Plainsmen earn SPVA second seed

Perkins County Plainsmen’s conference tournament hopes took a shot in the arm Thursday with a win over conference foe Chase County.
PCS Head Coach Coy Gager said the win was a big boost for his team, adding he thought it was the first time Perkins County had beat the Longhorns (4-9) in seven years.
The Plainsmen followed the win up with a Friday night victory at Wauneta-Palisade.
Chase County
After one quarter of action neither team held an advantage in the game. Triston Hite hit a three pointer and Hunter Garner, Jeb Kohl and Hayden Foster each made two-point field goals to go with 2-5 free throw shooting for the team.
Entering the second quarter tied at 11, PCS started to pull away. Hite and Foster each made two 2s and Kohl added a basket. PCS made 3-5 free throws and held a 26-20 lead at the half.
That lead grew coming out of the locker room.
Hite added eight points to his total as PCS increased its lead to 41-33. Foster added the Plainsmen’s only other field goal in the third quarter, but PCS had its best eight minute effort from the charity stripe, hitting 6-7.
CCS made a run as time wound down in the contest. The Plainsmen were outscored 6-10 in the final stanza. Garner and Hite made Perkins County’s only baskets and PCS combined to only make 2-6 free throws with the game on the line.
When the smoke had cleared, PCS took the 47-43 win.
The difference in the game came at the charity stripe where the Plainsmen made 13-23 compared to 5-12 for CCS.
Hite led PCS with 18 points. Foster had a double-digit performance, as well, totaling 13 points. Garner pulled down 12 boards.

Wauneta-Palisade
The  2-11 Broncos posed little, if any, challenge to PCS the next night.
Six Plainsmen scored in the first quarter as Perkins County jumped out to a 23-11 lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Plainsmen’s offensive production slowed in the second quarter. PCS only added field goals by way of a three pointer by Blake Garner and two pointer by Foster as halftime approached. Three free throws boosted Perkins County’s advantage to 33-19 at halftime.
Foster added another six points in the third quarter, his final action of the night, and finished with 13 points in the game. B. Garner, Hite and Nolan Foster each hit third quarter field goals and the Garners went 4-4 from the free throw line in the third quarter to help PCS to a 49-26 lead.
As Gager cleared his bench in the fourth quarter, all 15 Plainsmen saw played in the game, PCS closed out the 59-37 win.
H. Garner led the Plainsmen with 15 points. B. Garner chipped in 12 points.

SPVA Week
The Plainsmen (9-3) opened SPVA action Tuesday night against seventh seeded Sutherland. A win against the Sailors moves PCS into a Friday night game against the winner of third seeded Bridgeport and sixth seeded Kimball in North Platte. A loss would set up a Saturday afternoon game in North Platte.