BEAT ST. MARYS BY 32
(Logan Churchill)
By Staff
MANHATTAN – Hot shooting propelled the Moundridge boys to a decisive 32-point, 63-31 win on Wednesday over St. Marys in the quarterfinals of the 2023 Class 2A state tournament in Manhattan.
With the win the Wildcats are now 21-3 for the season and move Coach Vance Unrau within one game of another opportunity to lead the team to another state title. Moundridge will now play Hays – Thomas More Prep on Friday at 6:00 p.m. in their semi-final match. TMP is 22-2 on the season after beating Horton 52-27 in their state opener.
Waiting for the winner on Saturday would be the winner of the game matching top seeded Wichita Independent (22-2) and fifth seeded Medicine Lodge (18-5).
(Wildcat head coach Vance Unrau)
“A great time to being playing our best basketball,” noted Wildcat head coach Vance Unrau. “We played great defense on two very dynamic, high scoring guards as the combo of Henry (Hecox), Landon (Kaufman), and Logan (Churchill) did their part to limit the Hurla duo to just 22 points after they scored a combined 53 in their teams substate finals.”
After leading by six, 15-9, at the end of the first quarter, the Wildcats made it an eight-point lead at 27-19 heading into the halftime break before extending it out to 14 at 39-25 by the end of the third quarter. From there Moundridge dominated the fourth quarter, outscoring St. Marys 24-6 to gain the final 32-point victory.
Moundridge was hot from the field as they connected on 58% of their shots while holding St. Marys to hitting just 26%. As they do, the Wildcats dished out 21 assists on 24 made shots from the field.
Logan Churchill led all scorers with 22 points as he dropped in three three-pointers, led the Wildcats in rebounds with six, handed out five assists and blocked six shots.
(Barrett Moddelmog)
Barrett Moddelmog also connected on three three-pointers while scoring 13 and Henry Hecox reached double digits with 12. Landon Kaufman just missed double figures with nine points while leading the Wildcats in assists with seven.
Coach Unrau looked toward the semi-final matchup as he concluded his post-game reflections by adding, “Our Friday semi-final will be a different challenge as TMP will have a six-foot-eight presence inside and a couple of good shooting guards.”
MOUNDRIDGE WILDCATS vs. St. Marys at Class 2A State Tournament Quarterfinal
SCORING: WILDCATS > 15-12-12-24 = 63; St. Marys > 9-10-6-6 = 31.
TEAM STATS: WILDCATS > FGs – 24/41; 3-PTs – 6/13; FTs – 9/9; AST – 21; REBs – 20; TO – 5; STLs – 5; BLKs – 6; FLs – 10. St. Marys > FGs – 12/45; 3-PTs – 3/24; FTs – 4/4; AST – 4; REBs – 23; TO – 9; STLs – 3; BLKs – 0; FLs – 12.
MOUNDRIDGE WILDCATS INDIVIDUAL STATS: Scoring > Logan Churchill – 22; Barrett Moddelmog – 13; Henry Hecox – 12; Landon Kaufman – 9; Alec Huddle – 5; Heath Churchill – 2. 3-Pointers Made > L. Churchill, Moddelmog – 3. Assists > Kaufman – 7; L. Churchill, Huddle – 5; Hecox – 2; Moddelmog, Layton Schmidt – 1. Rebounds > L. Churchill – 6; Huddle – 4; Moddelmog, Kaufman – 3; Hecox – 2; Schmidt, Fynn Burge – 1. Steals > Kaufman – 2; Moddelmog, Hecox, Huddle – 1. Blocked Shots > L. Churchill – 6.
(The Staff covering events for the MAC AREA SPORTS NEW can be reached by email at crossdovewriter@gmail.com)