By William / www.mcpherson-county-ks.com
MOUNDRIDGE – In their final home game of the regular season, the Moundridge boys and girls managed to split two games with Berean Academy, with the Wildcat boys hanging on to earn a three-point, 46-43 victory while the Lady Wildcats stumbled and took a 21-point, 57-36 loss.
For the Wildcat boys, who came into the game ranked #9 in Class 2A, now stand at 16-3 for the season while the Lady Wildcats fall to 12-7. The two teams will go on the road Tuesday to Ell-Saline to close out the regular season part of the schedule.
WILDCAT BOYS HANG ON FOR WIN
After leading by two, 9-7 at the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats took a five-point, 22-17 lead into the halftime break. Getting their lead up to eight at times in the second half, Moundridge kept a six-point, 37-31, lead at the end of the third quarter before Berean Academy chiseled it down to the final three-point, 46-43 finale.
“We led by as many as eight points several times in the second half but could not fully take control of the game,” explained Wildcat head coach Vance Unrau. “We missed several opportunities by not securing a key rebound or loose ball which gave them second chance points. Berean is so disciplined, physical, and well coached. We switched things up several times just to keep them from doing even more damage. We will take the win and move on.”
When you look at the stat sheets, the game was as even as it was on the scoreboard. Both teams believed in passing the ball around as Berean Academy recorded 13 assists on 16 made field goals and Moundridge had 14 assists on their 16 made shots from the field.
For the Wildcats, Landon Kaufman and Logan Churchill led the offense with 15 and 12 points, respectively. While Kaufman led the offense with seven assists and made three steals, both he and Churchill grabbed six rebounds with Churchill blocking three shots.
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
Berean 7 10 14 12 43
WILDCATS 9 13 15 9 46
Berean Academy Team Stats: FG 16/37 (43%); 3-PTR 3/17 (17%); FT 9/12 (66%); AST 13; REBS 26; TO 2; STLS 1; BLK 0; PF 11.
MOUNDRIDGE WILDCATS TEAM STATS: FG 16/35 (45%); 3-PTR 5/16 (31%); FT 9/13 (69%); AST 14; REBS 21; TO 5; STLS 8; BLK 3; PF 10.
MOUNDRIDGE WILDCATS INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS: SCORING (46 total points): Landon Kaufman – 15; Logan Churchill – 12; Barrett Moddelmog – 7; Joseph Lane – 6; Joseph Schrag – 3; Henry Hecox – 3. 3-POINTERS MADE (5): Moddelmog, Lane – 2; Schrag – 1. ASSISTS: Kaufman – 7; Schrag – 4. REBOUNDS – Kaufman, Churchill – 6; Schrag – 4; Moddelmog – 3; Hecox – 2. STEALS: Kaufman – 3; Churchill, Moddelmog – 2. BLOCKED SHOTS: Churchill – 3.
LADY WILDCATS STUMBLE IN LOSS
Berean Academy took an early 15-9 first quarter lead over the Lady Wildcats and put the Moundridge girls at an 18-point, 33-15, deficit going into the halftime intermission.
The Lady Wildcats managed to play the visitors even in much of the final two quarters before closing out with the final 21-point, 57-36 loss.
“I was thrilled with the way we started the game,” noted Lady Wildcat head coach Kaleigh Huxman. “We were scoring, defending, and grabbing rebounds. The second quarter was not good at all as we were outscored 18-6 and four of those points came on free throws. I was proud of the girls for continuing to fight and play a pretty evenly matched second half.”
Both Kate Eichelberger and Kindall Elmore led the Lady Wildcats in scoring with 12 points. Eichelberger scored two-thirds of her points at the charity stripe as she finished the game eight-for-eight on free throws.
SCORING: 1 2 3 4 FINAL
Berean Academy 15 18 14 10 57
LADY WILDCATS 9 6 12 9 36
No Team Stats were Available.
MOUNDRIDGE LADY WILDCATS INDIVIDUAL SCORING (36 total points): Kate Eichelberger – 12; Kindall Elmore – 12; Aubree Durst – 4; Emily Durst – 3; Emma Blough – 3; Reese Schmidt – 2. 3-POINTERS MADE (3): Elmore, Durst, Blough – 1.