Morency Drops 36 in Quarterfinal Win Over Independence

PARK CITY, Kan. – Marco Morency scored a career-high 36 points to power the No. 13 Seward County Community College men’s basketball team to an 83-60 victory over Independence Community College on Sunday. The Saints advanced to the semifinals of the Region VI tournament on Monday night.

Morency, who shattered his previous career high of 24 points against Northwest Tech on February 20, added nine rebounds and five steals for the Saints, who improved to 26-5 on the season. Morency shot 63 percent on 14-of-22 from the field, including four three-pointers, and also hit four free three throws.

Isiah Small chipped in with 11 points and nine rebounds for the Saints, who had 10 of 11 players score. Seward, which extended its winning streak to nine games, played strong defense, holding Independence to 35.8 percent for the game and under 30 percent in the first half.

The Saints started the game with an 8-2 run, but the Pirates battled back and grabbed an 18-17 lead on a Tyreece Berry three-pointer at the 11:32 mark. Seward took over from that point with Morency scoring 12 points in a 23-5 run, jumping out to a 40-23 lead with 2:45 left in the first. The Saints held a 44-29 advantage at the half and was never really threatened the rest of the game.

The win was the 100^th of Saints head coach Jason Sautter’s career. Sautter is 100-48 overall and 45-18 in two seasons with Seward.

Tonje Durham had 15 points and Berry netted 14 to lead the Pirates, who finished at 15-16 overall.

The Saints will play the winner of Barton and Northwest Tech in the Region VI semifinals at 7 p.m. on Monday at Hartman Arena.