ALTAMONT — Bringing hellfire in a scorching third quarter, the Chanute Blue Comets boys sailed past the Labette County Grizzlies, 6948, on Friday night.
After leading, 25-20, through the first half, Chanute leapt ahead in the third stanza. The Blue Comets outscored the Grizzlies, 24-9.
“We saved a few things for the second half, offensively,” Chanute head coach Devon Crabtree said. “What it came down to was that we got stops and got out in transition. Our guys moved the ball with the pass more than the dribble. That made it fun.”
Labette County head coach Bradley Argabright cited his squad’s quick trigger for igniting the Blue Comets.
“We had a good first few minutes where we were trading baskets,” Argabright said. “But then we took some quick shots that we didn’t make and they beat us back on the other end. That killed us. In the first half, we got back on defense. But then they started beating us down the court and that’s our own doing.”
Kris Harding led Chanute with 17 points while Landen Bilby added 15.
As for Labette County, Kegan Bates led with 11 points — a dip after a 31-point outing at Parsons in the Grizzlies’ last outing as he spent the game guarded by Eliott Stephenson of the Blue Comets.
“They put their best player on him and that’s a compliment to Kegan,” Argabright said. “He had 31 the other night and he’s averaging around 20 in league play. He had a slow night, but that’s because he had a great defender on him.”
Chanute improved to 14-2 overall — the Blue Comets’ 14 wins have come consecutively as Crabtree navigates the pitfall of winning becoming stale.
“That’s been on my mind a lot. The guys are having fun and we’re enjoying being around each other,” Crabtree said. “They don’t get too high or too low. It also helps that we have great kids and great players. It makes my job easy.”
Up next
Labette County’s next scheduled opponent is Fort Scott.
“It’s going to be a competitive game,” Argabright said. “For us, we’re trying to put a complete game together.”
As for Chanute, it hosted Pittsburg on Monday. The Blue Comets are within striking distance of locking up the SEK League title.
“We’ve got to stay locked in,” Crabtree said. “Moving our game up to Monday changes the schedule. But our guys know how to be focused when they need to be.”
