By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com

MOUNDRIDGE – Despite shooting well for the game, the Moundridge boys were not able to keep up with the defending state champion Hillsboro boys on Thursday in their second game of the Moundridge Preseason tournament and lost by 18, 60-42.

The Wildcats stayed with five points in the first quarter as both teams came out shooting lights out with a combined 39 points before Hillsboro began to put some distance between the two teams and increased their lead to 11 points at 31-20 entering the halftime break.

In the second half, Hillsboro put up another 29 points while Moundridge was only able to connect for 21, giving the Trojans the final 18-point, 60-42 victory.

“Hillsboro is a quality team with nearly all of their firepower back from last year’s state championship team,” pointed out Wildcat head coach Vance Unrau in his post-game reflections. “We will learn from this and get better. We have just two guys back and then it is a lot of youth and inexperience. Our guys have a high ceiling, and I am excited about the upside of this team. We don’t want to dwell on this game but rather focus on our game Friday against cross-county Inman with hopes to get two wins this week.”

Both teams shot well from the field as Hillsboro connected on 42% of their shots while Moundridge hit 44%, but it was the rebounds, turnovers, and free throws where much of the game was decided. The Trojans outrebounded the Wildcats 23-16 which included seven offensive or second chance rebounds they earned when they had the ball.

The Wildcats committed 14 turnovers to just four for Hillsboro while the Trojans went to the free throw line 30 times and made 21 while Moundridge only had eight attempts from the charity stripe and made six.

Landon Kaufman once again had a big game as he hit for 21 points that included three three-pointers while also dishing out five assists and making a pair of steals on defense.

Logan Churchill just missed double digits with nine points and recorded a pair of blocked shots while Barrett Moddelmog, one of those freshman youngsters, led the team in rebounds with eight.

WHAT’S NEXT FOR “AREA TEAM”?

The loss was the first for the Wildcats in the young 2021-22 season as they now prep to play again on Friday against cross-county Inman.

Hillsboro vs. MOUNDRIDGE WILDCATS at Moundridge Preseason Tournament

SCORING:        1          2          3          4          FINAL

Hillsboro         22        9          16        13        60       

WILDCATS       17        3          13        9          42

TEAM STATS:              Hillsboro         WILDCATS      

Shooting                     17/40 (42%)    14/32 (44%)   

3-Pointers                   6/16 (37%)      8/21 (38%)

Free Throws                20/30 (66%)    6/8 (75%)

Rebounds (Off/Def)    23 (7/16)         16 (1/15)

Assists                         8                      7

Turnovers                   4                      14

Steals                          6                      3

Blocked Shots             0                      3

Personal Fouls            15                    21

MOUNDRIDGE WILDCATS INDIVIDUAL SCORING & STAT LEADERS:

Scoring (42 Total Points): Landon Kaufman – 21; Logan Churchill – 9; Barrett Moddelmog – 6; Joseph Schrag – 6.

Three-Pointers Made (8): Landon Kaufman – 3; Logan Churchill, Joseph Schrag – 2; Barrett Moddelmog – 1.

Rebound Leaders: Barrett Moddelmog – 8; Joseph Schrag – 5.

Assist Leader: Landon Kaufman – 5.

Leader in Steals: Landon Kaufman – 2.

Leader in Blocked Shots: Logan Churchill – 2; Barrett Moddelmog – 1.