UNIONTOWN — “Survive and advance,” said Uniontown High girls’ head basketball coach Ken Holt.
Holt’s words held true for both the Eagle girls and the Eagle boys in their Kansas Class 2A Substate Basketball Tournament openers Tuesday. Uniontown, which is the substate host school, held a doubleheader with West Elk High’s Patriot teams.
The Eagle girls used a strong second half to get past the Lady Patriots 42-20. West Elk, seeded No. 6, was locked in a 13-13 tie with second-seeded Uniontown at halftime.
“We really struggled in the first half. We couldn’t throw it in the ocean,” Holt said. “We kept battling and got things going in the second half.”
Uniontown’s girls gave up just seven points to West Elk in the final two quarters. The Eagles poured in 29 points in that span.
The Eagle boys, also seeded third, had to rally late to win. They were down 24-18 at halftime to the Patriots and still faced a six-point deficit after three quarters.
Uniontown outscored West Elk 13-7 to forge a 39-39 tie and force overtime. The Eagles had an 11-5 scoring edge in the extra period for a 50-44 win.
“We made some mental mistakes early and dug ourselves a big hole but did a nice job battling back,” said Nathan Hinrichs, Uniontown boys’ head coach.
So both Uniontown teams move into the semifinals. Uniontown’s girls take on Madison at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Top-seeded Oswego plays Sedan at 6 p.m.
On Friday, the Eagle boys play Northeast High’s Vikings from Arma. Northeast ended the Marmaton Valley High Wildcats’ season Tuesday. The Vikings beat Marmaton Valley 60-43.
Uniontown and Northeast play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Uniontown. Sedan beat Oswego 68-37 Tuesday and plays top-seeded Madison at 6 p.m..
The championship games are Saturday at Uniontown. The girls play for the title and a berth in the Kansas Class 2A state tournament at 6 p.m. followed by the boys’ championship game at 7:30 p.m.
Uniontown’s girls (14-7) were led by Jacy Ermel with a double-double of 10 points and 21 rebounds. She also had three steals and four blocked shots.
Hayden Rathbun and Tayler Shook each tossed in nine points. Rathbun handed out three assists. Uniontown shot 24 percent, 13 of 54, from the field and cashed in 12 of 27 free throw attempts.
West Elk’s girls Rae’ven Loudermilk scored nine points
