McPHERSON, Kan. – The 62nd Annual McPherson Invitational boys basketball tournament concluded later than scheduled due to the winter weather that entered the area on Saturday, Jan. 24.
McPherson and Lawrence Free State wrapped up the 7th Place Game on Thursday, Jan. 29, due to a schedule conflict for Free State. The recap will be found below. The 5th Place Game will be played at Seaman High School in Topeka.
The game recaps are below. Once all games are complete, the Tournament MVP and the All-Tournament Team will be listed. All stats are provided by the McPherson Optimist Club.
7TH PLACE GAME – Thurs., Jan. 29
McPherson – 65
Lawrence Free State – 51
McPherson shook off the two blowout losses to begin the tournament, finishing 7th in the tournament with a 65-51. It was the first time McPherson had ever played in the 7th Place game in the tournament’s history.
After only leading by 4 at the halftime break, McPherson pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 19 points to get the win, thanks to their efforts at the free throw line, shooting a perfect 21/21.
The Bullpups were led by Jett Pyle’s 25 points, including going 11/11 at the stripe. Eli Reasoner had 20 points and 6 rebounds. Reasoner’s combined 52 points in the tournament are the fourth-most by a freshman in tournament history, and the most by a McPherson freshman.
Free State was led by Bennett Nagel’s 21 points. Brayden DeBruin added 12 points and Packson McDaniel had 10.
5TH PLACE GAME – Played at Seaman High School in Topeka
St. James Academy – 60
Topeka-Seaman – 38
St. James Academy led from start to finish to defeat the Seaman Vikings, 60-38, in Topeka. It was a narrow 14-10 lead for the Thunder at the end of the first, and just a 26-20 halftime lead, but they outscored Seaman 34-18 in the second half to finish in 5th place.
Emmitt Peters led the Thunder with 11 points for St. James Academy. Luke Kolich and Grady Ogden each added 10. KaeVon Bonner led Seaman with 19 points.
3RD PLACE GAME
Blue Valley – 44
Hutchinson – 29
Hutchinson had the upper hand over Blue Valley in the early going, but the Tigers battled back to win 44-29. Hutchinson led 8-5 at the end of the first quarter and led by as many as 5 points, but Blue Valley took a 22-17 lead into the locker room. They would then outscore Hutchinson 22-12 in the second half.
Blue Valley was led by Enoch Rodriguez, who had 14 points and 9 rebounds. Lamar Govain led Hutchinson with 15 points and 5 blocks.
CHAMPIONSHIP
Derby – 74
Bishop Carroll – 71
The Derby Panthers closed off an exciting 62nd McPherson Invitational, winning in the final seconds of overtime 74-71. Greg Stiger made the game-winning three with four seconds left. Bishop Carroll’s ensuing half-court heave to tie was off the mark.
Stiger’s game-winner was his 8th three-pointer of the game, tying Emporia’s Jay Carlson and Topeka-Seaman’s Kaeden Bonner for the most in a single game in tournament history. Derby ended up making 17 three-pointers, the most by any team in tournament history.
Bishop Carroll, who entered the tournament as the No. 7 seed, fought all the way to the end to finish as tournament runners-up. The win for Derby gives them their second MIT title in history.
Stiger led Derby with 29 points, while Brody Kreutzer led Bishop Carroll with 28.
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM:
- TOURNAMENT MVP – Brendan Walsh (Blue Valley)
- Grady Ogden (St. James Academy)
- Avant Riley (Derby)
- Greg Stiger (Derby)
- Brody Kreutzer (Bishop Carroll)
- Jett Pyle (McPherson)
- Nathan Goertz (Bishop Carroll)
- KaeVon Bonner (Topeka-Seaman)
- Parker Seithel (Blue Valley)
- Lamar Govain (Hutchinson)
- Cale Clingan (Derby)
