MORAN — Marmaton Valley Junior High School’s boys basketball team had an up-and-down night on Monday against Mound City’s Jayhawk-Linn Middle School, splitting a pair of games. The A team won 30-21 and the B team lost 21-18.
The B team got off to a hot start. The Wildcats jumped out to a 4-3 lead early thanks to buckets from Kris McVey and Wyatt Burnett. The two teams traded the lead back and forth throughout the first half. Both teams scored six in the second quarter, and the Wildcats clung to a 10-9 lead at the half.
The second half was a much different story. The Jayhawk defense woke up and clamped down on Marmaton Valley, allowing only seven points in the third quarter. The Jayhawk offense also heated up, scoring eight in the quarter to tie the game.
Marmaton Valley’s offense sputtered in the fourth, only managing to score one point, while the Jayhawks scored four to scamper away with the win.
Kaden McVey scored five points. Kris McVey and Wyatt Burnett scored four each. Thomas Allee scored two. Bryant Uhlrich scored one.
“We struggled against man-to-man pressure and it showed,” said Marmaton Valley head coach Byron Marshall. “We showed much better effort than when we played the Jayhawks last time.”
Propelled by Tyler Lord’s five points, the A team surged in the first quarter to a 9-5 lead, thanks to excellent defense from the Wildcats. The Jayhawks couldn’t manage to find the basket and when they did, shots didn’t fall. Todd Stevenson took over scoring in the second quarter, with five points as the Marmaton Valley defense continued to hold the Jayhawks down. The Wildcats led 17-11 at the half.
In the second half, the Wildcats continued to frustrate the Jayhawks, not allowing them to score and giving the Wildcats extra possessions, which they took advantage of. Three Wildcats scored in the third quarter to expand their lead.
The Jayhawks looked to be mounting a charge in the fourth quarter, making the only three-pointer of the game, but Marmaton Valley held on. The Jayhawks went to the free-throw line seven times in the game, but made only one shot, not able to capitalize on scoring chances.
“We played some great defense,” Marshall said. “We rebounded the ball well and worked our tails off on defense. We are finally shooting better from the line and it paid off tonight.”
Tyler Lord had 12 points. Todd Stevenson had seven. Brevyn Campbell had five. Cooper Scharff had four. Ethan Lawson and Garrett Morrison each had one.
ON SATURDAY, Marmaton Valley Junior High’s boys’ basketball team split a pair of games and finished third in the Yates Center tournament. The Wildcats lost to Crest Middle School in the opening game 41-25 and beat Oswego Junior High School 4-29.
Crest jumped ahead 19-6 at the half thanks to the ability to find good shots and knock them down. The Lancers established the lead in the first quarter, and built upon it in the second, with a 12-point second quarter. The Lancer defense held strong and gave Crest a chance to pull away.
The Wildcats had a big offensive run in the third quarter, scoring 13 points as the Wildcats tried to mount a comeback. Crest’s defense held on for the win, limiting the Wildcats to six points in the fourth quarter to stave off Marmaton Valley.
“We came out with good energy and defended well,” said Marshall. “We just couldn’t get enough shots to fall. Crest is a good program and they played well.”
