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T-Birds knock first place Seward County

Cloud County shook things up in the Jayhawk Conference Western Division by knocking off the top dog.
The Thunderbirds scraped out a 77-74 win over Conference leading Seward County Wednesday night in Bryant Gymnasium, and is now just one game out of first place in the lost column.
Now 19-6 overall, Cloud County is 7-4 in the West and tied with Hutchinson.
Seward County, 21-5 overall, falls to 9-3 in the Conference.
Barton County, coming off  a 60-53 win over Butler County, is 8-4.
“It sure puts us in the mix, and brings Seward back to the mix. It should be a fun end to the season,” Cloud County coach Chad Eshbaugh said.
Cloud County would not trail the final 11: 46 of the game, but did not have the win locked up until Corieon missed a three-point attempt with time running out.
The T-Birds were down 47-46 when sophomore Kyle Haverkamp went on a one-man scoring blitz.
Haverkamp, averaging 6.8 points per game, scored six points in 1:46, and then buried a three to put Cloud County on top to stay, 55-47.
“Kyle is a really good shooter, and I thought the guys did a good job of finding him,” Eshbaugh said. Seward County used full-court pressure to score seven straight points.
Following a three-point play by Irvin Hollinger, the Saints got a steal and layup by Pearson.
Another steal led to a basket by Kaheem Ransom, and it was a 55-54 game.
Seward County forced another turnover, but couldn’t convert.
“To their credit, they did a good job of trapping and scrambling, and to our discredit we didn’t do a very good job of attacking it,” Eshbaugh said of the pressure.
Devon Branch ended the run with a three-point play to put Cloud County up 58-54.
Daveon Boardingham made two free throws for Seward County, but Haverkamp knocked down another three to make it 61-56.
Haverkamp was six of seven from the field, including three of four from three-point range, in scoring 15 points.
Deverell Biggs made two free throws for Seward County.
With the shot clock running down, Branch drained a long three-point attempt to give Cloud County a 64-58 advantage with 5:13 remaining.
Branch led all scorers with 25 points. He was 9 of 13 from the floor and six of eight from the line and had five rebounds and five assists.
Hollinger made two free throws, and Seward County trailed 64-60.
A three by Haverkamp and a free throw by Branch upped the lead to 67-60.
The Saints would cut the deficit to just three points, 72-69, when Ransom hit a three with 1:28 on the clock.
Richard Carter made two free throws, and the T-Birds led 74-69.
Boardingham went one of two from the line, and Seward County forced a turnover.
Edson Avila scored on a drive and was fouled with 34 seconds left.
Avila missed the free throw, but Seward County trailed just 74-72.
Onzie Branch was fouled just two seconds later. He made the first free throw, but missed the second, and it was a 75-72 game.
Avila again drove to the basket and scored to get the Saints within one, 75-74.
Cloud County beat the Seward County pressure, and Alex Williams got a dunk to make it 77-74.
“That was a big play in this win,” Eshbaugh said.
Pearson couldn’t connect on the three-point attempt to tie. The Saints also missed on a pair of follow attempts as the clock ran out.
“I wasn’t really pleased with the look they got. I was pleased with the way we helped each other on that last possession,” Eshbaugh said.
Derek Cooke scored 11 points and grabbed six rebounds for Cloud County.
The T-Birds shot 52 percent (26 of 50) from the field and 74 percent (17 of 23) from the line. They made 8 of 17 three-point attempts for 47 percent.
Ransom and Biggs scored 18 points each for Seward County
Hollinger finished with 16 points.
The Saints were just 23 of 59 from the floor for 39 percent and 22 of 32 from the line for 69 percent.

The two teams exchanged runs in the first half.
Seward County led 8-5 when the T-Birds used a 16-6 spurt to go up 21-14.
The Saints battled back to take a 31-30 advantage.
Back-to-back baskets by Devon Branch gave Cloud County the lead back at 34-31.
Following a layup by Biggs, Cooke completed a three-point play.
Ransom banked in a long three as time ran out in the first half, and Seward County trailed 37-36.
Scoring the first four points of the second half, Cloud County led 41-36.
The Saints would fight back to grab the 47-46 lead before the two-minute sizz by Haverkamp gave the T-Birds a lead they would not relinquish.
“We knew this was going to be a grinder. Maybe not pretty at times, but highly competitive,” Eshbaugh said.
Cloud County plays at Dodge City on Saturday night.

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