Many MCL teams had a slower week eight following the MCL tournament. The Phillipsburg boys head into week nine with a perfect record intact.
Phillipsburg
The No. 4 Panther boys remain the lone unbeaten team in the MCL following an 84-62 win at Smith Center on Friday. Phillipsburg (13-0) gave away two quarters to the Redmen, but surrendered only four points in those quarters. The Panthers won the second quarter 23-11 to lead 37-27 at the half, and closed out the game with a 26-12 fourth quarter. Phillipsburg shot 56 percent from the floor. Senior Tad Thompson led the way with 26 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 3-of-4 shooting from the outside. Senior Sean Newlan added 20 points, missing only three field goal tries in the game. Grant Wickham added 15 points, Dylan Means seven assists, and senior Seth Derr flirted with a triple-double with nine points, six steals, and seven assists.
The Lady Panthers (6-8) fell to No. 3 Smith Center 70-47. Phillipsburg stayed close in the second and fourth quarters but was outscored 44-23 in the first and third quarters combined. Junior Mattison Dusin recorded another double-double with 19 points and 10 boards. Michaela Gower added 15 points.
Smith Center
The Lady Redmen (12-1) fell just one spot in the Class 2A rankings with a loss to Ellis in the MCL tournament. The girls bounced back nicely in week eight with two wins. Tuesday, the Redmen thumped Hoisington 63-35. Friday, the squad outscored Phillipsburg 44-23 in the first and third quarters combined en route to a 70-47 win. Sydney Benoit earned game-high honors with a 29-point performance on Friday. Trenna Cox finished with 14 points, and Colbie Decker added 10 points.
The Smith Center boys fell to 6-7 with an 84-62 loss to No. 4 Phillipsburg on Friday, and a 61-42 loss at Hoisington on Tuesday. In an up-and-down MCL battle on Friday, Smith Center led the Panthers 16-14 after one quarter. Phillipsburg rebounded for a 37-27 halftime lead. The Redmen cut two points from that deficit in the next quarter but gave up 14 points in the final frame. Peyton Buckmaster paced the team with 20 points, followed by 17 points from Trevor Overmiller and 15 points from Taylor Zabel.
Osborne
The No. 7 Lady Bulldogs had another busy week with three more games. Osborne (10-3) posted a 2-1 record, downing Lakeside 54-25 and beating Stockton 43-32, but coming up just short against Class 3A Beloit in a 41-38 loss. Friday against Stockton, the Lady Bulldogs doubled-up the Tigers 16-8 in the first quarter, then went on to lead 37-24 heading into the final frame. Rachel St. Clair led the team with 17 points, including two threes, and Taylor Noel also hit two threes to finish with 10 points. Jessica Princ grabbed a team-high seven rebounds to go along with eight points.
The Osborne boys fell to 3-8 with losses to two ranked teams. After downing Lakeside 53-46 on Tuesday, the Bulldogs fell to No. 3 Beloit (3A) 75-35 on Thursday, and dropped a 66-41 contest to No. 9 Stockton (1A) on Friday. Osborne led Lakeside 15-2 after one quarter and 27-14 at the half. Lakeside battled back for a 33-31 lead with a quarter to play but the Bulldogs responded with 22 fourth quarter points for the win. Sophomore Brandt Wolters scored 15 points in the win and led the team with 11 rebounds. Kenton Ubelaker added 12 points, and Colin Clark finished with 11 points and six steals.
Ellis
The No. 4 Lady Railroaders just keep on winning. Two more wins pushed the squad’s win-streak to 11 games. Tuesday, the girls needed every bit of effort to sneak by Victoria 57-55. Friday, things were a little easier with a 58-44 win against Plainville. In the Victoria win, the teams hit the half tied at 26. Ellis was able to gain a four-point advantage in the third quarter and hold on for the win. Freshman Alexcia Deutscher led all scorers with 26 points, and Bailey Hensley added 17 points. Junior Kaleigh Soneson led the team with 17 points in the Plainville win.
The Ellis boys (9-6) nearly had a great week. First, the squad outscored Victoria in every quarter to earn a 72-60 win. Friday, the Railroaders went the distance on the road against a tough Plainville team, giving up three points in the final quarter of a 52-49 loss in Coach Chris Rorabaugh’s return to Plainville. Senior Luke Lohrmeyer finished with 16 points in Tuesday’s win. Cole Pfeifer added 11 points, and Eli Lohrmeyer scored nine points.
Hill City
Both Ringneck basketball teams went 1-1 in week eight of action. The boys (6-6) played in two close games, giving up three fourth quarter points in a 56-54 loss to Hoxie on Tuesday, then edging out Trego 44-40 on Friday. The Lady Ringnecks (5-7) got past Trego 57-42, but not before finding out how tough No. 2 Hoxie is in an 82-35 loss on Tuesday.
The girls outscored Trego in each of the first three quarters to build a 46-27 lead on Friday. Shelby Stewart could not be stopped in the win. The senior hit 8-of-13 three-point tries to finish with 28 points. Megan Gansel added 11 points, and McKenzie Cooper cleaned the glass with 14 rebounds. In Tuesday’s loss, Hill City made just two three-pointers. Freshman Amanda Conway led the team with 13 points.
Plainville
The Cardinal boys remain unscathed in MCL league play…barely. Friday night, Plainville (12-2) entered the fourth quarter in a 34-34 tie with Ellis. The Cardinals did what they had to do to escape with a 52-49 win. Tuesday, Plainville downed Lincoln 57-41. Senior Nolan Weiser led the team with 20 points in the Ellis win. Junior Hadley Gillium had a big night with 16 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, and four blocked shots. Connor Collins also hit double-figures with 13 points. The trio accounted for all but three of Plainville’s points.
The Lady Cardinals stay on the plus side at 8-6 with a 1-1 week. Tuesday, the girls downed Lincoln 43-36. Friday, Plainville could not hang with No. 4 Ellis in a 58-44 loss. Trailing Lincoln 15-7 after one quarter, the Lady Cardinals outscored the Leopards 36-21 the rest of the way to earn the win. Senior Hannah Friend led the team with 11 points. Freshman Kim Junkmeier added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Courtney Copeland finished with eight points.
Norton
The Blue Jay basketball teams played only one game in week eight, hitting the road and traveling to Colby on Friday. The Lady Jays dropped to 8-6 overall with a 64-34 loss. The boys followed suit, falling to 5-9 on the year with a 50-41 loss.
With the exception of an 18-point third quarter, the girls simply struggled to score, managing only 16 points in the other three quarters combined. Colby lead 29-12 by the half. Senior Tawni Griffey scored 20 of the 34 points going 4-of-9 from the outside. The boys struggled in just two quarters, falling behind 16-8 after one quarter, and losing the third quarter 13-6 to fall behind 39-30 against the Eagles. Jacob Brooks and Tanner Furbush each scored 14 points in the loss. Furbush went 7-of-9 from the floor and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Carson McKenna had eight steals for the Jays.
Trego
On Friday, the Lady Golden Eagles (1-11) hit the court for the first time since the MCL play-in game on January 12. The time off may have been beneficial as Trego scored 42 points – the second highest total this year – despite falling to Hill City 57-42. Trego was outscored in each of the first three quarters before taking the final quarter 15-11. Junior Addie Zeman paced the Golden Eagles with 13 points. Jerris Reeder added 10 points, and Hailey Weigel finished with nine points.
The Golden Eagle boys dropped to 4-10 with a 44-40 loss to the Ringnecks. Trego managed just three points in the second quarter and 12 points in the third quarter to fall behind 34-25. Only three Golden Eagles scored in the loss, led by Clayton Riedel’s 25 points. John Griffith added nine points, and Blake Huxman finished with six points.
Stockton
The Tiger boys are fighting to stay in the Class 1A, Div. I ranks. Two wins in week eight of action should help No. 9 Stockton in that battle. Tuesday, the Tigers downed Northern Valley 69-56. Getting back into league play on Friday, Stockton handled Osborne 66-41 to improve to 8-4 on the year. Tuesday, the Tigers outscored Northern Valley 40-24 in the first and third quarters combined. Koby Beougher poured in 28 points to lead all scorers. Sophomore teammate Justin Wiltfong added 16 points, and Jaden Williams finished with nine points.
The Lady Tigers fell to Osborne 43-32 on Friday. The Lady Bulldogs used a 33-17 advantage from the first and third quarters combined for the win. Sophomore Morgan Beougher paced the team with nine points, and Janassa Swaney finished with eight points.
