By Staff          

            MOUNDRIDGE – After a stunning buzzer beater loss on Thursday to Hillsboro, the top-ranked Moundridge boys bounced back on Friday by beating county-rival and number two ranked Inman by 10, 65-55 on Friday in their final game of the Moundridge Preseason Tournament.

            Now 3-1 for the season, Wildcats will now go on the road Tuesday to play nearby rival and seventh-ranked in Class 1A Division I, Little River while the Teutons, also now 3-1 for the young season, will be at home on Tuesday to play Kingman.

            The Wildcats took an early five-point, 15-10 lead over the Teutons at the end of the first quarter and then extended the advantage to 16 points at 33-17 as the two teams broke for the halftime break.

            Inman chipped a few points off the deficit in the third and pulled within 13 heading into the fourth quarter where they outscored Moundridge 27-24 which was not enough to keep the Wildcats from gaining the final 65-55 victory.

            “We didn’t play well tonight in the first half, and it cost us,” pointed out Inman head coach Brett Froese. “We just did not attack hard enough against their zone defense. In the second half we were way more aggressive, but just could not get over the hump.”

            “This was a nice bounce back after falling on a buzzer beater on Thursday,” noted Moundridge head coach Vance Unrau. “We had so many defensive breakdowns against Hillsboro that just can not happen. Our focus tonight was about fixing those problem areas. We did better but still have to talk more and be more active.”

            In the final stats, both teams took 23 shots from beyond the three-point line with the Wildcats connecting on ten and the Teutons hitting on nine while Inman made just 10 free throws and Moundridge put down 17, thus giving them the final 10-point difference in the game. Both teams showed a true team effort as the Teutons passed out 15 assists on 18 made shots from the field and the Wildcats recorded an assist on all but one of their 19 connected baskets.

            Individually, the Teutons were led by Eli Brunk who put 20 points on the board while also grabbing fiver rebounds. Tanner Heckel chipped in with 12 points and led Inman in both rebounds and assists by recording six in each stat line. Brody Froese also reached double digits for the Teutons with 11 points.

            Coach Froese finished his post-game comments by saying, “They have a really good team and coached really well. I was pleased with our effort and think this team will continue to grow once we can string some practices together. Proud of their effort this week as we have some young players that will continue to grow.”

            For the Wildcats, Logan Churchill recorded a double-double by leading the team in both scoring with 22 points and rebounds with 10 while nearly getting a triple-triple with seven blocked shots. Churchill also topped Moundridge in three-pointers by connecting on four.

            Joining Churchill with a double-double was Landon Kaufman who put up 19 points in the scorebook that included three three-pointers while also dishing out 10 assists.

            Moundridge’s coach Unrau concluded his reflections on the county rivalry game by adding, “We shot it better tonight and continue to share the ball. Inman is so athletic and have numerous weapons. We need to stay focused and close out the pre-Christmas schedule strong.”

INMAN TEUTONS vs. MOUNDRIDGE WILDCATS at Moundridge Preseason Tournament

SCORING: TEUTONS 10-7-11-27=55; WILDCATS 15-18-8-24=65.

TEAM STATS: TEUTONS: FGs – 18/42; 3-PTs – 9/23; FTs – 10/14; ASTs – 15; REBs – 19; TO – 4; STLs – 1; BLKs – 1; FLs – 21. WILDCATS: FGs N- 19/38; 3-PTs – 10/23; FTs – 17/22; ASTs – 18; REBs – 25; TO – 9; STLs – 5; BLKs – 7; FLs – 10.

TEUTON INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring: Eli Brunk – 20; Tanner Heckel – 12; Brody Froese – 11; Harrison Brunk – 6; Zachary Martisko – 4; Josiah Buller – 2.

3-Pointers Made: E. Brunk, B. Froese – 3; H. Brunk – 2; Heckel – 1.

Assists: Heckel – 6; E. Brunk, B. Froese – 2.

Rebounds: Heckel – 6; E. Brunk – 5; Buller – 4; H. Brunk – 2.

Steals: Buller – 1.

Blocked Shots: E. Brunk – 1.

WILDCAT INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS:

Scoring: Logan Churchill – 22; Landon Kaufman – 19; Barrett Moddelmog – 8; Layton Schmidt – 6; Henry Hecox – 5; Alec Huddle – 5.

3-Poiinters Made: Churchill – 4; Kaufman – 3; Moddelmog, Schmidt, Huddle – 1.

Assists: Kaufman – 10; Hecox – 3; Churchill, Moddelmog – 2.

Rebounds: Churchill – 10; Hecox – 6; Kaufman, Moddelmog – 3.

Steals: Kaufman, Hecox – 2; Moddelmog – 1.

Blocked Shots: Churchill – 7.

(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)