By JAYCEE DALE
Coming out of a huge blowout against Life Prep Academy on Thursday night, the Hays High School boys’ basketball team faced Olathe West in the semifinals of the Hay City Shootout on Friday night.
The Indians started out on fire on defense and offense but didn’t see it last all game, falling 57-43 to the Owls.
Hays High wasn’t able to pull away, with the first quarter ending in a tight match with the score being 14-14 to start the second.
It was a back-and-forth game the whole second quarter. Olathe West played aggressive, but the Indians didn’t back down. That effort frustrated the Owls, causing a technical foul at the end of the second quarter.
But Olathe West led 31-22 entering halftime.
With both teams struggling to score the entire third quarter, the Indians were within 10 of the Owls going into the fourth quarter, trailing 39-29.
The Indians played strong defense in the fourth quarter. Dylan Ruder had a big tip-in and TJ Nunnery added a huge 3-pointer to get the Indians within six of the Owls with 5:45 left in the game.
Olathe West picked up its second technical of the game in the final quarter but still was able to hold on for the win to reach Saturday’s championship.
The Indians are set to face Free State at 3:15 p.m. Saturday in the third-place game.
Nunnery led the Indians with 12 points, and Dalyn Schwartz finished with 10.
