MORAN — Marmaton Valley High’s improved play of late continued Friday as the Wildcats took an early lead in their Class 1A-I Substate playoff opener.
But some hot shooting from visiting Flinthills, coupled with an assortment of untimely turnovers down the stretch, spelled doom for the Wildcats.
Flinthills took control with a late 12-2 run, taking the lead for good with Tiler Slaughter-Scott’s long jumper with 1:20 remaining to defeat the Wildcats, 71-67.
The loss ended Marmaton Valley’s season at 9-13.
“We didn’t take care of the ball late, and it hurt us,” Marmaton Valley head coach Cornell Walls said. “It was a good battle, and we fought hard. But we ran out of steam at the end.”
The teams traded extended scoring runs before Flinthills took the upper hand late.
Brayden Lawson converted a field goal and pair of free throws for MV to give the Wildcats a 69-66 lead. Jaedon Ganere tossed in a free throw with 2:51 left to make it a four-point lead.
But Flinthills sharp-shooting freshman Jacob Hunter sandwiched a pair of 3-pointers — the second from around 25 feet — around a Lawson basket to knot the score at 62-62.
A tie-up at midcourt on Marmaton Valley’s next possession gave the ball back to the Mustangs, leading to Slaughter-Scott’s long jumper — his only field goal of the game.
Another Marmaton Valley turnover led to a Hunter Lowmaster layup and a 66-62 Flinthills lead.
Dominic Smith’s 3-point attempt was just off the mark on Marmaton Valley’s next possession with 47 seconds left.
Lowmaster finished the 9-0 run for Flinthills with two more charities with 39 seconds left.
Granere kept things interesting, scoring on a layup before hitting a 3-pointer with 9 seconds left to pull the Wildcats within 69-67.
But Hunter swished two more charities to slam the door for good.
“If we could have taken care of the ball a little better, we could have come out with a win,” Walls said.
