Janas leads Buffs’ wrestlers at Oklahoma tourney; Girls basketball trips Hays; boys dropped by Indians

BUFFS ROUNDUP: Monday, January 20, 2019

Garden City’s girls and boys basketball teams were in action Friday, Jan. 17, with home games against Hays High in Western Athletic Conference action while the Buffaloes’ wrestling team headed to Sand Springs, Okla., for a major invitational, competing against teams from Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

WRESTLING

The Garden City Buffaloes wrestling team headed out-of-state on Friday and Saturday to compete at the Bobby Lyons/Sand Springs, Okla. Invitational.

The anticipated tough competition certainly proved to be accurate as the Buffs placed seventh among the 18 teams entered, scoring 114 points. Allen, Texas, took first with 316.5 points.

Junior Josh Janas highlighted the Buffs’ performance by claiming first place in the 152-pound division, going 4-0 over the two days. In the semifinals, he earned a 6-1 decisionn over Kolten Allphin of Collinsville, Okla., before claiming a 4-3 decision over Mario Danzi of Allen, Texas, in the championship bout. Janas improved his season record to 19-6.

Diago Hernandez captured second place in the 132-pound weight class, going 3-1 to see his record improve to 8-2. In his championship match, Hernandez lost by fall to Zach Blankenship of Bixby, Okla., at the 3:02 mark of the second period.

Ryan Heiman posted a 4-1 record to finish third at 126 pounds while improving his season record to 22-8. Defending state champion Silas Pineda took fourth at 120 pounds and went 2-2 to see his season slate updated to 25-8.

Alex Rodriguez also took fourth with a 2-2 record at 170 pounds and his season record stands at 7-3. Matt Smith, at 220 pounds, went 4-2 and finished fourth to see his overall mark improve to 20-6. The Buffs were without senior and two-time state champion Jacob Holt at 138 pounds.

GIRLS BASKETBALL

The Garden City Lady Buffaloes basketball team overcame a sluggish start Friday night, Jan. 17, to rally and defeat the Hays High Lady Indians, 54-40, at The Garden in a Western Athletic Conference contest.

Friday’s victory improved the Lady Buffs’ season record to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in the WAC. They will take on Ulysses on Tuesday, Jan. 21, at 8 p.m. at The Garden in a non-league encounter before heading to the Newton Tournament of Champions late next week.

Nateara Beasley heads downcourt on a fastbreak for the Garden City Lady Buffaloes against Hays High on Jan. 17, 2019. (Photo by Tylee Biera)

In Friday’s contest, Hays got off to a sizzling start, leading 13-5 after one quarter but then the Lady Buffs outscored the visitors 15-8 in the second stanza to close the gap to 21-20 at halftime.

The turning point came in the final 16 minutes as the Lady Buffs outscored Hays 17-11 in the third and 17-8 in the final quarter to finish off the visitors. That third quarter allowed the Buffs to take 37-32 lead into the last period.

Garden had three players in double figures, led by freshman Amaya Gallegos’ 15 points. Junior Keyhana Turner followed with 12 points and freshman Aileen Becerril added 11 points. Becerril nailed a trio of 3-pointers, Gallegos 2 and Turner 1 as the long-range shooting was a big decisive part of the victory.

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Hays High  13  8  11  8  —  40

Garden City  5  15  17  17  —  54

Garden City (6-3/2-1) — Beasley 2, Calzonetti 4, Becerril 11, Gallegos 15, Simmons 5, Meng 1, Turner 12, Rodriguez 4.

3-point goals: Becerril 3, Gallegos 2, Turner 1.

BOYS BASKETBALL

After leading the Hays High Indians 19-17 at halftime of Friday night’s Western Athletic Conference contest at The Garden, the Buffaloes’ boys basketball team saw its offense go cold in the final 16 minutes, resulting in a 50-36 setback and their fourth straight loss.

The Buffs had battled the taller Indians over the first 16 minutes, having been tied at 9-all after one quarter before taking that two-point lead into intermission.

But Hays answered with a strong second half, outscoring the Buffs 17-8 and 16-9 in the final two quarters to win the WAC battle. Garden City had swept the Indians a year ago en route to the league crown.

The Buffs’ shooting was icy cold, finishing just 11 of 41 from the field (26.8 percent) while hitting 7 of 17 from 2-point range (41.1 percent) and only 4 of 24 from behind the arc (16.7 percent). They were 10 of 18 from the free throw line.

Sophomore Tae Rosales was the top scorer for the Buffs, finishing with 15 points, including a trio of 3-point buckets.

Sophomore Tae Rosales goes in for a layup on Friday, Jan. 17, against Hays High while freshman Caleb Wiese keeps an eye out for a possible rebound. (Photo by Tylee Biera)

The Buffs will now prepare for the Valley Center January Jam tournament, which tips off on Thursday. The Buffs (4-5) will take on Coffeyville in the tourney opener at 3 p.m. Depending on the outcome, the Buffs will play Friday at either 3:30 or 6:30 p.m. against the loser/winner of the Shawnee Mission East-Maize South Thursday matchup.

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Hays High 9  8  17  16  —  50

Garden City  9  10  8  9  —  36

Garden City (4-5/0-3) — Rosales 15, Williams 6, Flores 2, Tolbert 3, Wiese 6, Nuzum 4.

3-point goals: Rosales 3, Tolbert 1,