The Coffeyville Red Raven men's basketball team is through to the second round of the Region VI tournament, easily defeating the Seward County Saints 67-45 on Saturday.

 

As with most tournament matchups, the underdogs came ready to play. 12th-seeded Seward slowed down the tempo in the first half, forcing 5th-seeded Coffeyville to value each and every opportunity on offense. Both teams struggled to hit shots in the early portions of the game, but the Ravens were eventually able to build themselves a nice 8-point lead at 22-14 just 2 minutes before the half. Unfortunately, Seward suddenly found a spark and almost doubled their point total before the break to cut the deficit to 27-24 at halftime.

 

While the Saints were fired up and ready to go for the second half, their shots weren't. Coffeyville held Seward scoreless for the first 9 minutes of the second half, enabling a 19-0 run that put the game out of reach early. The Saints eventually got things going, but with the Ravens refusing to back down offensively themselves, there was no way for them to close the gap. Although there was a double-digit deficit between the two teams, Seward still opted to play until the final whistle, taking timeouts and intentionally fouling right up until the final whistle. Eventually, the clock expired, Coffeyville advancing to the second round with its third victory over Seward this season.

 

Dayshawn Wiley and Love Bettis each led the way with 14 points, but Blaise Keita stole the show with 13 points and an amazing 21 rebounds. The Red Ravens advance to the second round of the Region VI tournament, traveling to Garden City to face off against the 4th-seeded Broncbusters.