Sleigh bells are ringing for the Chanute Blue Comets boys as they ride into the Christmas break on a twogame winning streak following Friday night’s 69-42 win over the Fort Scott Tigers in a rematch of last year’s substate championship.
“We took care of the ball a lot better and that set the tone early,” Chanute head coach Devon Crabtree said. “We rebounded very well and beat them on the glass. The guys did a great job of defending. Fort Scott struggled to score against our defense.”
Eliott Stephenson, who’s provided matchup problems for opponents with his size and ballhandling, paced the Blue Comets with a season-high 24 points.
“He just did a great job of being aggressive,” Crabtree said. “He attacked the offensive glass. He got to the free throw line. And when he’s hitting shots, he’s hard to guard. He did all the little things. He had some easy putbacks on the night.”
Kris Harding, who’s also handled the ball plenty through the Blue Comets’ first four games, added a dozen points.
“He got out in transition and did some nice things with it,” Crabtree said. “Kris is starting to get a feel for the young guys and that’s really helped.”
After a grueling start to the 202425 campaign with Chanute getting thumped by state-ranked Baldwin and Ottawa, the course has started to correct.
“We’re excited about getting those two wins,” Crabtree said. “Our schedule was tough at the start of the year. But we saw some weaknesses and we’ve addressed that. But I also know we have a tough test coming up after break.”
Chanute is now 2-2 overall and 1-0 in SEK League action.
Up next
Chanute welcomes in Labette County on Jan. 7 — both squads are .500 with the Grizzlies sitting at 3-3 overall and 1-1 in SEK League play.
“I’ve watched them play and they’re a really tough, scrappy team,” Crabtree said. “Those kids play hard and they compete. It really seems like as soon as they step on the floor, they don’t care who they’re playing. We’ll have to match their energy as far as how they guard and run the floor. We’ll have to do a good job guarding. But we’re excited.”
