Ark Valley News - Hornets end season with substate loss

Caleb Claussen tries to shoot over Jordan McNelly while Ryan Garcia watches. Claussen had four points in Valley Center's 65-41 loss.

Hornets end season with substate loss
By Randy Fisher
Last Updated: March 12, 2015

Before Valley Center tipped off its substate game March 5 at Salina Central, coach John Wetig said if the Hornets executed their game plan, they should be OK. They did, for a while, but not long enough, as the Mustangs pulled away in the second quarter to win 65-41. Valley Center ended its season at 5-16.

Central broke a 6-all tie to take a 12-6 lead late in the first quarter. Jason Barbour's 3-pointer from about 30 feet kissed off the glass and in at the buzzer to pull Valley to within three, 12-9.

"I didn't think we finished the first quarter very well," Hornet coach John Wetig said. "The first six minutes of the game, if we play with that energy and desire, you can play with that team."

The second quarter was close for the first couple of minutes. Barbour opened with another trey to pull Valley to within two. After a Ryan Garcia steal, Nate Brown tied the game at 14. A free throw by Tyler Brown kept the Hornets within one at 16-15.

Then the Mustangs hit a 9-0 run for a 10-point lead, but Valley twice pulled to within seven. Garcia's three-point play made it 25-18, and a Nate Brown floater off the glass made it 27-20. Central's Jordan McNelly countered with four points, as the Mustangs led 31-20 at halftime.

Salina Central extended its lead to 39-20 midway through the third quarter. The Mustangs outscored Valley 21-10 in the quarter for a commanding 52-30 lead heading into the fourth. With both teams emptying their benches, Central still managed a 13-11 advantage in the final quarter.

After scoring two points in the first quarter, McNelly finished with 31, shooting nearly 62 percent (13 of 21) from the field. He scored 12 in the second quarter and 10 in the third when the Mustangs were pulling away.

Central hit 51 percent overall and 50 percent from behind the arc. Each team hit five from behind the arc. The Mustangs hit twice the number of Valley's field goals, which shot 31 percent from both two-point and three-point range.

"Offensively we couldn't get anything going," Wetig said. "They were putting a lot of pressure on us, and we weren't working hard enough to get open. When we did, we didn't make a good pass."

Barbour and Tyler Brown each scored 11 points for the Hornets.

Seven seniors — Barbour, Claussen, Alex Wetig, Carson Lee, Zach White, Blake Crager and Andrew Haden — played their final game for Valley Center.

"Like I told them at the end of the game, I'm thankful for these seniors and what they've done the past four years for us in this program," Wetig said. "They're a good group of guys and are all going to be successful in different areas of their lives."

Salina Central 65,

Valley Center 41

Valley Center

N. Brown 0-1 3-5 2-2 8, Barbour 3-7 1-2 0-0 11, T. Brown 2-4 1-1 3-4 11, Claussen 0-0 1-4 2-2 4, Garcia 0-1 1-1 4-5 6, Postlethwait 0-1 0-0 0-1 0-0 0. Wetig 0-1 0-0 0-0 0, Lange 0-0 0-2 0-0 0, Lee 0-0 0-0 1-2 1, White 0-0 0-1 0-0 0, Crager 0-0 0-5 0-0 0, Haden 0-1 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 5-16 7-22 12-15 41.

Salina Central

Neuschafer 0-2 1-1 1-2 3, Johnson 0-0 1-3 0-0 2, Allen 2-4 1-2 2-2 10, McHenry 0-1 0-4 0-0 0, McNelly 0-0 13-21 5-8 31, Shaffer 0-0 1-1 0-0 2, Speer 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Williams 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Champion 2-2 0-1 2-2 8, Castelli 1-1 1-2 2-4 7, Wentzel 0-0 0-0 0-0 0, Miller 0-0 1-2 0-1 2. Totals 5-10 24-47 12-19 65.

Valley Center 9 11 10 11 — 41

Salina Central 12 19 21 13 — 65