HHS boys' rally falls short in Liberal

2/12/2012

By NICK McQUEEN

nmcqueen@dailynews.net

LIBERAL -- Aside from his team's shooting woes, one stat sticks out to Hays High School boys' basketball coach Rick Keltner -- turnovers.

It's not that the Indians have accumulated an unimaginable amount of turnovers (16 per game), but they come at inopportune times. It's been a thorn in the Indians' side in what is now an eight-game losing streak.

The turnover bug reared its head again in Friday's 52-40 loss to the Redskins during their homecoming game.

"We turn it over in some crucial situations -- like in the second half," Keltner said. "We didn't block out on a free throw, then we came down and turned it over."

That was the story late in the game when the Indians were rallying from what was a 10-point deficit near the end of the third quarter.

Hays High (4-11 overall, 1-4 WAC) had cut the lead to two points to start the fourth, then cut it to three after a short Liberal burst. Hays High sophomore Kade Parker hit a layup to narrow the gap to 40-37 with 3:18 to play, Liberal sophomore Britton Abbott missed the back end up of a one-and-one, but Redskin senior DeVodre Livingston was there for a stick-back. Then, Hays High turned it over, and what was once a 3-point game late turned into a 9-point game with under two minutes to play.

Liberal (6-11, 1-3) outscored the Indians 12-3 down the stretch for its third consecutive victory.

"The kids played their tails off on defense, and we were fairly even on rebounds, but we've just had trouble making baskets," Keltner said of his team's 15-of-41 performance.

Trying a new approach with a youthful HHS squad, Keltner started five guards Friday, and it proved worthwhile early on. Sophomore Lane Clark hit a 3-pointer out of the gate, and the two squads exchanged blows in a fast-paced game. The Indians had a 13-8 lead at the beginning of the second quarter after a 3 by junior guard Derek Bixenman, but things went cold.

"Defensively, we did a nice job of getting out on their shooters and defending the 3-point line," Liberal coach Drew Gruver said. "We knew they're the type of team that shoots a lot of 3s.

"They're never going to be out of it," he added. "We emphasized getting out there, and not letting them get open looks."

After Bixenman's trey, the Indians went on a nearly five-minute scoring drought while Liberal took the lead behind the hot shooting of Livingston and senior guard Osvaldo Villareal.

"They shot well. They had 19 points at half, it's not like we were getting lit up," Keltner said of Liberal. "You have to compliment on their game. It's their homecoming, and I knew we were going to get their best shot. We played well at times."

Liberal, which lost to Hays High, 55-47, in Hays on Jan. 6 (the Indians' last win), outscored Hays High 11-7 in the second quarter to take a 19-17 halftime lead, and had a 9-2 run to open the third to mount a bigger lead.

"From outside, we shot a little better," Gruver said. "We missed a lot of easy gimmee shots all night long -- especially the first half.

"We're shooting the ball a little better as the season has gone along," he added. "When you shoot it better, helps you win games --  a big reason for some of our success."

Down 10, Hays High rallied with back-to-back treys, one each from Parker and sophomore guard Jordan Windholz to end the third quarter. Then, Windholz hit a jumper to cut it to 35-33 to start the fourth. Liberal took advantage, though, of Hays High's six fourth-quarter turnovers, hitting 8-of-11 from the foul line to seal the win.

"We just have to keep working hard. We could tell them everything we did wrong and beat them up, but we just think positive and try and get better," Keltner said. "Whether it be tomorrow or next week, these guys will all be back."

Hays High will take on a 16-0 Abilene team, ranked No. 3 in Class 4A, on Tuesday at the HHS gym.