By TYLER HENRY
Lead Sportswriter - Salina Post
With the regular season winding down, the Salina South basketball teams split their two-game set with Andover Central on Tuesday, with the Lady Jaguars and Cougars emerging victorious in their respective contests.
Girls: Andover Central 51, Salina South 43
The Lady Cougars battled, but couldn’t overcome an insanely hot three-point shooting performance by Andover Central, as the Lady Jags sunk ten threes in a 51-43 victory.
Scoring came at a premium in the first half, and by the intermission, South trailed 23-15 with just six made field goals.
The Lady Cougars did pick things up in the third quarter, but so did Andover Central, as the Jaguars first five second-half makes from the floor all came from beyond the arc.
South gave a good fourth-quarter effort but the damage was done as the Lady Jaguars cruised to a victory.
Paityn Fritz led the Lady Cougar charge with 16 points on the night while on the other side, Reese Wilborn racked up 18 on six makes from beyond the arc.
With this result both teams move to 12-9 on the year, with Andover Central now holding the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Boys: Salina South 65, Andover Central 59
On the boys' side, the Cougars rode elite fourth-quarter performances from Kobie Henley and Gavin Devoe to a crucial win over Andover Central.
The Cougars looked good off the line, taking a 17-11 lead into the second quarter, but the Jaguars quickly flipped the script to reclaim a three-point halftime lead behind 15 first-half points from Drew Bontrager.
In the third quarter, Gavin Devoe began his reign of terror on the inside, scoring 8 of South’s 15 third-quarter points in a frame that saw the Cougars allow just one Jag, CJ Allen, to score.
In the fourth, Devoe continued to dominate, scoring eight more points, matched only by Henley, who added ten in the fourth quarter to help the Cougars over the finish line.
Devoe finished his night with 22 points, followed closely by Henley (17), and Sawyer Walker (13).
On the other side, CJ Allen (19), Drew Bontrager (17), and Carter Inslee (11), did their best but couldn’t get Andover Central back in the game late.
With this win South improves to 14-7 while Andover Central falls to 8-12.
You can watch both of these games on-demand any time below.