The opportunities were few and far between during the first meeting.

But on Friday night, the Hays High School boys basketball team had enough chances to make a difference.

Only problem was the Indians couldnt convert on those opportunities down the stretch in a 43-42 loss to WAC foe Liberal at the HHS gym.

We had layups and free throws that could have won the game, said HHS coach Rick Keltner. We also made some layups and free throws that put us in position. I think maybe we can get a little more identity of what we can do.

The Indians, coming off a drubbing at the hands of Salina Central a day earlier, were facing a team Friday night in Liberal that had won handily in January on the Redskins home floor, 70-42.

And it looked as though Liberal (14-2 overall, 4-1 WAC) would run away with a victory again in the third quarter as the Redskins lead grew to 11 points on two occasions.

But after trailing 30-19, Hays High (10-5, 3-2) went on a 12-3 spurt that began with five straight points by sophomore Tradgon McCrae.

Missed free throws kept HHS from tying the score at 33 before Liberal would lead 35-31 entering the final period.

Before the game, coach said we needed to play with passion, said McCrae, who scored all seven of his points in the quarter. Thats what we did. We never quit. We just battled the whole time.

Liberal pushed the lead to 39-34 with 5:31 to play when senior Kylan Thomas hit a layup, part of his 13 points.

Hays High senior Tyrese Hill scored seconds later on a putback, and senior Claiborne Kyles hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key to knot the game at 39 with 3:35 remaining.

Senior Cole Evans grabbed a rebound off a Liberal miss at the other end, giving the Redskins a 41-39 advantage with 2:15 to play.

It was just a weird game, said Liberal senior Cade Hinkle, who scored 15 points. In Hays, you never know whats going to happen. You come in here and look to stay close with them throughout the game, and at the end, you make a break for it. Today, we got the W.

After the two teams swapped turnovers, Kyles turnaround jumper rimmed off, and Liberal snagged the rebound.

Hinkle missed the front end of a one-and-one attempt, and Hays Highs rebound was passed out to McCrae who was fouled as the Redskins tried to use time on the clock while only having three teams fouls.

But the Redskins were whistled for an intentional foul, giving McCrae two free throws and the Indians the ball.

McCrae missed both attempts to tie the game, then Kyles missed a layup after HHS inbounded the ball.

Hinkle iced the game with two free throws before Kyles hit a 3 from the left corner as time expired.

Its a really big win for us in the WAC, because both of us were 3-1, Hinkle said. Now, they moved to 3-2 in the WAC and we moved into first. So its a big win for us.

Its been tough for four years, Keltner said about battling Hinkle, who scored eight of his points in the second quarter as Liberal built a 26-17 lead at halftime. Hes a good kid. Weve had battles with him before. This one we just didnt win. They probably got the T-shirt tonight (for the WAC title), but you never know how things are going to play out.

Kyles finished with 16 points to lead all scorers but was the only Indian to score in double figures.

We had opportunities, for sure,McCrae said. We had a layup, I had two free throws myself that I missed. Wed have those shots every other time. Wed have (Claiborne) have the layup every game, and hed make it 99.9 percent of the time. It was the 0.1 percent of the time this time. He missed the layup, and I missed the free throws.

Liberal 43, Hays High 42

Liberal (14-2, 4-1) 12 14 9 8 43

Hays High (10-5, 3-2) 13 4 14 11 42

Liberal King 2, Eatmon 9, Kylan Thomas 13, Cade Hinkle 15, Evans 2, Bingham 2.

Hays High Murphy 6, X. Swayne 2, McCrae 7, Hill 6, Claiborne Kyles 16, Berens 5.

Girls

Liberal 42, Hays High 38

A scoreless span over the final 3:50 of the game left the Hays High girls falling short against Liberal.

The Indians led 38-36 after senior Talyn Kleweno sank a triple from the left wing in the fourth quarter, but it was the final points Hays High (9-7, 2-3) would get.

Liberal freshman Machia Mullens tied the game with 3:26 to play, and the Indians couldnt get a shot to fall as the Redskins (12-4, 4-1) made one of two free throws to take a 39-38 lead with just more than a minute remaining.

We had so many empty possession to start the second half where wed throw the ball away and not get a shot off, said HHS coach Kirk Maska, whose team trailed 15-12 after the first quarter and 21-18 at the break. We kind of fixed that a little bit, and that helped us get back into the game and actually take the lead.

Hays High missed two shots with less than a minute to play, and Liberal junior Ali Lucero sank a 3-pointer from the right corner after an assist from a teammate who fell to the ground and rolled with the ball appearing to travel before finding a wide-open Lucero.

Lucero finished with 19 points to lead Liberal, while Kleweno paced HHS with 12 points.

As good as Liberal is and as good as theyre coached, you cant go four minutes without scoring, Maska said. Maybe we should have tried to run something else, but we stayed with what was working. Im excited about the effort and how we adjusted since we played last night.

Both Hays High teams travel to Abilene on Tuesday for a non-conference battle.

Liberal 42, Hays High 38

Liberal (12-4, 4-1) 15 6 12 9 42

Hays High (9-7, 2-3) 12 6 9 11 38

Liberal Horyna 5, Ali Lucero 19, Mullens 6, Hay 6, Mickens 5, Gonzalez 1.

Hays High Talyn Kleweno 12, Dale 2, Leiker 2, Robben 2, Schneider 6, Hutchison 3, Denning 9, Keller 2.

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Indians swept by Liberal in WAC action - Hays Daily News