The Salina South Cougars split a pair of games with the Hutchinson Salt Hawks on Tuesday night at the South High School Gym. The girls lost 37 – 20, while the boys earned their first win of the season 59 – 53.

In the girl’s game, the Cougars tailed 16 – 8 at halftime. Hutch came out strong to to start the second half, and lead by as many as 19. South would battle back to pull to within 11, before fading down the stretch. Allie Valdez lead the way for the Cougars with 7 points, while Gretchen Cox chipped in 6 and Sydnee Connell had 5.

The Cougars fall to 1-3 overall. Hutchinson climbs to 3 – 0.

The boys game was tight from the beginning. Hutch built up a 9 point lead early, but late in the half South whittled away at it. Elex Banks had 8 points in the closing minutes of the half, including a bucket at the buzzer on an inbound play to give South its first lead 30 – 28. The Cougar maintained a small lead through most of the 3rd quarter. Joey Wilson hit a long 3 pointer at the buzzer to give the Cougars a 41 – 34 lead going into the 4th quarter. Hutchinson then went on a 12 -4 run to take a short-lived 46 – 45 lead. The Cougars battled back to regain the lead, and held it with some clutch free throw shooting down the stretch, going 8 -8 from the line. Joey Wilson lead the way for the Cougars, scoring 18 points. Freshman AJ Johnson had a breakout game scoring 13, and Banks chipped in 12.

The Cougars are now 1-3. Hutchinson falls to 0-3.

The Cougars have short road trip on Friday. They are at Salina Central.

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