MORAN — Marmaton Valley Junior High’s basketball teams will be well acquainted with the cozy confines of their high school gymnasium in the coming days.
The Wildcats were at home Monday for the first of three nights of action this week, all at home, to start a seven-game stand that runs through Nov. 28.
If the rest of the home dates are as productive as Monday’s, it could be a wildly successful season on the hardwood.
Marmaton Valley’s boys and girls teams both swept visiting Yates Center — five games in all.
The boys A team game, Marmaton Valley erased a 32-18 deficit in the final final 3 minutes of regulation, and wound up prevailing 45-42 in double overtime.
“Team effort and defensive pressure got us to that point,” MV head coach Adam Borth said. “It took everyone being resilient, never giving up and paying hard to the end.”
Thomas Allee paced Marmaton Valley with 15 points, 11 in the fourth quarter alone. Lane Lord was next with 10 and Kaden McVey with eight. Ethan Lawson scored five, Kris McVey four and Bryan Uhlrich three.
Gavin Busteed had 16 points and Ben Cook had 10 for Yates Center. Jake Howard chipped in with five, Brogan McConaghie and Karter Westerman had four apiece, while Emmit McVey scored two.
A 13-2 Marmaton Valley run in the fourth quarter of the B Team matchup lifted MV to a 21-16 win.
Lord scored eight and Kooper Welch had six for MV. Xander Finch scored three; Kameren McClenning and Truett Blevins had two apiece.
Westerman scored six to pace YC. Remington Hall added three, McVey two and Tagan O’Brien one.
Marmaton Valley’s Jaren Curl scored six and Kaiden Woods four to lead the C team to an 11-5 victory. Daniel Allee added MV’s other field goal. Conner Plegge scored all five of Yates Center’s points.
GIRLS
Marmaton Valley swept both games, winning 29-11 in the A team matchup and 10-2 in the B team contest.
A balanced scoring attack paced MV’s A team, led by Annabell Green’s nine. Clara Ferguson was right behind with six points, while Reagan Marshall, Mercedes McKinnis and Emma Louk scored four each. Grayce Dodson scored two.
Ella Cummings scored four to lead the Yates Center A team. Maddison Chambers and Khloey Holt added two apiece. Kaelynne Moore, Mackenzie Burkholder and Mirandi Sorenson all had free throws.
