The TMP girls handed Hoisington their first MCAA loss to take over the top spot in league standings. The Hoisington boys needed a late comeback to get past Ness City.
Hoisington
A week after hosting in their own tournament, the basketball squads had another busy week with three games. The No. 5 Cardinal boys picked up two wins to advance to 11-2, downing Ness City 58-49 on Tuesday, and beating TMP 45-35 on Thursday. The squad fell to Hesston on Saturday.
Tuesday, Hoisington trailed 23-20 against the talented Ness City squad, who extended the gap to 46-38 after three quarters. The Cardinals turned it on in the final eight minutes, outscoring the Eagles 20-3 to take the win.
“The game against Ness City was a game of runs, but they got the best of us until the fourth quarter,” said Hoisington coach Kyle Haxton. “Jacob Durrett entered the game for us and gave us a huge amount of energy. This was contagious amongst the team. We were causing turnovers and turning them into assists. They couldn't miss a perimeter shot in the first three quarters and maybe they got a little tired in the legs, because they struggled to make shots late in the game.
“I was very pleased with the intensity level from our team in the fourth quarter and the heart they showed to continue battling. It was a great comeback against a very good basketball team in their house. That's what made it so special.”
The Cardinals had trouble pulling away early on against MCAA-foe TMP, taking a 17-17 tie into the half. Hoisington eventually got the best of the Monarchs, holding TMP to nine points in each of the final quarters while scoring 28 points. Cody Stetler finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds in that win, and Derrick Kaiser added 17 points.
The Lady Cardinals were not so fortunate, dropping two games last week to fall to 10-4 on the year. The girls got past Ness City easy enough 57-37 on Tuesday, but fell to formerly-ranked TMP 430-40 on Thursday, and 38-24 to Hesston on Saturday.
Thursday, Hoisington’s three-point try at the buzzer missed to give TMP the win. To set up that shot, the Cardinals put together a 12-0 run to get within 40-38 with 47 seconds to play. TMP led most of the way, taking a 15-4 lead after one quarter and holding on to a 33-21 lead after three quarters. Mallory Flagor scored 12 of her 15 points in the final quarter. Savannah Rose added 10 points. Sophomore Jordin Greer scored 10 of the team’s 24 points in Saturday’s loss to Hesston.
TMP
The Lady Monarchs dropped out of the Class 3A rankings last week, but are again looking in after a 43-40 win over Hoisington. That game could decide the league championship, giving TMP an edge at 3-0 while Hoisington now sits at 2-1.
The Monarchs (10-3) took control of the game early on with a 15-4 lead after one quarter. TMP held that advantage most of the way, leading 33-21 after three quarters. Hoisington would make a run, scoring 12 straight points in the fourth quarter, and eventually getting to within one point with 22 seconds to play. Senior Jenna Lang hit both tries of her one-and-one with 5.1 seconds to play. Hoisington missed a potential game-tying shot at the buzzer. Lang scored 10 of her team-high 14 points in the first half. Rachel Jacobs added 11 points, Heather Ruder nine points, and Rachel Pray eight points in the win.
The Monarch boys (7-6) hung with No. 5 Hoisington for two quarters, but lost their first MCAA match 45-35. Tied 17-17 at halftime, TMP managed only 18 points in the second half. Nick Hammeke hit three threes and led the team with nine points. Kelton Schuckman added seven points and 10 rebounds.
Larned
The Indian boys took a small break after the St. John tournament with just one game last week. Unfortunately, the contest came against Class 5A’s Great Bend, who handed Larned a 61-45 loss. The Indians are now 2-12 on the season.
Great Bend (4-8) took an 18-7 lead after one quarter before Larned woke up to take a 26-24 lead into the half. The Panthers outscored Larned 20-4 in the third quarter and added two points to that advantage in the final eight minutes to pull away for the win. Cameron Brown was 8-of-12 from the floor to finish with 16 points. Jahman Hill also scored 16 points. Zach Houser led the Indians with six rebounds to go along with three points.
The Lady Indians went 1-2 at the Pratt tournament, falling to Chaparral 38-29 in Saturday’s fifth-place game. Larned (2-12) fell to Wichita South 36-22 in the tournament opener, then beat Wichita North’s JV team 45-19. Maci Perez scored nine points in the win, and Roxy Foster finished with eight points.
