By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
The Moundridge boys and girls went on the road Friday to tangle with Remington and came home with a split of their two games as the Wildcat boys held on for a three-point win while the Lady Wildcats stumbled in the third quarter and lost nine.
With the win the Wildcat boys are now 14-3 for the season while the Lady Wildcats fall to 11-6. Both teams will be back on the road again Tuesday when they go to Sedgwick before returning home for a tangle with Berean Academy next Friday.
WILDCAT BOYS HANG ON FOR WIN
In the boys game, the Wildcats trailed by four, 19-15 at the end of the first quarter before bounding back to take a one-point, 26-25 lead for themselves going into the halftime break. After pulling out to an eight-point, 39-31 lead at the end of the third quarter, Moundridge had to hold on when Remington rallied and bulled with a few points as the Wildcats hung in for the final three-point, 50-47 victory.
“I knew tonight was going to be a battle,” pointed out Wildcat head coach Vance Unrau. “I would call Remington the most improved team in the Heart of America League. They are athletic, skilled, and well coached, plus they had an answer for every time we took a six-to-eight-point lead.”
Logan Churchill had a monster night for the Wildcats as he poured 27 points in the scorebook, helped by connecting on five three-pointers, while recording a double with pulling down 10 rebounds. Churchill also blocked three shots and dished out a pair of assists.
Also reaching double figures in scoring was Landon Kaufman with 10 while he also did an excellent job directing the offense by dishing out eight assist and finding time to swipe three steals on defense.
Coach Unrau concluded his post-game reflections by adding, “Inopportune turnovers and not securing loose balls was a big deficiency for us tonight. We can’t do that against quality teams. I am pleased to go on the road and get this win as every game looms big for substate seeding.”
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
WILDCATS 15 11 13 11 50
Remington 19 6 6 16 47
Remington Team Stats = FG 15/32 (45%); 3-PTR 7/15 (46%); FT 8/11 (72%); AST 13; REBS 18; TO 7; STLS 7; BLK 1; PF 14.
MOUNDRIDGE WILDCATS TEAM STATS = FG 16/32 (50%); 3-PTR 8/19 (42%); FT 10/15 (66%); AST 16; REBS 19; TO 8; STLS 7; BLK 3; PF 14.
MOUNDRIDGE WILDCAT INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS: SCORING (50 total Points): Logan Churchill – 27; Landon Kaufman – 10; Joseph Lane – 5; Joseph Schrag – 3; Henry Hecox – 3; Barrett Moddelmog – 2. 3-POINTERS MADE (3): Churchill – 5; Kaufman, Lane, Schrag – 1. ASSISTS: Kaufman – 8; Schrag – 4; Churchill – 2. REBOUNDS: Churchill – 10; Moddelmog – 4; Ethan Brandweweide – 2. STEALS: Kaufman – 3; Moddelmog – 2. BLOCKED SHOTS: Churchill – 3.
LADY WILDCATS STUMBLE IN THIRD IN LOSS
For the Lady Wildcats, they trailed by three, 10-7 at the end of the first quarter but bounced back to take a four-point, 22-18 lead heading to the halftime break.
Unfortunately, in the third quarter, the Lady Wildcats were outscored 19-5 and fell behind by 10 going into the final eight minutes of play where they pulled to within a point and did outscore Remington by one, but it was not enough to get the win as they ended up losing by nine, 47-38.
“I was really pleased with our play in the first half,” noted Lady Wildcat head coach Kaleigh Huxman. “We were attacking well on offense and forcing tough shots on defense. We finished the half on a high note, but when we came out of the locker room for the second half, they punched us in the mouth and outscored us 19-5 in the third quarter. They were knocking down threes and our offense went stagnant.”
Both Kate Eichelberger and Emily Durst made double digits in scoring for Moundridge as they scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. Emily Durst made four three-pointers while Remington connected on seven as a team.
Coach Huxman finished her reflections on the game by saying, “I am proud of the girls for continuing to fight. We got it back to within one but could not get over the hump. We had to foul, and they made free throws down the stretch.”
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
LADY WILDCATS 7 15 5 11 38
Remington 10 8 19 10 47
No Team Stats were Available.
LADY WILDCATS INDIVIDUAL SCORING: SCORING (38 total points): Kate Eichelberger – 13; Emily Durst – 12; Emma Blough – 6; Kindall Elmore – 5; Reese Schmidt – 2. 3-POINTERS MADE (4): E. Durst – 4.