The No. 17 Garden City Bearkats basketball team compete for a shot at the state tournament in the Class A, Division II, Region II Tournament in Fort Worth Friday. This comes after the Lady Bearkats played in the same tournament this past weekend.

A third gold basketball was added to the 2008 trophy collection by the Kats Tuesday night. Garden City (22-8) defeated a familiar foe — the Fort Davis Indians — 49-34 at the Jerry Larned Sports Complex in Monahans.

Fort Davis surprised the ranked Bearkats during the first period, outscoring them 10-4. A tenacious trapping defense coupled with tremendous hustle caused the ‘Kats to commit four turnovers in the opening stanza.  

“We just came out flat,” Garden City Head Coach Koby Abney said. “All we could do was tell the kids to not get too up or down emotionally.”

The second period was an exhibition of the mantra Garden City has lived and died by the entire season — defense.

Down 19-11 Cole Schwartz scored on two consecutive possessions. His second basket was a layup created by a sneaky steal by the junior guard.

“Cole is the kind of player that doesn’t get a whole lot of attention,” Abney said. “He makes all the plays that don’t show up on a stat sheet.”

Schwartz put the clamps on Fort Davis’ top scorer Joe Ramos, holding him to only 10 points.

“Coming in I knew he was a good shooter,” Schwartz said of Ramos, “but I also got great defensive help from my teammates.”

Garden City outscored the Indians 15-11 in the second frame, but still trailed 21-19 at halftime.

After the half, the Kats came out energized and, more importantly, composed. Senior point guard Bo Eggemeyer orchestrated the ‘Kats offense impeccably in the third quarter. Garden City dissected the defense of Fort Davis with set plays and finished the frame on a 5-0 run.

With a comfortable 35-28 at the start of the fourth quarter, the ‘Kats’ big men took control of the game. Defensively, the ‘Kats were lead by Jake Schwartz whose block with 1:57 remaining in the fourth proved to be the dagger for the Indians.  Senior Wade Jansa tallied 10 of his game high 26 points in the final frame.

“We would definitely rather go inside offensively,” Abney said. “We’re not going to win a three-point shooting contest with anyone.”

The journey to their regional quarterfinal triumph for the ‘Kats was anything but normal. Abney, suffering from pneumonia, was hospitalized Monday and was not released until 2:30 on Tuesday. Assistant coach Alonzo Garcia and Lady Bearkats assistant Mickey Baker conducted Monday’s preparation for the playoff contest. While Abney was on the sideline, it was Garcia who communicated instruction to the players.

“I can’t say enough about the work Coach Garcia and Coach Baker did,” Abney said. “I also credit the kids for not letting the circumstances affect their play.”

Garden City will face the May Tigers Friday in the Region II semifinal in Fort Worth. Tip-off is set for 4 p.m. at the Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center, a venue the Kats are familiar with, having played two games in the building last year.

“We know what to expect in Fort Worth,” Cole Schwartz said. “There aren’t any easy wins left.”