WINFIELD, Kan. – The McPherson Boys Basketball team survived an early surge by the Winfield Vikings on Thursday, Feb. 26, using a strong defensive presence to outlast the Vikings on the road, 60-52.
Winfield had an 18-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and trailed by only one point at halftime, thanks to five made threes in the first half alone, three of which were made by senior Evan Hutto. After McPherson found a way to storm back to lead 30-29 going into the locker room, Winfield’s Kellen Gibson caught fire, scoring 10 of his 17 points in the third.
However, McPherson was able to find sparks to keep them ahead at halftime and the end of the third quarter, 51-50, thanks to seniors Jett Pyle and Cade Strathman, as well as junior guard Ashton Malm, who finished with a team-high 11 rebounds. McPherson’s defense then stopped Winfield in their tracks, not giving up a made basket in the final frame and leaving Winfield scoreless for over seven minutes, pulling away with the victory 60-52.
Pyle led all scorers with 21 points, going 8-11 at the free-throw line. Strathman tied a career-high 15 points, scoring in double-figures for the third-straight game. Winfield was led by Kellen Gibson’s 17-point mark, while Evan Hutto hit three of the team’s 8 three-pointers, ending with 15 points.
The win for McPherson clinched them a share of the AVCTL-3 title, along with Augusta, with an 8-2 record in league play. Overall, McPherson ended the regular season 14-9, earning them the No. 6 seed heading into Sub-State. The Bullpups will host Ulysses on Wednesday, March 4, to begin their quest to win a third-straight 4A State Title.
SCORING BREAKDOWN
McPherson: 14-16-21-9 — 60
Winfield: 18-11-21-2 — 52
McPherson:
- Team: 22 Made FG, 6 Made 3PT, 10-15 FT
- Individual: Pyle – 21, Strathman – 15, Malm – 9, Becker – 6, Cooper – 6, Ingels – 2, Harrison – 1
Winfield:
- Team: 19 Made FG, 8 Made 3PT, 6-9 FT
- Individual: Gibson – 17, Hutto – 15, Cyrus-Riley – 7, Benavides – 6, Tagg – 5, Estes – 2
