Sports editor
Sixty-five was the magic number Friday night at the USD 408 Sports and Aquatics Center.
Two hours after the Moundridge High School Wildcats downed MHS 65-61 in the girls’ game, the Moundridge boys’ team edged Marion, 65-59.
The Wildcats were led by freshman sensation Trey Unrau who scored 34 points by connecting on 8-of-18 field goals and 16-of-17 free throws.
Marion was led by a double-figure trio of Elliot Hett (18 points) Isaac Hett (16), and Luke Gordon (12).
In the early going things were looking good for Marion as Gordon helped the Warriors take a 4-0 lead with two field goals. However, Unrau went to work with his first three-pointer of the game to cut the lead to one.
The game took a turn with Moundridge leading 21-20 with just less than two minutes to play in the half.
The Wildcats used some transition baskets to finish the half on an 8-0 run and lead 29-20 at the break.
“That last two-to-three-minute stretch was tough,” MHS head coach Jeff McMillin said.
McMillin said he challenged his team to play with passion and work on their transition defense in the second half.
It must have worked.
The Warriors came out of the half with an 18-8 run to lead 38-37.
The final two points came on a steal and layup by Elliot Hett.
The senior stole the ball at mid-court, stepped over a Wildcat defender on the floor, and took two steps toward the basket before scoring.
Moundridge didn’t give in however, using a 7-2 run to end the quarter with a 44-40 lead.
The Wildcats extended the lead to 11 and Marion cut it back to four, before finally losing by six.
Despite the loss, the Warriors shot a better percentage than the Wildcats, had more assists, blocks, and steals, less turnovers, and just one less rebound.
“In a lot of the areas we emphasize, we did pretty well,” McMillin said. “It was the consistency that really hurt us.”
Gordon continued his strong defensive play with three blocks, and is now averaging 2.5 per game.
Elliot Hett leads the team in scoring with 10.3 per game, and Vogel leads in rebounds with 6.3.
The loss evened Marion’s record at 2-2 with the first semester action coming to a close. The Warriors won’t play again until a Jan. 6 road game at Ellinwood.
It will be the first league contest for MHS.
However, McMillin isn’t putting any extra stress on league play.
“When Jan. 6 comes we will talk about going 1-0 (in the league),” he said. “We will go one game at a time and that’s all we’ll ever do.”
Despite the loss, McMillin thinks his team is coming together better every day, and welcomes the 17-day break between games.
“We will use this time,” he said. “I see them growing every day. I’m not real upset, I’m not really happy so far, but I am excited to get going again.”