Rebels take Cimarron tourney, stay unbeaten

   The South Gray Runnin' Rebels won the championship game of the Bluejay Invitational tournament Saturday by defeating the Cimarron Bluejays 56-31 at the Cimarron High gymnasium.
    Both teams struggled offensively early in the game as each team played aggressive half-court man-to-man defense. The game was tied at four with just over three minutes remaining in the first quarter before South Gray finished the frame with a 6-0 run to take a 10-4 lead at the end of the first period.
    South Gray coach Mark Applegate qualified his praise for his team after getting the championship.
    “It wasn't our best played game of the year, but I thought we played well,” Applegate said. “I thought Chase Clancy and Chet Skinner played really well tonight. Bobby Smith stepped up and made some shots. He had one of his better shooting games.”
    The outside shooting of Clancy, who connected on three 3-pointers, along with the fast breaks started by defensive steals fueled a 19-point second-quarter outburst that gave South Gray a 29-13 lead at the half. 
    “I thought we played pretty good team defense, but there are some other things we need to work on,” Applegate said. “We've got to get a little smarter about when we gamble going for steals.”
    Clancy led all scorers with 19 points, and senior Bobby Smith added 14 for the Rebels. 
    Cimarron head coach Doug Minneman said he saw the game get away from his team during the Rebels' strong push in the second quarter.
    “The first quarter, we came out and competed with them,” he said. “They're a good team. Their pressure seemed to bother us a little more in the second quarter.
    “They kind of wore us down, making us run through some screens, and we weren't getting out and contesting. And, credit to them, they hit a lot of shots were we did contest them,” Minneman added. “And when they started scoring, we struggled to score at times.”
    Ryan Bryant led Cimarron (2-2) in scoring with 10 points, and Wyatt Slaven added eight points for the Bluejays.
    The Bluejays travel to Ulysses for their next game Tuesday against the Tigers, while the 4-0 Rebels will play host to the Spearville Lancers.