saints are off to a strong start with talented guard play and muscle in the lane.

I’m still working on everyone’s names, but there has been another identifier when keeping track of the Saints on the floor — their shoes.

In 1989 Mars Blackmon debuted a commercial for Nike with Michael Jordan asking why Jordan is the best basketball player in the universe.

Blackmon came to one undeniable conclusion.

Marchino earns KJCC Player of the Week Award

Marchino earns KJCC Player of the Week Award

Seward County women's basketball sophomore guard Avery Marchino has been named the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference Division 1 Women's Basketball Player of the Week, the league announced Tuesday.

Marchino, a sophomore from Yukon, Okla., is the first Seward County women's basketball student-athlete to earn the weekly honor since Zayla Tinner earned it in week one of the 2021-22 season.

Saints get first conference win, 73-56 over Colby

Sewardsaints.com

The Seward Saints earned its first conference win of the season taking down the Colby Trojans 73-56 at The Greenhouse on Saturday afternoon.

Seward (6-1, 1-1 KJCCC) held Colby (2-6, 0-2) to just 33 percent shooting in the game which is the lowest a Seward opponent has shot this season.

Antonio Williams Jr. led Seward in scoring for a third straight game finishing with 18 points off the bench. RJ McKinnie totaled 14 points and a game-high six assists while Lucas N'Gombo had 13 points and eight rebounds. Lyna Brooks Jr. had eight points and seven rebounds.

Both teams turned the ball over 20-plus times with Seward having 23 and Colby 24 turnovers. Colby was 10-26 from three and Seward shot 5-19 from distance. The Saints knocked in 28-35 (80 percent) of their free throws and Colby was 16-22 (72.7 percent).

Lady Saints overcome slow start, dominates late for win

Sewardsaints.com

The Seward County Lady Saints outscored the Colby Trojans 43-27 in the second half on the way to a 72-62 home win at The Greenhouse Saturday afternoon.

Trailing by as much as 17 in the first half, the Lady Saints (7-1, 2-0 KJCCC) closed the gap to six points by halftime and used the 43-27 second half advantage to move to 2-0 in league play for the first time since the 2020-21 season. Colby falls to 4-4 overall, 1-1 in the KJCCC.

Seward shot progressively better in each quarter finishing the game shooting 66.7 percent from the field scoring a game-high 24 points in the fourth quarter.

Avery Marchino finished with a game-high 26 points to go with five rebounds and four assists. It marks her fourth straight game scoring 20 or more points and sixth 20-point game of the season. She also poured in 26 points earlier this week in Seward's win at Cloud County.

Saints battle T-Birds in Jayhawk Conference opener

sewardsaints.com

CONCORDIA — The Seward County men's basketball team lost its conference opener on the road, falling 85-65 to Cloud County at Arley Bryant Gymnasium on Wednesday night.

Seward (5-2, 0-1 KJCCC) was outscored 52-24 in points in the paint as the T-Birds shot 54.2% (32-59) from the field compared to the Saints 33.9% (21-62).

It marks the Seward men's fifth straight loss in Concordia.

Seward raced out to an 8-0 lead early as Lyna Brooks Jr. opened the game with a three, Lucas N'Gombo put in a layup and Quincey Kidd hit a three. Cloud got on the board but Seward answered with a Bailey Milligan layup to make it 10-2 at the 13:53 mark.