ALTAMONT — Burying a game-winning trey then nabbing a game-sealing steal moments later, Kane Nash helped lift the Labette County Grizzlies boys over the Girard Trojans, 54-53, on Thursday night.
“I was proud of us for finishing the game,” Labette County head coach Bradley Argabright said. “We’re finding ways to win. We played two days after an overtime game and hit a big shot at the end. Then we executed defensively. We did well down the stretch.”
Labette County then fell to Independence in SEK League play on Friday, 59-43.
Against Girard on Thursday, Nash buried a 3-pointer from the right wing with just over 10 seconds left to play to cement the final score.
On the ensuing defensive possession, Nash stole an inbounds pass to ice the contest.
“He was coming off a game where he went 2-for-9 at the free throw line and hadn’t shot the ball well,” Argabright said. “He didn’t have a three tonight until the final 15 seconds. That’s a credit to his confidence. He didn’t let the misses blind him. Then he kept playing through and got that steal on the other end. He’s a key player for us.”
Kegan Bates led the Grizzlies with 15 points, including seven in the final quarter.
“He played with confidence. In the fourth quarter, he came up to me and said that he felt like he could beat his guy and get to his spots,” Argabright said. “He took some tough shots and hit them. He propelled us forward. He’s playing really good basketball right now.”
Playing their third game in four days on Friday, the Grizzlies fell behind early as Independence controlled the affair.
The Grizzlies moved to 10-7 overall with the two games.
“It’s almost like the second half of our season is starting for us,” Argabright said. “For us, we flip the page to our league opponents. We’ll play Tuesday and Friday until it’s over. We’ve got to play our best basketball in February to fight for that seed. And our goal is to win an SEK League title.”
Up next
Labette County hosts rival Parsons on Tuesday.
“They’re well coached and it’s a rivalry, so it doesn’t matter what the records are,” Argabright said. “We haven’t played them well at our place. Throw the records out. They play well on the road. So it’s a big time game.”
