Going dancing: Wildcats earn first state basketball tourney bid since 2001

Marmaton Valley High's Wildcats will head to the state basketball tournament Wednesday after winning its first substate championship since the 2001 season. Marmaton Valley punched its ticket with a 62-57 win over Altoona-Midway.

March 4, 2024 - 2:54 PM

Marmaton Valley High head coach Cornell Walls celebrates Saturday after the Wildcats defeated Altoona-Midway in their Class 1A-II Substate Championship. Photo by Halie Luken / MVHS

Marmaton Valley HIgh’s Jaedon Granere (5) goes up for a layup Saturday against Altoona-Midway Photo by Halie Luken / MVHS

ST. PAUL — The magic carpet ride that is Marmaton Valley High basketball will get one more stop this season — the state basketball tournament.

The Wildcats, who started the year with a 3-8 record, capped one of the more remarkable turnarounds in school history Saturday with a 62-57 win over Altoona-Midway to secure a berth in the upcoming Class 1A-II State Tournament.

The state tourney begins Wednesday at the Barton County Community College campus in Great Bend. The Wildcats (11-11) will tackle top-seeded Dighton (22-1) at 2 p.m.

The state tournament berth is Marmaton Valley’s first in 23 years.

“It’s a blessing,” Wildcat head coach Cornell Walls said. “I couldn’t be more proud of these guys.”

Much like they’ve done all season, the Wildcats stepped forward after a bit of early adversity saw them trailing at halftime.

And, much like they’ve done in winning seven of their past 10 games, the Wildcats received contributions from up and down the lineup, Walls said.

“Really, everybody played well,” he said.

Perhaps none more so than junior guard Jaedon Granere, who erupted for four 3-pointers in the third quarter alone and turned a 32-28 halftime deficit into a 46-42 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

Marmaton Valley High’s Todd Stevenson, right, looks to pass the ball Saturday against Altoona-Midway.Photo by Halie Luken / MVHS

But Altoona-Midway, the tournament’s top seed, didn’t go away quietly.

The Wildcats stretched their lead before the Jets took advantage of some sloppy MV ballhandlings.

“We made things a little interesting and got careless with the ball,” Walls said.

But Marmaton Valley’s lead never shrunk below three. Tylor Lord scored six, including 2 of 3 free throws. Garrett Morrison hit a pair of charities, and Brayden Lawson went 1 of 2 from the line to help keep things afloat.

“Jaedon hit some huge shots for us,” Walls said. “And Tyler has been great down the stretch. And while he didn’t score a lot, Brayden made all the difference inside. He got some clutch rebounds, as did Daniel Fewins.”