The Cloud County Thunderbirds handed the #13 and first place Seward County Saints a 77-74 loss Wednesday night at Bryant Gymnasium in Concordia. Seward falls to 9-3 in the Jayhawk West. Barton beat Butler so the Cougars are in second at 8-4.
Cloud sizzled the nets at 52 percent shooting. The Saints, who shot 50 percent January 14 in a 86-63 win over Cloud shot just 39 percent.
The Saints trailed 37-36 at the half. The Saints took a 47-46 lead with 12:15 to play but couldn’t get over the hump. Seward missed an open three during the closing seconds with a chance to tie.
Deverell Biggs and Kaheem Ransom scored 18 a piece while Irvin Hollinger added 16 for the Saints. Devon Branch scored 25 for the T-Birds. Cloud is 19-6 overall and 7-4 in the Jayhawk West as Seward falls to 21-5 overall.
Bryan Zollinger is still 8-3 against Cloud. It’s Seward’s first loss in Concordia since 2009.
Seward hosts Dodge City Wednesday and First National Bank is the buyout sponsor.
