MOUNDRIDGE WILDCAT BASKETBALL

WILDCATS FALL SHORT, FINISH 2ND AT STATE

By Staff

            MANHATTAN – The dream of a three-peat state championship ended abruptly on Saturday as Sterling put a 14-point, 42-56, loss on the previously unbeaten Moundridge boys.

            With the loss the Wildcats finished the season 25-1 while the Black Bears close out 23-3.

            After breezing past Pittsburgh/St. Mary’s Colgan, 58-25, on Wednesday, the Wildcats ran past Valley Falls on Friday, 74-46, before running into the buzzsaw of Sterling.

            Against Valley Falls, Moundridge went up 34-25 at halftime before closing out for the final 33-point win as Henry Hecox connected on four three-pointers to lead the scoring with 17 while Bear Moddelmog and Heath Churchill chipped in with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Jesse Lutz just missed double digits with nine on three three-pointers and Churchill had nine rebounds, just missing a double-double.

            On Saturday, the Wildcats fell behind by 2, 12-14, at the end of the first quarter and trailed by just three, 19-22, at the halftime break. The Black Bears came out on fire in the third quarter and took a 12-point, 27-39, advantage into the fourth quarter where they closed out the final 14-point win over the Wildcats.

            Sterling and Moundridge were tied six times in the game while the Sterling bench players outscored the Wildcat bench 6-17.

            Bear Moddelmog led  Moundridge with 14 points with Heath Churchill and Kaizer Kanitz ending with nine and eight points, respectively. Churchill just missed another double-double as he grabbed eight rebounds.

WILDCATS vs. Sterling, Saturday, March 15 – Class 2A State Championship

SCORING = Wildcats lost 42-56

Wildcats = 12-7-8-15 = 42; Sterling = 14-8-17-17 = 56.

TEAM STATS =

Wildcats = 2fgs – 12/41; 3pts – 4/19; fts – 6/9; asst – 6; rebs – 25; stls – 2; blks – 3; to – 12; fls – 21.

Sterling = 2fgs – 14/30; 3pts – 1/12; fts – 25/30; asst – 6; rebs – 29; stls – 6; blks – 4; to – 8; fls – 16.

WILDCAT INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS =

Scoring (42) = Bear Moddelmog – 14; Heath Churchill – 9; Kaizer Kanitz – 8; Jesse Lutz – 6; Henry Hecox – 3; Zach Dixon – 2.

3-Pointers Made (4) = Moddelmog, Lutz – 2.

Assists (6) = Moddelmog – 2; Kanitz, Lutz, Hecox, Dixon – 1.

Rebounds (25) = Churchill – 8; Hecox – 6; Moddelmog, Dixon – 3; Kanitz, Kepple Adolf – 2; Lutz – 1.

Steals (2) = Kanitz, Dixon – 1.

Blocked Shots (3) = Moddelmog, Churchill, Kanitz – 1.

WILDCATS vs. Valley Falls, Friday, March 14 – Class 2A Semi-Finals

SCORING = Wildcats won 74-46

Wildcats = 17-17-22-18 = 74; Valley Falls = 14-11-7-14 = 46.

TEAM STATS =

Wildcats = 2fgs – 22/44; 3pts – 9/21; fts – 3/5; asst – 20; rebs – 34; stls – 7; blks – 5; to – 4; fls – 12.

Valley Falls = 2fgs – 9-23; 3pts – 6/15; fts – 10/15; asst – 5; rebs – 19; stls – 2; blks – 2; to – 11; fls – 8.

WILDCAT INDIVIDUAL STAT LEADERS =

Scoring (74) = Henry Hecox – 17; Bear Moddelmog – 16; Heath Churchill – 15; Jesse Lutz – 9; Kaizer Kanitz, Kepple Adolf – 6; Zach Dixon – 5.

3-Pointers Made (9) = Hecox – 4; Lutz – 3; Churchill, Moddelmog – 1.

Assists (20) = Kanitz – 6; Hecox – 4; Churchill, Dixon – 3; Moddelmog – 2; Adolf, Josh Koehn – 1.

Rebounds (34) = Churchill – 9; Moddelmog – 6; Hecox, Dixon – 5; Kanitz – 4; Lutz, Adolf, Lane Durst, Koehn, Braden DenHartog – 1.

Steals (7) = Moddelmog, Lutz, Adolf – 2; Churchill – 1.

Blocked Shots (5) = Churchill, Kanitz – 2; Moddelmog – 1.

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