By Staff
MOUNDRIDGE – In the kind of hard fought, close game the comes with rivalries, the Moundridge boys got the best in the end of the battle at home on Friday with cross county rival Inman, scoring a final seven-point, 53-46 win.
“This was typical Moundridge vs. Inman,” noted Wildcat head coach Vance Unrau. “Both teams played hard and hit big shots at vital points of the game. When we took the lead late it’s time to shoot free throws. We have several guys who I have confidence to make those down the stretch and having your point guard being one of the best free throw shooters allows for a lot of options. Landon (Kaufman) has worked hard to be that guy.”
“Just did not quite have enough tonight,” explained Inman head coach Brett Froese. “I thought we really played well on the defensive end tonight. Good enough to win, but we just did not convert opportunities at the rim tonight several times.”
After Moundridge took an early three-point, 9-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, Inman bounced back and knocked the deficit down to give the teams a dead tie at 21-21 when they broke for the halftime break. The Wildcats took a slim three-point lead again at 31-28 by the end of the third quarter and then pulled away just enough to get the final seven-point victory over the Teutons.
Everything about the game was even up as Moundridge held a two rebound advantage but had one more turnover than Inman and the Wildcats hit on 45% of their shots from the field while the Teutons connected on 43%.
As for individual stats, both Logan Churchill and Landon Kaufman led Moundridge in scoring as they each hit for 14 while Barrett Moddelmog and Henry Hecox just missed double digits with nine and eight points, respectively. Kaufman once again directed the offense and dished out eight assists while Alec Huddle led the team in the paint by pulling down six rebounds thought Churchill did grab five.
For the Teutons, Tanner Heckel was the lone player to reach double digits with 15 points while Eli Brunk hit for nine and five others split the rest. Heckel and Josiah Buller led the team in the paint with six and five rebounds each.
With the win, the Wildcats are now 13-3 on the season as they have a week off before traveling to Hutchinson Trinity next Friday.
For the Teutons, the loss drops them to 10-3 as they head into the next to final week of the season with a home battle against Ell-Saline on Tuesday before going on the road to Sedgwick on Friday.
Coach Unrau concluded his post-game thoughts by saying, “I was really proud of Logan (Churchill) tonight as he stayed the course when things were not going his way and scored some huge buckets for us in the second half. The Heart of America league schedule is making us better. Inman has a lot of talented athletes and will be a team we may have to beat again to get to the state tournament.”
Brett Froese also concluded his reflections on the game for Inman by pointing out, “Moundridge has a really good team, and they are super long. We gave up a few offensive rebounds and you just can not do that against them. Our effort was really good, and we will continue to keep getting better here down the stretch. What an atmosphere to play in tonight. It was really, really good for both communities.”
INMAN TEUTONS at MOUNDRIDGE WILDCATS
SCORING: TEUTONS > 6-15-7-18 = 46; WILDCATS > 9-12-10-22 = 53.
TEAM STATS: TEUTONS > FGs – 16/37; 3-PTs – 6/17; FTs – 8/12; AST – 12; REBs – 20; TO – 9; STLs – 1; BLKs – 1; FLs – 12. WILDCATS > FGs – 19/42; 3-PTs – 6/20; FTs – 9/12; AST – 16; REBs – 22; TO – 10; STLs – 7; BLKs – 4; FLs – 12.
TEUTON INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS: Scoring > Tanner Heckel – 15; Eli Brunk – 9; Josiah Buller – 5; Brody Froese – 5; Harrison Brunk – 5; Zach Martisko – 4; TJ Froese – 3. 3-Pointers Made > Heckel, E. Brunk, Buller, B. Froese, H. Brunk, TJ Froese – 1. Assists > Heckel, Buller – 3; E. Brunk, H. Brunk, Martisko – 2. Rebounds > Heckel – 6; Buller – 5; Martisko – 4; E. Brunk, B. Froese – 2; H. Brunk – 1. Steals > Heckel – 1. Blocked Shots > H. Brunk – 1.
WILDCAT INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS: Scoring > Logan Churchill – 14; Landon Kaufman – 14; Barrett Moddelmog – 9; Henry Hecox – 8; Alec Huddle – 6; Layton Schmidt – 2. 3-Pointers Made > Churchill, Kaufman – 2; Moddelmog, Hecox – 1. Assists > Kaufman – 8; Churchill, Moddelmog – 3; Hecox – 2. Rebounds > Huddle – 6; Churchill – 5; Moddelmog, Hecox – 4; Schmidt – 2; Kaufman – 1. Steals > Kaufman – 3; Churchill – 2; Moddelmog, Hecox – 1. Blocked Shots > Churchill – 2; Hecox, Huddle – 1.
(The Staff covering McPherson County Activities can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)